Aug. 20, 2025
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.
News Contact
Breanna Durham
Marketing Strategist
Jul. 16, 2025
Georgia Tech is also a host to the PACE Hive Gateway supercomputer (above). Nexus will use AI to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Georgia Tech and its partners $20 million to build a powerful new supercomputer that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.
Called Nexus, the system will be one of the most advanced AI-focused research tools in the U.S. Nexus will help scientists tackle urgent challenges such as developing new medicines, advancing clean energy, understanding how the brain works, and driving manufacturing innovations.
“Georgia Tech is proud to be one of the nation’s leading sources of the AI talent and technologies that are powering a revolution in our economy,” said Ángel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech. “It’s fitting we’ve been selected to host this new supercomputer, which will support a new wave of AI-centered innovation across the nation. We’re grateful to the NSF, and we are excited to get to work.”
Designed from the ground up for AI, Nexus will give researchers across the country access to advanced computing tools through a simple, user-friendly interface. It will support work in many fields, including climate science, health, aerospace, and robotics.
“The Nexus system's novel approach combining support for persistent scientific services with more traditional high-performance computing will enable new science and AI workflows that will accelerate the time to scientific discovery,” said Katie Antypas, National Science Foundation director of the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure. “We look forward to adding Nexus to NSF's portfolio of advanced computing capabilities for the research community.”
Nexus Supercomputer — In Simple Terms
- Built for the future of science: Nexus is designed to power the most demanding AI research — from curing diseases, to understanding how the brain works, to engineering quantum materials.
- Blazing fast: Nexus can crank out over 400 quadrillion operations per second — the equivalent of everyone in the world continuously performing 50 million calculations every second.
- Massive brain plus memory: Nexus combines the power of AI and high-performance computing with 330 trillion bytes of memory to handle complex problems and giant datasets.
- Storage: Nexus will feature 10 quadrillion bytes of flash storage, equivalent to about 10 billion reams of paper. Stacked, that’s a column reaching 500,000 km high — enough to stretch from Earth to the moon and a third of the way back.
- Supercharged connections: Nexus will have lightning-fast connections to move data almost instantaneously, so researchers do not waste time waiting.
- Open to U.S. researchers: Scientists from any U.S. institution can apply to use Nexus.
Why Now?
AI is rapidly changing how science is investigated. Researchers use AI to analyze massive datasets, model complex systems, and test ideas faster than ever before. But these tools require powerful computing resources that — until now — have been inaccessible to many institutions.
This is where Nexus comes in. It will make state-of-the-art AI infrastructure available to scientists all across the country, not just those at top tech hubs.
“This supercomputer will help level the playing field,” said Suresh Marru, principal investigator of the Nexus project and director of Georgia Tech’s new Center for AI in Science and Engineering (ARTISAN). “It’s designed to make powerful AI tools easier to use and available to more researchers in more places.”
Srinivas Aluru, Regents’ Professor and senior associate dean in the College of Computing, said, “With Nexus, Georgia Tech joins the league of academic supercomputing centers. This is the culmination of years of planning, including building the state-of-the-art CODA data center and Nexus’ precursor supercomputer project, HIVE."
Like Nexus, HIVE was supported by NSF funding. Both Nexus and HIVE are supported by a partnership between Georgia Tech’s research and information technology units.
A National Collaboration
Georgia Tech is building Nexus in partnership with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which runs several of the country’s top academic supercomputers. The two institutions will link their systems through a new high-speed network, creating a national research infrastructure.
“Nexus is more than a supercomputer — it’s a symbol of what’s possible when leading institutions work together to advance science,” said Charles Isbell, chancellor of the University of Illinois and former dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing. “I'm proud that my two academic homes have partnered on this project that will move science, and society, forward.”
What’s Next
Georgia Tech will begin building Nexus this year, with its expected completion in spring 2026. Once Nexus is finished, researchers can apply for access through an NSF review process. Georgia Tech will manage the system, provide support, and reserve up to 10% of its capacity for its own campus research.
“This is a big step for Georgia Tech and for the scientific community,” said Vivek Sarkar, the John P. Imlay Dean of Computing. “Nexus will help researchers make faster progress on today’s toughest problems — and open the door to discoveries we haven’t even imagined yet.”
News Contact
Siobhan Rodriguez
Senior Media Relations Representative
Institute Communications
Jul. 15, 2025
Georgia Tech is also a host to the PACE Hive Gateway supercomputer (above). Nexus will use AI to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Georgia Tech and its partners $20 million to build a powerful new supercomputer that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.
Called Nexus, the system will be one of the most advanced AI-focused research tools in the U.S. Nexus will help scientists tackle urgent challenges such as developing new medicines, advancing clean energy, understanding how the brain works, and driving manufacturing innovations.
“Georgia Tech is proud to be one of the nation’s leading sources of the AI talent and technologies that are powering a revolution in our economy,” said Ángel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech. “It’s fitting we’ve been selected to host this new supercomputer, which will support a new wave of AI-centered innovation across the nation. We’re grateful to the NSF, and we are excited to get to work.”
Designed from the ground up for AI, Nexus will give researchers across the country access to advanced computing tools through a simple, user-friendly interface. It will support work in many fields, including climate science, health, aerospace, and robotics.
“The Nexus system's novel approach combining support for persistent scientific services with more traditional high-performance computing will enable new science and AI workflows that will accelerate the time to scientific discovery,” said Katie Antypas, National Science Foundation director of the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure. “We look forward to adding Nexus to NSF's portfolio of advanced computing capabilities for the research community.”
Nexus Supercomputer — In Simple Terms
- Built for the future of science: Nexus is designed to power the most demanding AI research — from curing diseases, to understanding how the brain works, to engineering quantum materials.
- Blazing fast: Nexus can crank out over 400 quadrillion operations per second — the equivalent of everyone in the world continuously performing 50 million calculations every second.
- Massive brain plus memory: Nexus combines the power of AI and high-performance computing with 330 trillion bytes of memory to handle complex problems and giant datasets.
- Storage: Nexus will feature 10 quadrillion bytes of flash storage, equivalent to about 10 billion reams of paper. Stacked, that’s a column reaching 500,000 km high — enough to stretch from Earth to the moon and a third of the way back.
- Supercharged connections: Nexus will have lightning-fast connections to move data almost instantaneously, so researchers do not waste time waiting.
- Open to U.S. researchers: Scientists from any U.S. institution can apply to use Nexus.
Why Now?
AI is rapidly changing how science is investigated. Researchers use AI to analyze massive datasets, model complex systems, and test ideas faster than ever before. But these tools require powerful computing resources that — until now — have been inaccessible to many institutions.
This is where Nexus comes in. It will make state-of-the-art AI infrastructure available to scientists all across the country, not just those at top tech hubs.
“This supercomputer will help level the playing field,” said Suresh Marru, principal investigator of the Nexus project and director of Georgia Tech’s new Center for AI in Science and Engineering (ARTISAN). “It’s designed to make powerful AI tools easier to use and available to more researchers in more places.”
Srinivas Aluru, Regents’ Professor and senior associate dean in the College of Computing, said, “With Nexus, Georgia Tech joins the league of academic supercomputing centers. This is the culmination of years of planning, including building the state-of-the-art CODA data center and Nexus’ precursor supercomputer project, HIVE."
Like Nexus, HIVE was supported by NSF funding. Both Nexus and HIVE are supported by a partnership between Georgia Tech’s research and information technology units.
A National Collaboration
Georgia Tech is building Nexus in partnership with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which runs several of the country’s top academic supercomputers. The two institutions will link their systems through a new high-speed network, creating a national research infrastructure.
“Nexus is more than a supercomputer — it’s a symbol of what’s possible when leading institutions work together to advance science,” said Charles Isbell, chancellor of the University of Illinois and former dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing. “I'm proud that my two academic homes have partnered on this project that will move science, and society, forward.”
What’s Next
Georgia Tech will begin building Nexus this year, with its expected completion in spring 2026. Once Nexus is finished, researchers can apply for access through an NSF review process. Georgia Tech will manage the system, provide support, and reserve up to 10% of its capacity for its own campus research.
“This is a big step for Georgia Tech and for the scientific community,” said Vivek Sarkar, the John P. Imlay Dean of Computing. “Nexus will help researchers make faster progress on today’s toughest problems — and open the door to discoveries we haven’t even imagined yet.”
News Contact
Siobhan Rodriguez
Senior Media Relations Representative
Institute Communications
Jun. 25, 2025
More than half a century after the United States won the race to the moon, the White House is setting its sights on a new frontier: Mars. In a move reminiscent of the Apollo era, the administration has proposed landing Americans on the red planet by the end of 2026 — a bold initiative that has reignited national ambition and drawn comparisons to the space race of the 20th century.
At Georgia Tech, researchers are already considering the mission’s implications, from engineering challenges to international diplomacy. While the White House has framed the mission as a demonstration of American leadership, experts say its success will depend on collaboration — across disciplines, sectors, and borders.
“This is more than a space race,” said Christos Athanasiou, an assistant professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. “Mars isn’t just the next step for space exploration — it’s a stress test for everything we’ve learned about sustainability, resilience, and engineering under uncertainty.”
Engineering for the Red Planet
For Athanasiou, the Mars mission is a test of human ingenuity, creativity, and endurance. Unlike the moon, Mars is months away by spacecraft, with no quick return option. That distance introduces a host of engineering challenges that must be solved before a single boot touches Martian soil.
“Ensuring astronaut safety on such a long-duration mission requires us to understand how the Earth materials we will be using in our mission behave in extraterrestrial conditions,” he said.
In his recent TEDx talk, Athanasiou emphasized that the mission must also consider its environmental impact. Mars may be barren, but it is not immune to contamination. Athanasiou believes that strategies used for environmental remediation on Earth — such as waste recycling, habitat sustainability, and pollution control — can be adapted to protect the Martian environment.
“If we can build structures that survive Mars using recycled materials, AI, and Earth-born ingenuity, we’ll unlock entirely new ways to live — both out there and back here,” he said.
Reading the Martian Landscape
James Wray, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has spent years analyzing Mars’ surface using data from orbiters and rovers. He sees the planet as both a scientific treasure trove and a logistical puzzle.
“Mars has vast lava plains, dust storms, and steep canyons that pose real risks to human settlement,” Wray said.
But beneath the challenges lies opportunity. Mars is home to significant deposits of water ice, especially near the poles and just below the surface in some mid-latitude regions. That water could be used not only for drinking but also for producing oxygen and rocket fuel — critical resources for long-term habitation and return missions.
“The presence of water ice near the surface is a game changer. It could support life, and more importantly, it could support us,” Wray said.
He also noted that Mars’ thin atmosphere — just 1% the density of Earth’s — complicates everything from landing spacecraft to shielding astronauts from cosmic radiation. “We’ve learned a lot from robotic missions. Now it’s time to apply that knowledge to human exploration.”
Diplomacy Beyond Earth
Lincoln Hines, an assistant professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, says that the Mars mission could have significant diplomatic implications. “The Mars mission has little to no bearing on space security; it has no military value,” he said. However, he noted that international cooperation could still play a valuable role in reducing the financial burden of such a costly endeavor.
Hines warned that shifting U.S. priorities from the moon to Mars could strain the international partnerships built through the Artemis program. He explained that some countries may view the Mars initiative as a distraction from the more immediate and economically promising lunar goals. Political instability in the U.S., he added, could further erode trust in its long-term commitments. “Countries may lose faith that the United States is a reliable partner to cooperate with for its lunar program if Mars seems to be the new priority,” he said.
He also pointed to existing legal frameworks like the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits sovereign claims on celestial bodies, and the Rescue Agreement, which obliges nations to assist astronauts in distress. While these agreements provide a foundation, Hines emphasized that they don’t fully address the complexities of future Mars missions.
Establishing international norms for Mars exploration, he said, will be challenging. “Norms are really hard to develop,” Hines explained, noting that countries often hesitate to commit to rules without assurance that others will do the same. Still, he suggested that Mars — with its limited material value — might offer a rare opportunity for cooperation, if nations are willing to engage in good faith.
News Contact
Siobhan Rodriguez
Senior Media Relations Representative
Institute Communications
Jun. 25, 2025
For the third consecutive year, Georgia Tech has been named the best value public college by The Princeton Review.
The Institute earned the top spot in the public school rankings, based on 40 metrics that measure academics, affordability, and career outcomes, as well as survey data from administrators at over 650 schools.
Additionally, Tech ranked No. 1 for career placement.
The publication also surveys students, who praised Georgia Tech’s innovative and hands-on learning approach, which “leaves them well prepared to face the job market” after graduation. A similar opinion was shared by nearly 400 C-suite executives, whose feedback helped land Tech on the 2025 Forbes New Ivies list.
The Princeton Review’s rankings further showcase Georgia Tech’s strong return on investment. According to the most recent data from the Department of Education’s College Scorecard, the Institute ranks first among public universities when measuring ROI 15, 20, and 30 years after graduation.
Tech has maintained its position as a top-value school even in the midst of record levels of growth. In April, full-time enrollment reached 42,872, a 24.6% increase from the previous year, while total enrollment has surpassed 50,000.
News Contact
Steven Gagliano – Institute Communications
May. 30, 2025
CREATE-X, Georgia Tech’s premier entrepreneurship program, kicked off its 12th Startup Launch cohort this month with a record-breaking 137 student teams and 25 faculty and research teams — totaling 318 founders. The summer-long accelerator, known for turning ideas into real-world ventures, is once again positioning Georgia Tech as a national leader in invention and startup creation.
This year’s cohort spans a wide range of industries, including artificial intelligence, defense, healthcare, gaming, sustainability, media management, agriculture tech, fashion tech, education, and more.
“These founders are in the messy middle and that's a beautiful place to be. There’s a lot of freedom in that,” said Margaret Weniger, director of Startup Launch. “We’re all going to be in this together. It's a safe space to try new things. It’s OK if it doesn't work out because what we want founders to learn is an entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial spirit — something you take with you no matter what you do after this.”
Over the next 12 weeks, teams will validate ideas, build products, and acquire customers with the help of dedicated coaches, a robust founder community, and a network of mentors and alumni.
Raghupathy "Siva" Sivakumar, Georgia Tech’s inaugural vice president of Commercialization and the faculty founder of CREATE-X, spoke about the core of CREATE-X and what it would take for founders to succeed.
“Startup Launch is not about Georgia Tech gaining from your success. We are here just for one reason, which is to make you successful,” he said. “You need to hold yourself accountable. You need to be ambitious in terms of how big a problem you solve. You need to be emphatic that the customer matters. The successful teams are 100% behind what's going to make the lives of customers easier and better.”
In 2014, CREATE-X was co-founded by Sivakumar, Steve McLaughlin(who is now the president of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art), and other Georgia Tech faculty, including Ray Vito, Craig Forest, and Ravi Bellamkonda (who is now the executive vice president and provost of The Ohio State University). The program received its initial major philanthropic support from Chris Klaus, a Georgia Tech alumnus and tech entrepreneur, whose gift helped launch the initiative, and , played a key role in building out the program's maker courses. Over the years, CREATE-X has continued to grow, thanks largely to the philanthropic support of alumni and foundations who believe in its mission.
In the last decade, the program has produced over 650 startups, $2.4 billion in portfolio valuation, and had eight founders named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30. Wagner shared stories of past teams who pivoted dramatically — from a glucose-monitoring pillow to a sobriety app now valued at over $350 million, and from a camping gear delivery service to a billion-dollar logistics platform.
“We don’t know which ideas will become the next unicorns,” Weniger said. “But we’re betting on you.”
At the kickoff event, McLaughlin and Klaus were honored for their contributions to Georgia Tech’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. McLaughlin encouraged the founders through the story of CREATE-X.
“From the very beginning, we challenged CREATE-X to be a startup as well. To this day, CREATE-X has raised its own money to do this. It's a reminder of what it takes to make this happen,” he said. “This is the most difficult challenge you have ever taken. I think at the time, we were probably skeptical about whether students could do it. Now we know that you can.”
Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera reflected on the impact of McLaughlin, Klaus, and others who saw the vision of Georgia Tech being an entrepreneurial campus.
“Ten years ago, this was a crazy, absurd idea,” he said. “Now, 150 teams are working on their own crazy ideas. Even though sometimes there's this idea of the entrepreneur as a loner, what you learn very quickly is entrepreneurship is a team sport.”
Klaus spoke about people collaborating and helping solve problems together.
“I'm especially inspired by Georgia with its complex history,” he said. “It continues to be a place where peace can be envisioned and pursued. I think this recognition strengthens my commitment to building bridges, resolving conflict, and lifting up voices that seek unity. As you build your businesses, you'll be building collaborations and partnerships, and hopefully make the world a better place.”
As the summer progresses, founders will be guided by CREATE-X’s core values: experiential education, entrepreneurial confidence, and real-world impact. Weniger encouraged teams to “show up uncomfortable” and “leverage every single resource” available.
The journey will culminate at Demo Day, where teams will showcase their startups to investors, industry leaders, and the broader community. The event is free, open to the public, and promises a front-row seat to the next wave of Georgia Tech-born innovation.
Demo Day 2025 will take place on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 5 p.m., in the Exhibition Hall. For more information and to RSVP, visit the CREATE-X Demo Day Eventbrite.
News Contact
Breanna Durham
Marketing Strategist
Aug. 01, 2025
The College of Sciences is pleased to announce the launch of the AI4Science Center. The center will promote research and collaboration focused on using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques to address complex scientific challenges.
“AI and ML have the potential to revolutionize scientific discovery, but there is a clear need for foundational research centered on AI/ML methodologies and application to scientific problems,” says Dimitrios Psaltis, professor in the School of Physics.
Psaltis will co-lead the center with Molei Tao, professor in the School of Mathematics, and Audrey Sederberg, assistant professor in the School of Psychology.
The new center will combine expertise and resources from various disciplines to foster the creation of robust, reusable tools and methods that can be used across scientific domains. Specifically, the center will organize seminars and an annual conference in addition to providing seed funding for collaborative projects across units.
Nearly 40 faculty members from the College’s six schools have already agreed to participate in activities proposed by the center; additional faculty involvement is expected from across the Institute.
The center builds upon initiatives such as Tech AI, the Machine Learning Center, and the Institute for Data Engineering and Science, which seek to boost Georgia Tech’s leadership in cutting-edge, AI/ML-powered interdisciplinary research and education.
The College’s seed grant program will sponsor the center for three years, starting in fiscal year 2026. Created in 2024, this program funds new centers that seek to increase the College’s research impact and advance its strategic goal of excellence in research through a focus on novel interdisciplinary areas or discipline-specific topics of high impact. The AI4Science Center is the third initiative to be seeded by this program, following the funding of the Center for Sustainable and Decarbonized Critical Energy Mineral Solutions and the Center for Research and Education in Navigation in 2024.
“The AI4Science Center was selected for its approach, timeliness, organization, and strong support from all six of the College’s schools,” says Laura Cadonati, associate dean for Research and professor in the School of Physics. “Faculty enthusiasm about this initiative reflects the growing importance of AI/ML tools in research today and the desire for more interdisciplinary collaboration in this space at the College and beyond.”
News Contact
Writer: Lindsay C. Vidal
Apr. 14, 2025
Shreyes Melkote, the Morris M. Bryan, Jr. Professor for Advanced Manufacturing Systems, will serve as interim chair of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering beginning May 15.
Shreyes Melkote, the Morris M. Bryan, Jr. Professor for Advanced Manufacturing Systems, will serve as interim chair of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering beginning May 15.
He will assume the temporary role after Devesh Ranjan departs Georgia Tech to become dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“I am deeply appreciative of Shreyes’ willingness to step into this role during our search process," said Raheem Beyah, dean of the College of Engineering and Southern Company Chair. "This appointment reflects his exceptional leadership on campus. Shreyes’ achievements and dedication to Georgia Tech make him the ideal person to guide us through this transition period, and I look forward to continuing our collaboration in this new capacity."
Melkote has been a Woodruff School faculty member since in 1995. His research focuses on subtractive and hybrid manufacturing, industrial robotics for manufacturing, and application of artificial intelligence and machine learning methods for automated manufacturing process planning.
He was awarded Georgia Tech’s outstanding achievement in research engagement and outreach award in 2024. The annual honor is presented by the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research.
Melkote is the associate director for the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI), Georgia Tech's interdisciplinary research institute tackling the challenges facing manufacturers and helping to insure future global competitiveness. He also serves as executive director of the Novelis Innovation Hub.
“I am honored to serve the Woodruff School in an interim capacity. It is an opportunity to give back to the School and the Institute that have supported me in my professional growth during the past 30 years,” Melkote said. “I look forward to working with faculty, staff, and students until the next school chair is chosen to lead it.”
Melkote has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals and conference proceedings. His honors include the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) Milton C. Shaw Manufacturing Research Medal and the Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award. He also was awarded the Society of Manufacturing Engineer’s (SME) Gold Medal and Dell K. Allen Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award.
Melkote is an elected Fellow of ASME, SME, and CIRP, The International Academy for Production Engineering.
News Contact
Jason Maderer (maderer@gatech.edu)
Apr. 17, 2025
Laboratories are central to Georgia Tech’s mission of driving groundbreaking research, innovative discoveries, and life-saving technology. However, these labs are also significant consumers of resources. With nearly 900,000 square feet of campus lab space, labs use, on average, 10 times the electricity and four times the water of a typical classroom. They also produce most of the hazardous waste on campus. In 2023, Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) brought the issue to the attention of the Office of Sustainability, which led the charge in 2024 to launch a My Green Lab working group and sponsored three campus labs to work toward certification, including the School of Biological Sciences Instructional Labs, the Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience’s Molecular Evolution Core Facility, and the Takayama Lab.
My Green Lab is an international community of scientists dedicated to making laboratories more sustainable and resource-efficient. To achieve My Green Lab certification, each lab conducted an initial assessment to evaluate their current sustainability practices and identified areas of improvement, including waste, water, and electricity. Labs were encouraged to adopt measures such as defrosting and cleaning refrigerator coils, using timers for test equipment, and promoting best practices. Alicia Wood-Jones, Lab and Safety Officer for EH&S, was a key leader in the working group. Known for her work on the Chemical Reclamation Committee, Wood-Jones’ vision and drive are instrumental in finding innovative solutions to long-standing challenges in lab decommissioning.
She thanks her colleagues, including the EH&S Lab and Chemical Safety Team, “for their help and vision. We believe that even small steps forward can make a big difference here at Georgia Tech. I am so appreciative to all involved. I look forward to future collaborations with lab members on campus.”
Katherine Nguyen and her team in the Takayama Lab construct multicellular models and dissect cell signaling pathways to understand disease physiology. While pursuing this research, the lab team activated measures to responsibly manage their lab resources, such as recycling in the lab, keeping centrifuges at room temperature when not needed, and consolidating orders.
“I’m incredibly happy and proud to have been a part of this program and appreciate everyone’s hard work to try to make Georgia Tech a more sustainable campus,” she said. “Our lab was the first academic lab at Georgia Tech to get certified. Sometimes, graduate students want to be greener, but don’t know how to or feel like we have the power to. My Green Lab helped identify feasible options for labs to reduce their waste. Even if labs couldn’t make every single change, any improvement is a positive change.”
Sustainability efforts at the Molecular Evolution Core Laboratory are led by Anton Bryksin, Shweta Biliya, and Adam Fallah. The lab is pioneering Tip-Cycle, a program that sterilizes and recycles pipettes for reuse. This lab also monitors campus blackwater for diseases such as Covid-19, using thousands of pipettes in their work. Faced with resource constraints during the pandemic, these researchers developed innovative solutions to maximize resource efficiency. “We’ve always wanted to make our lab practices more sustainable, but weren’t sure where to start. My Green Lab gave us the tools and guidance to turn that intention into action. This certification represents the dedication of our entire team to create a more sustainable environment,” said Biliya, a Georgia Tech research scientist.
The My Green Lab initiative offers an approach for transforming campus labs into more efficient spaces while producing less hazardous waste. By prioritizing sustainability in our labs, Georgia Tech can have both a global reputation for research and responsible resource management.
Visit the Office of Sustainability for more information on My Green Lab.
News Contact
Cathy Brim
Communications Officer II
Institute Communications / Infrastructure and Sustainability
or
Drew Cutright
Director of Sustainability Engagement
Office of Sustainability
Apr. 02, 2025
Kinaxis, a global leader in supply chain orchestration, and the NSF AI Institute for Advances in Optimization (AI4OPT) at Georgia Tech today announced a new co-innovation partnership. This partnership will focus on developing scalable artificial intelligence (AI) and optimization solutions to address the growing complexity of global supply chains. AI4OPT operates under Tech AI, Georgia Tech’s AI hub, bringing together interdisciplinary expertise to advance real-world AI applications.
This particular collaboration builds on a multi-year relationship between Kinaxis and Georgia Tech, strengthening their shared commitment to turn academic innovation into real-world supply chain impact. The collaboration will span joint research, real-world applications, thought leadership, guest lectures, and student internships.
“In collaboration with AI4OPT, Kinaxis is exploring how the fusion of machine learning and optimization may bring a step change in capabilities for the next generation of supply chain management systems,” said Pascal Van Hentenryck, the A. Russell Chandler III Chair and professor at Georgia Tech, and director of AI4OPT and Tech AI at Georgia Tech.
Kinaxis’ AI-infused supply chain orchestration platform, Maestro™, combines proprietary technologies and techniques to deliver real-time transparency, agility, and decision-making across the entire supply chain — from multi-year strategic orchestration to last-mile delivery. As global supply chains face increasing disruptions from tariffs, pandemics, extreme weather, and geopolitical events, the Kinaxis–AI4OPT partnership will focus on developing AI-driven strategies to enhance companies’ responsiveness and resilience.
“At Kinaxis, we recognize the vital role that academic research plays in shaping the future of supply chain orchestration,” said Chief Technology Officer Gelu Ticala. “By partnering with world-class institutions like Georgia Tech, we’re closing the gap between AI innovation and implementation, bringing cutting-edge ideas into practice to solve the industry’s most pressing challenges.”
With more than 40 years of supply chain leadership, Kinaxis supports some of the world’s most complex industries, including high-tech, life sciences, industrial, mobility, consumer products, chemical, and oil and gas. Its customers include Unilever, P&G, Ford, Subaru, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Ipsen, and Santen.
About Kinaxis
Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain orchestration, powering complex global supply chains and supporting the people who manage them, in service of humanity. Our powerful, AI-infused supply chain orchestration platform, Maestro™, combines proprietary technologies and techniques that provide full transparency and agility across the entire supply chain — from multi-year strategic planning to last-mile delivery. We are trusted by renowned global brands to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
About AI4OPT
The NSF AI Institute for Advances in Optimization (AI4OPT) is one of the 27 National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes set up by the National Science Foundation to conduct use-inspired research and realize the potential of AI. The AI Institute for Advances in Optimization (AI4OPT) is focused on AI for Engineering and is conducting cutting-edge research at the intersection of learning, optimization, and generative AI to transform decision making at massive scales, driven by applications in supply chains, energy systems, chip design and manufacturing, and sustainable food systems. AI4OPT brings together over 80 faculty and students from Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, University of Southern California, UC San Diego, Clark Atlanta University, and the University of Texas at Arlington, working together with industrial partners that include Intel, Google, UPS, Ryder, Keysight, Southern Company, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. To learn more, visit ai4opt.org.
About Tech AI
Tech AI is Georgia Tech's hub for artificial intelligence research, education, and responsible deployment. With over $120 million in active AI research funding, including more than $60 million in NSF support for five AI Research Institutes, Tech AI drives innovation through cutting-edge research, industry partnerships, and real-world applications. With over 370 papers published at top AI conferences and workshops, Tech AI is a leader in advancing AI-driven engineering, mobility, and enterprise solutions. Through strategic collaborations, Tech AI bridges the gap between AI research and industry, optimizing supply chains, enhancing cybersecurity, advancing autonomous systems, and transforming healthcare and manufacturing. Committed to workforce development, Tech AI provides AI education across all levels, from K-12 outreach to undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as specialized certifications. These initiatives equip students with hands-on experience, industry exposure, and the technical expertise needed to lead in AI-driven industries. Bringing AI to the world through innovation, collaboration, and partnerships. Visit tech.ai.gatech.edu.
News Contact
Angela Barajas Prendiville | Director of Media Relations
aprendiville@gatech.edu