Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization announces a gift from CreationsVC of $375,000 to accelerate the development of space-related and space-adjacent startup companies based on Georgia Tech intellectual property.

Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization’s new Quadrant-i unit focuses on the commercialization of Georgia Tech intellectual property. In combination with Georgia Tech’s consistently top-ranked Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering and its newly formed interdisciplinary Space Research Institute (SRI), Quadrant-i is positioned to dramatically boost the output of space-related spin-offs into a burgeoning Atlanta startup ecosystem. A strategic gift from CreationsVC will support these efforts by creating a pilot program that provides funding for the startup projects of five CreationsVC Fellows per year for three years.

CreationsVC is a venture capital firm that specializes in investing in space tech, AI, and related technologies. CreationsVC sponsors Creation-Space, an Israeli-based global innovation hub that is fostering innovation to enable humanity’s expansion beyond Earth. Steve Braverman, who heads CreationsVC, said the gift is focused on "identifying innovative technologies that support research on life in space, combined with a focus on climate efficiency. This will help improve both expansion of space-centric industry as well as efforts that address challenges on Earth.” 

Braverman said he was attracted to Georgia Tech’s focus on entrepreneurship and its track record in aerospace innovation. “I am impressed with the depth and breadth of technical expertise and energized by the passionate commitment of faculty and students to see their innovations have real-world impact. This gift is intended to supercharge efforts over the next three years to launch several startups that can grow quickly and have impact in Atlanta and Israel.”

Quadrant-i has worked closely with the SRI in its formation and made space commercialization an important and embedded pillar of the new activity. “We are thrilled to work with Steve and the CreationsVC team in identifying and accelerating nascent technologies that will have dual-use value propositions in space, climate, and AI applications,” said Quadrant-i’s director Jonathan Goldman. “We have a fantastic well of innovation from our faculty and graduate students and an amazing fountain of entrepreneurial talent from our CREATE-X program for our undergrads. We are excited to see this relationship blossom.” 

Georgia Tech’s Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) helped transform The Chai Box—a family‑run business born in Marietta—into a nationally recognized brand by guiding them through rigorous food safety audits for retailers like Costco, streamlining production, and boosting their revenue by 20 %. This collaboration not only enabled larger scale success and a feature in Forbes, but vividly illustrated how applied research can turn cultural legacy into commercial opportunities.
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Georgia Tech’s Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) helped transform The Chai Box—a family‑run business born in Marietta—into a nationally recognized brand by guiding them through rigorous food safety audits for retailers like Costco, streamlining production, and boosting their revenue by 20 %. This collaboration not only enabled larger scale success and a feature in Forbes, but vividly illustrated how applied research can turn cultural legacy into commercial opportunities.
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What does the future look like? On Aug. 28, from 5 – 7 p.m., more than 1,500 attendees will gather at Georgia Tech’s Exhibition Hall to find out at Demo Day, where CREATE-X will showcase over 100 startups coming out of Georgia Tech. Tickets are free but limited — early registration is strongly encouraged. 

At Demo Day, founders bring solutions that tackle some of today’s most urgent challenges across industries. Expect to see startups tackling global challenges with bold new solutions, such as: providing mRNA therapies that could transform vaccine access, using ultra-efficient AI chips that run on a fraction of the power, and building innovative inspection tools that are already helping companies like Tesla catch defects in seconds. Demo Day provides attendees an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with new products, meet the founders behind them, and experience the momentum of a startup ecosystem in full swing.

Donnie Beamer, the City of Atlanta’s senior technology advisor, attended the last Demo Day and spoke about moments that impressed him most.

“The founders of NeuroChamp had a headband that reads brainwaves. It makes me call into question what I was doing in college!” Beamer said.

Founders showcasing at Demo Day have spent 12 weeks working on their startups during the CREATE-X accelerator, Startup Launch.

“Every founder in that room will have spent the summer chasing the right problem and building a solution to solve it,” Rahul Saxena, director of CREATE-X, said. “Demo Day is proof that entrepreneurship can be taught and developed, from ideation to customer discovery.”

Beamer said that the program pushes people to be creative.

 “Georgia Tech is a safe place to try and fail and innovate, which is invaluable. Instead of just telling students to do X and expecting them to execute on it, CREATE-X allows for creativity and discovery,” Beamer said. “That can be transformative for students, the Institute, and the city of Atlanta.” 

Unlike other startup exhibitions, there are no on-stage pitches — just direct connection in a casual, interactive format. Attendees and investors can test the tech out themselves. Past Demo Days have led to venture funding, strategic partnerships, media coverage, and more. It’s an energetic atmosphere with the exchange of ideas, an opening of doors, and a community building the future together. 

“There are a few kinds of naysayers; for example, some who think Atlanta doesn’t have much entrepreneurial activity and others who feel isolated from communities like this one,” Beamer said. “Demo Day lets them look behind the curtain and see the vibrant, innovative ecosystem that they can be a part of in our city as we look to become a top-five tech hub in the nation. Georgia Tech is a huge part of that.” 

Register for Demo Day today! The future is waiting for you to discover it.

Epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease — as a Jim Pope Fellow, Adam McCallum is dedicated to helping students search for solutions to these and other devastating diseases. McCallum is a translational research advocate in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, currently ranked No. 2 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. He hopes to accelerate the commercialization of the most promising biotech advances.  

When McCallum learned about the Jim Pope Fellowship, he saw it as a tremendous opportunity. “Biomedical engineering research has so much potential to be translated into products and solutions that tackle unmet clinical needs, that could be shaped to enhance society in general,” he says. “It’s a collaboration between biology, medicine, and engineering. The Pope Fellowship is a unique opportunity to explore new projects dedicated to entrepreneurship.” 

McCallum is one of five faculty members to receive the Jim Pope Fellowship, which supports faculty in becoming entrepreneurial instructors and mentors in CREATE-X. He hopes to leverage this fellowship to instill entrepreneurial confidence in biomedical engineering graduate students and faculty and help them translate their research into IP and healthcare-focused products to be used in and out of the clinic.

Since being named a fellow, McCallum has applied the funding to attend conferences to learn more about new methods for teaching commercialization and entrepreneurship, develop programming to enhance the student experience, increase student understanding and interest in entrepreneurship, and explore creative new projects he has envisioned while at Georgia Tech.

Establishing a New Commercialization Course

Beginning in the fall, he will teach a new course, Fundamentals of Biotechnology Commercialization, targeting BME graduate students. McCallum developed the curriculum, which begins with an overview of technology commercialization and the commercialization process, followed by modules on IP — how to protect one’s inventions; financing, with a focus on early-stage commercialization funding opportunities; and choosing a commercialization path.

“In the second part of the course, students will simulate a patent filing,” says McCallum. “It’s a really important step in the commercialization process. In future iterations of the course, I would love to have students file real disclosures and provisional patent applications with our Tech Transfer Office and have a licensing associate talk to them about managing the IP.”

BME Innovations Pivotal to Georgia Tech’s IP Ecosystem

McCallum sees Georgia Tech BME researchers as an important driver of innovation, and the Institute’s patent track record reflects their critical role: More than 21% of U.S.-issued patents to Georgia Tech have at least one BME inventor listed, according to the Office of Commercialization. 

In the past year, he has already seen the value of infusing an entrepreneurial spirit into his curriculum. Annabelle Singer (BME) and Levi Wood (ME) were mentored by McCallum while they were developing an audiovisual device to help stimulate brain activity in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. Through this mentorship, Singer and Wood recognized possible use cases and commercialization pathways for their technology.

“Their device has potential applications in a wide range of other neurological conditions — to lessen the impact of these disorders on people in their everyday life,” says McCallum, adding, “I’m excited about Georgia Tech and Emory’s commitment to developing programs to enhance neuroscience and neural engineering research. There’s so much potential in that space, especially for being able to significantly impact diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease, as well as strokes and epilepsy. We are moving in the right direction with being able to improve the efficacy of the modalities to diagnose and treat these conditions.”

According to McCallum, his close connection to CREATE-X has given him a unique opportunity to see the impact of the program on the entrepreneurial endeavors of students and even faculty members. 

“Previous fellows have been very successful with developing new educational programs and courses, as well as creating new spaces to spawn innovation, to instill entrepreneurial confidence in undergraduate students, and I want to use those successes as inspiration to make an impact on graduate student entrepreneurial confidence in BME, with much more to come,” he said.

As one of President Ángel Cabrera's four Big Bets, the drive for entrepreneurial education and opportunities has accelerated at Georgia Tech. In 2023, over a third of all Georgia Tech applicants selected entrepreneurship as an interest. Pope Fellows have a unique opportunity to help students tap into entrepreneurial pathways with CREATE-X, access an abundance of resources, and solve real-world problems. For faculty interested in joining, applications are open for the 2025 Jim Pope Fellowship until Sept. 2. For more information, visit https://create-x.gatech.edu/faculty/jim-pope-fellowship.

The CREATE-X program at Georgia Tech has been honored with the 2025 ABET Innovation Award, recognizing its groundbreaking impact on technical education and student entrepreneurship. Since its founding in 2014, CREATE-X has helped over 4,000 students launch more than 650 startups, collectively valued at over $2.4 billion. The program’s unique model emphasizes experiential learning, problem definition, and cross-disciplinary collaboration through courses like Startup Lab and Capstone Design. This award highlights CREATE-X’s role as a national leader in entrepreneurial education and its growing influence beyond Georgia Tech.

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Georgia Tech has posted its strongest year ever in research commercialization, breaking multiple records for invention disclosures, issued patents, and licensed technologies — clear indicators of the Institute’s expanding role in delivering research-driven innovation to the marketplace.

“Invention is only the beginning. What sets Georgia Tech apart is our ability to move our ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace, where they can make a tangible impact on human life and contribute to our economy,” said Ángel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech. “This year’s record results show that our researchers aren’t just pushing the boundaries of knowledge — they’re creating marketable solutions with the power to improve everyday lives.”

For fiscal year 2025, Georgia Tech reported:

• More than 460 new invention disclosures — a 30% increase over the previous year and the highest ever recorded by the Institute.
  • 70 invention disclosures for the Georgia Tech Research Institute, marking a 70% increase year over year.
• A 210% increase in technologies licensed, and 140% in total licenses executed, reflecting unprecedented industry interest, with 65 licenses in total.  
• 124 U.S. patents were issued, representing a 20% increase compared to the prior year.
  • According to the most recent rankings from the National Academy of Inventors, Georgia Tech is in the top 15 public universities for U.S. utility patents filed.

This momentum strengthens Atlanta’s position as one of the nation’s fastest-growing innovation economies. Georgia Tech plays a leading role in advancing the region’s ambition to become a top 5 tech hub by connecting world-class research with industry, supporting a thriving startup ecosystem, and fueling talent pipelines that serve emerging sectors like AI, cybersecurity, and clean energy.  

Omer Inan, a Georgia Tech researcher and faculty member, has launched multiple companies with the support of the Institute’s commercialization resources. Cardiosense is a medical AI company that leverages sensors to provide better management of cardiovascular disease. Having just achieved FDA 501(k) clearance, its latest device — CardioTag — is the first multimodal, wearable sensor that simultaneously captures three cardio signals to provide noninvasive solutions for heart health.  

"The med tech research I conduct at Georgia Tech delivers new technologies to keep patients with heart failure out of the hospital and enables them to monitor their health status at home,” said Inan. “Now, we are commercializing the technology our lab helped develop, so that this dream of improving the quality of care and life for millions of Americans with heart failure can one day become reality."

“As we look to solidify Georgia Tech’s status as a national innovation hub, we are moving research into the marketplace so it can truly make a difference in people’s lives,” said Raghupathy “Siva” Sivakumar, vice president of Commercialization and chief commercialization officer at Georgia Tech. “We are at a pivotal moment to put Atlanta on the map as a leader in research commercialization and have an opportunity to capitalize on our $1.4 billion in research expenditures that drive meaningful inventions, IP, and industry partnerships.”  

To learn more about the licensing and commercialization process at Georgia Tech, visit licensing.research.gatech.edu.

Available for Media Interviews

Raghupathy "Siva" Sivakumar 
Vice President of Commercialization and 
Chief Commercialization Officer 
Georgia Tech

Omer Inan 
Professor and Regents’ Entrepreneur  
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech

Media Contact: 
Lauren Schiffman       
PressFriendly   
lauren@pressfriendly.com  

Angela Barajas Prendiville   
Director of Media Relations    
Georgia Institute of Technology   
aprendiville@gatech.edu  

 

Candace Washington never thought she’d one day run her own business or teach the next generation of project management leaders in construction and engineering. But that’s exactly what she’s doing thanks to Georgia Tech. 

In 2012, Washington, a seasoned construction veteran with 25 years of expertise and a master’s degree in building construction from Georgia Tech, noticed a shortage of project managers. She oversaw capital improvements and construction buildouts nationally and was consistently getting asked by clients to oversee the construction buildouts. This would spark the idea to start her business and launch Cancave Management & Engineering. 

Over the next decade, Washington built a successful company and yet she continued to see this recurring shortage of project managers. According to Associated Builders and Contractors, the construction sector still grapples with a significant talent shortage that extends beyond the skilled trades to include construction management positions, with a projected need for nearly half a million additional workers in 2025 alone.

“We have fewer people entering the industry. With the pandemic, we had a great exodus where a lot of people decided to get out of the industry and retire early, and then you have the emerging housing market and infrastructure needs, creating demand for construction in general — the perfect storm,” Washington said.

Determined to find more ways to address the problem, she joined Georgia Tech’s School of Building Construction as a part-time instructor and, in 2024, began pursuing her Ph.D. at Tech, where she learned about the Jim Pope Fellowship.

“Being a Pope Fellow has been transformational to my experience as an entrepreneur,” Washington said. “When I started my company, I wish I had something like this. Through this fellowship, I was able to dig deeper into my idea, validate assumptions, and shape it into a solution that addresses the pain points of labor shortages and compliance bottlenecks in the underutilization or over-utilization of resources.” 

As a fellow, Washington was also awarded $15,000 in discretionary funds to support her teaching and entrepreneurial efforts. With the resources from Jim Pope, Washington has been able to make meaningful impacts for students and her company. 

Over the last year, she has worked on the next evolution of her business by building Extend the Ladder®,  a workforce resource and compliance platform built around an industrywide shared resource model for construction professionals. One application of her platform would allow general contractors to share resources by enabling them to find and coordinate talent from a single database.

In addition to helping her pursue a construction job-matching platform, the fellowship has reinforced her love of teaching and mentoring entrepreneurial-minded students. As a part of the fellowship, Washington taught CREATE-X’s Startup Lab, which teaches the fundamentals of evidence-based entrepreneurship.

One student, Vivianne Akerman, a rising junior in industrial engineering, became Washington’s mentee after her spring Startup Lab class. Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Akerman decided to continue her entrepreneurial journey in CREATE-X’s Idea-to-Prototype (I2P) course. She turned an idea into action with guidance from Washington, building a solution for a problem she identified during Startup Lab.

“Candace is an amazing mentor who pushes students to be their best selves,” said Akerman, who is developing a makeup platform designed “to make makeup practical and less overwhelming.” The platform will enable consumers to compare and review products and ultimately find what brands work best for them, given their skin type and desired look.

“I love how positive she is,” adds Akerman. “This is new for me — it’s very exciting but also very overwhelming. She helps me stay focused on my priorities and what’s most important.”

Washington emphasizes that there is no guidebook to becoming an entrepreneur; rather, the path must be discovered through conversations, relationship-building, and learning from the experiences of others.

“This experience deepened my appreciation for the spirit of entrepreneurship — it’s been invaluable for me,” she says. “I would tell anybody who's trying to start a business, you need to go through this process.”

Now, as a mentor herself, Washington credits her fellowship in CREATE-X for giving her the confidence and framework to help others. And she credits her path as a mentor and teacher of entrepreneurship to the home she’s found at Georgia Tech. 

Drawing from her own experiences, both the challenges and the triumphs, she offers a piece of advice that she believes aspiring entrepreneurs should carry with them. 

“Start now — you don’t need all the answers. Focus on the process, stay committed, and be open to real-world feedback.”

Applications are now open for the 2025 Jim Pope Fellowship until Sept. 2. Interested faculty can learn more at https://create-x.gatech.edu/faculty/jim-pope-fellowship.

Georgia Tech Co-hosts NAI Annual Conference in Atlanta; Two Professors Inducted as NAI Fellows

Georgia Tech, alongside Emory University, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Morehouse School of Medicine, proudly co-hosted the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 14th Annual Conference from June 23rd to 26th at Loews Hotel in Midtown Atlanta. The flagship event brought together top minds in innovation, with Georgia Tech playing a central role in both content and leadership.

As a host institution, Georgia Tech helped organize and lead plenaries, panels, and the welcome reception, all on the theme of “Forward Together: Innovating With Purpose.” The conference opened with a celebration of art’s influence on scientific discovery. Each host institution presented an artistic element, such as live music, visual art, or interactive showcases. These elements demonstrated their approach to the fusion of creativity and innovation. Georgia Tech’s Michael Dixon from the Central Commercialization Office, Mary Albertson from the Office of Technology Licensing, and Raghupathy “Siva” Sivakumar, Vice President of Commercialization and Chief Commercialization Officer, assisted in preparing conference panels and had speaking roles during the event. 

One notable moment at the NAI Conference was Georgia Tech’s recognition as an NAI Top 100 Worldwide University for granted U.S. utility patents in 2024. Georgia Tech Research Corporation ranks 28th with just over 100 patents. According to Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, FNAI, President of the National Academy of Inventors, “The Top 100 Worldwide list showcases the vital role U.S. patents play in moving technologies from bench to marketplace at academic institutions around the globe.”

NAI also recognized its 2024 Class of Fellows, the highest professional distinction awarded exclusively to inventors. The latest cohort comprises 170 inventors from research universities, governmental and non-profit research institutions around the world, including two professors from Georgia Tech: Larry Heck and Younan Xia. 

Heck holds a joint appointment in the Schools of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Interactive Computing and serves as executive director of the Machine Learning Center. As an industry leader, he co-created Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant, headed Samsung Bixby North America, and led artificial intelligence at Google and Viv Labs. Heck is an IEEE Fellow, holds more than 50 patents, and has amassed nearly 11,000 citations. 

Xia holds the Brock Family Chair and is recognized as a Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Eminent Scholar in Nanomedicine within the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. And, he has joint appointments in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Xia is the co-inventor of soft lithography, a set of techniques used to create tiny patterns on surfaces, often for manufacturing microchips, sensors, or medical devices. He also made breakthroughs in silver nanowires and gold nanocages with applications in flexible electronics, catalysis, and cancer theranostics. As a globally recognized researcher, Xia has authored around 900 publications, garnered 200,000 citations, holds more than 65 U.S. patents, and has received national and international awards.

Since its founding in 2012, the NAI Fellows program has recognized 22 researchers and inventors from Georgia Tech, including 12 in the last five years.

This year’s NAI Conference theme, “Forward Together: Innovating with Purpose,” focused on how inventors and institutions can collaborate to achieve technological breakthroughs and innovation that create a positive, lasting impact in the world. Georgia Tech leadership provided organizational support and event coordination for the conference. They also participated in panel discussions on topics such as how universities navigate innovation, funding, and faculty support in today's rapidly evolving environment. 

Representatives from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and other government departments also participated in the event. 

Through the Central Commercialization Office, Office of Technology Licensing, and other strategic guidance, Georgia Tech is committed to supporting innovation, commercialization, and helping inventors secure patents for their ideas. The Institute is ranked in the top 100 of patents issued globally. By co-hosting high-impact national conferences, Georgia Tech continues to solidify its position as a leader in technology and its impact on entrepreneurship. Discover how the Institute is transforming research into real-world applications at commercialization.gatech.edu.

 

Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization is a cornerstone in turning the Institute’s leading-edge research into real-world applications and championing student entrepreneurial pursuits. It comprises four key units: CREATE-X, VentureLab, Quadrant-i, and Technology Licensing. These units empower students and faculty to launch startups, manage intellectual property, and transform research ideas into positive societal impact. Our mission is to accelerate innovation and improve the human condition, solidifying Georgia Tech’s leadership in technology and entrepreneurship.

 

Georgia Tech has launched two new Interdisciplinary Research Institutes (IRIs): The Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS) and the Space Research Institute (SRI). 

The new institutes focus on expanding breakthroughs in neuroscience and space, two areas where research and federal funding are anticipated to remain strong. Both fields are poised to influence research in everything from healthcare and ethics to exploration and innovation. This expansion of Georgia Tech’s research enterprise represents the Institute’s commitment to research that will shape the future.

“At Georgia Tech, innovation flourishes where disciplines converge. With the launch of the Space Research Institute and the Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society, we’re uniting experts across fields to take on some of humanity’s most profound questions. Even as we are tightening our belts in anticipation of potential federal R&D budget actions, we also are investing in areas where non-federal funding sources will grow and where big impacts are possible,” said Executive Vice President for Research Tim Lieuwen. "These institutes are about advancing knowledge — and using it to improve lives, inspire future generations, and help shape a better future for us all.”

Both INNS and SRI grew out of faculty-led initiatives shaped by a strategic planning process and campus-wide collaboration. Their evolution into formal institutes underscores the strength and momentum of Georgia Tech’s interdisciplinary research enterprise. 

Georgia Tech’s 11 IRIs support collaboration between researchers and students across the Institute’s seven colleges, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), national laboratories, and corporate entities to tackle critical topics of strategic significance for the Institute as well as for local, state, national, and international communities.

"IRIs bring together Georgia Tech researchers making them more competitive and successful in solving research challenges, especially across disciplinary boundaries,” said Julia Kubanek, vice president of interdisciplinary research. “We're making these new investments in neuro- and space-related fields to publicly showcase impactful discoveries and developments led by Georgia Tech faculty, attract new partners and collaborators, and pursue alternative funding strategies at a time of federal funding uncertainty."

The Space Research Institute

The Space Research Institute will connect faculty, students, and staff who share a passion for space exploration and discovery. They will investigate a wide variety of space-related topics, exploring how space influences and intersects with the human experience. The SRI fosters a collaborative community including scientific, engineering, cultural, and commercial research that pursues broadly integrated, innovative projects.

 

SRI is the hub for all things space-related at Georgia Tech. It connects the Institute’s schools, colleges, research institutes, and labs to lead conversations about space in the state of Georgia and the world. Working in partnership with academics, business partners, philanthropists, students, and governments, Georgia Tech is committed to staying at the forefront of space-related innovation.   

 

The SRI will build upon the collaborative work of the Space Research Initiative, the first step in formalizing Georgia Tech’s broad interdisciplinary space research community. The Initiative brought together researchers from across campus and was guided by input from Georgia Tech stakeholders and external partners. It was led by an executive committee including Glenn Lightsey, John W. Young Chair Professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering; Mariel Borowitz, associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs; and Jennifer Glass, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Beginning July 1, W. Jud Ready, a principal research engineer in GTRI’s Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory, will serve as the inaugural executive director of the Space Research Institute.

To receive the latest updates on space research and innovation at Georgia Tech, join the SRI mailing list. 

The Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society

The Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS) is dedicated to advancing neuroscience and neurotechnology to improve society through discovery, innovation, and engagement. INNS brings together researchers from neuroscience, engineering, computing, ethics, public policy, and the humanities to explore the brain and nervous system while addressing the societal and ethical dimensions of neuro-related research.

INNS builds on a foundation established over a decade ago, which first led to the GT-Neuro Initiative and later evolved into the Neuro Next Initiative. Over the past two years, this effort has culminated in the development of a comprehensive plan for an IRI, guided by an executive committee composed of faculty and staff from across Georgia Tech. The committee included Simon Sponberg, Dunn Family Associate Professor in the School of Physics and the School of Biological Sciences; Christopher Rozell, Julian T. Hightower Chaired Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Jennifer Singh, associate professor in the School of History and Sociology; and Sarah Peterson, Neuro Next Initiative program manager. Their leadership shaped the vision for a research community both scientifically ambitious and socially responsive.

INNS will serve as a dynamic hub for interdisciplinary collaboration across the full spectrum of brain-related research — from biological foundations to behavior and cognition, and from fundamental research to medical innovations that advance human flourishing. Research areas will encompass the foundations of human intelligence and movement, bio-inspired design and neurotechnology development, and the ethical dimensions of a neuro-connected future. 

By integrating technical innovation with human-centered inquiry, INNS is committed to ensuring that advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology are developed and applied ethically and responsibly. Through fostering innovation, cultivating interdisciplinary expertise, and engaging with the public, the institute seeks to shape a future where advancements in neuroscience and neurotechnology serve the greater good. INNS also aims to deepen Georgia Tech’s collaborations with clinical, academic, and industry partners, creating new pathways for translational research and real-world impact.

An internal search for INNS’s inaugural executive director is in the final stages, with an announcement expected soon.

Join our mailing list to receive the latest updates on everything neuro at Georgia Tech.