Sciences reorganized for energy research

The Whistle - October 13, 2008
Professor Thomas Orlando, former chair of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has joined the College of Sciences administration as "Associate Dean for Energy Research" to help organize the College’s efforts in Institute-wide energy research. Regents’ Professor Charles Liotta will serve as interim chair.

Dean Paul Houston made the appointment in early September, hoping to align the College to be better able to respond to calls for energy-research proposals from both the Institute’s Strategic Energy Initiative (SEI) and national research organizations.
(full story ... | Thom Orlando)

Systems biology: Solving grand challenges at the crossroads of biology, engineering and computation

Research Horizons - Summer 2008 The latest issue of Research Horizons magazine is dedicated to the systems biology initiative currently underway at Tech. Systems biology is a relatively new field that focuses on complex networks of biological interactions. Researchers aim to understand biological systems in which molecules, cells, organs, organisms, populations and communities interact. Their ultimate goal is to solve complicated problems related to human health and the environment.
(Research Horizons | pdf of article)

Celebrating a century with Buzz!

No celebration is complete without a party. The Georgia Tech Alumni Association is taking this to heart as it observes its 100th anniversary by inviting 25 of the group’s favorite friends. In this case, they just all happen to be in the form of five-foot fiberglass Buzzes – Georgia Tech’s beloved mascot.

Artists from the Atlanta area worked with sponsors to transform the Fiberglas forms of Buzz into unique personalities that reflect the pride that embodies the Tech community. Tech alumni, student organizations and departments rallied around the project helping with the cost of the forms as well as the vision of the designs.

The 25 Buzzes will be displayed around campus now through December and subsequently auctioned to raise money for the Georgia Tech organization of the sponsor’s choice. Maps, photos, voting and auction information can all be found on the Alumni Association’s Web site. ( full story... | Buzz Around Town | Alumni Assoc.)

Interview: Professor Art Ragauskas discusses his research and advances in the biofuels industry



ScienceWatch.com - October 2008
One of the most-cited papers on Ethanol Biofuels is "The path forward for biofuels and biomaterials" by Professor Arthur Ragauskas of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. In this interview, ScienceWatch.com talks with Prof. Ragauskas about this paper and recent advances in the biofuels industry.
(full story... | Art Ragauskas | Center for Innovative Biomaterial Education and Research (CIBER) )

MSPO alumni Ron Roiz in the O&P Edge

O&P Edge - September 2008
Ron Roiz (Master of Science in Prosthetics & Orthotics class of 2007) reflects on his experiences as a resident of orthotics at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago in the September issue of the O&P Edge.
(full story... | MSPO class of 2007)

Experts ponder link between creativity, mood disorders

CNN.com/Health - October 7, 2008
. . . There have been more than 20 studies that suggest an increased rate of bipolar and depressive illnesses in highly creative people. . ."It's pretty clear if you read [Wallace's] books that he was a very obsessive, kind of ruminating guy," said Paul Verhaeghen, associate professor of psychology at GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. "You can see it in his sentences.. .The research of Verhaeghen and colleagues shows when people are in a reflective mode, they may become more creative, depressed, or both.
(full story | Paul Verhaeghen)

Looks like we are a step closer to creating a real holodeck

mharrschtechtimes.blogspot.com -October 18, 2008
Scientists in the United States on Wednesday unveiled next-generation 3-D technology that they said provided realistic, updatable holograms in nearly real time. The innovation could one day lead to 3-D holographic movies, enabling cinema-goers to feel they are "inside" a movie yet not have to wear cumbersome, headache-inducing spectacles . . . . Joseph Perry of the GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY in Atlanta, in a commentary published by Nature, said the innovation was extraordinarily promising, not least because the polymers were potentially cheap and easy to produce.
(full story | Joseph Perry)

New center at Georgia Tech to study graphene as potential silicon successor

Nanowerk News - October 13, 2008
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded funding to the GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY to create a new Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) - The Georgia Tech Laboratory for New Electronic Materials.
The Laboratory will focus its efforts on the development of new materials to serve as the successors to silicon in the semiconductor industry. Specifically, the development of graphene – which holds tremendous promise as an electronic material – will be the initial core of research and development at the Center.
(full story | Walt de Heer video explaining graphene | Walt de Heer)

Georgia Tech participates in intensive study into future hurricane risk

UCAR.edu - October 8, 2008
BOULDER—The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), working with federal agencies and universities as well as the insurance and energy industries, has launched an intensive study to examine how global warming will influence hurricanes in the next few decades. The goal of the project is to better inform coastal communities, offshore drilling operations, and other interests that could be affected by changes in hurricanes....The GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY is collaborating on the research, and other universities are also involved.
(full story )

Ellery Ingall on the ocean's role in producing atmospheric methane

www.nature.com/naturegeoscience - Vol 1, July 2008
Most of the world's surface oceans are oversaturated with respect to atmospheric methane and emit large quantities of this greenhouse gas. Aerobic decomposition of phosphorous-containing organic compounds may be responsible. Earth & Atmospheric Sciences professor Ellery Ingle discusses new findings and current research.
(full story - pdf | Ellery Ingle)

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