College of Sciences

Latest News

Tiny helices emerge during a phase separation process, offering clues about how life's building blocks may have first developed a preference for one 'handed' form over another. (Credit: Jong-Hoon Lee, Ziming Wang, Ying Diao)

A new study reveals that many conjugated polymers, long considered structurally neutral, can spontaneously twist into chiral shapes. This surprising behavior, overlooked for decades, could pave the way for development of a new class of energy-efficient electronics inspired by nature. Collaborative findings across University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Georgia Tech, University of North Carolina, and Purdue University are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

A lizard wearing one of the sensors, which weigh just three-hundredths of a gram each — the same as a two grains of rice. (Credit: Jon Suh)

The award will support Stroud as he creates evolution’s first high-definition map — with the help of 1,000 backpack-wearing lizards.

Grace Tang (Left) and Alison Onstine (Right) holding bacteria plates that spell "BIOL 4590" (Credit: Tang and Onstine)

“This course truly underscores Georgia Tech’s commitment to pioneering meaningful undergraduate experiences,” says teacher Vinayak (Vinny) Agarwal. “No other peer institution I know of is exposing undergraduates to bioinformatics at this level.”

Post-hurricane flooding inundates residential areas and transportation infrastructure, with low-lying terrain overwhelmed by storm surge and excessive rainfall.

Georgia Tech researchers are developing solutions to monitor and forecast flooding, as well as restore ecosystems to prevent future flooding. These efforts support communities’ resilience in the face of climate change and keep the U.S. secure.

AdobeStock_478449398.jpeg

As climate change influences hurricane behavior, experts are taking a closer look at how we classify and communicate storm risks, and what that means for forecasting, preparedness, and public understanding.

Winnie Chu

The grant will support Chu as she uses radar data and generative AI to map temperatures beneath the Antarctica ice sheet, aiming to improve climate predictions, support coastal planning, and train future scientists through open-access tools and education.

Experts In The News

Climate change is altering the conditions that lead to hurricane development. That’s made some meteorologists reconsider how we measure those storms.

Experts have used the Saffir-Simpson scale since 1969 to classify hurricanes by their wind speeds, ranging from Category 1 to Category 5.

Zachary Handlos, the director of Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies at Georgia Tech which is examining how forecasters currently classify and communicate storm threats, says each storm is different and could result in a range of consequences.

"There's storm surge […] there's inland flooding from the significant rainfall — that was the big thing with Helene last year in our area," he said, noting that previously, Hurricane Irma only brought sustained winds to the region.

"You can also get tornadoes within hurricanes too, so not only are you dealing with flooding, storm surge, you also have to deal with tornadoes in the area at the same time," Handlos said.

He said any new scale should be complementary to the Saffir-Simpson scale, not replace it, as researchers still rely on it for historical study and communication with the public.

Georgia Public Broadcasting October 14, 2025

James T. Stroudassistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences, coauthored an article published in The Conversation detailing research which documents exceptional cases of lizards — survivors of limb damage or loss — that defy expectations about how natural selection works.

The Conversation October 13, 2025

Upcoming Events

Oct
17
2025
Join the Spatial Ecology and Paleontology Lab for Fossil Fridays! Become a fossil hunter and help discover how vertebrate communities have changed through time.
Oct
20
2025
Hosted by the College of Computing and IDEaS
Oct
22
2025
Featuring Douglas Downey - Professor of Computer Science, Northwestern
Oct
23
2025
Are you interested in cognitive neuroscience? Come to the trainee social event from 2:30-3:30 at the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging (CABI) to meet with students and post docs who are studying cog neuro!
Oct
24
2025
Join the Spatial Ecology and Paleontology Lab for Fossil Fridays! Become a fossil hunter and help discover how vertebrate communities have changed through time.

Spark: College of Sciences at Georgia Tech

Welcome — we're so glad you're here. Learn more about us in this video, narrated by Susan Lozier, College of Sciences Dean and Sutherland Chair.