A view looking upward at Tech Tower with an optimistic sunny sky and flowering trees to the left and right

Creating the Next Advancement in the Human Condition

At Georgia Tech, we’re at the forefront of creating life-changing applications through our research, policy leadership, preparation of leaders and innovators, and exploration of new roles and methodologies in education.

We are creating “the next” by leading the way in STEM education for learners ranging in age from 6 to 70. We are making an economic impact through our research and by creating innovation neighborhoods and providing professional resources for startups, Fortune 500 companies, and everything in between.

These accomplishments are the result of efforts of our faculty, staff, and amazing students, who by working together have helped move Georgia Tech forward. As a result of their combined efforts, today the Institute is leading the way across a broad spectrum of higher education, changing the way we think about what we do, and helping to design the future.

Creating the Next ... through New Learning Methods

A rendering of the new library, featuring bright sunlight and a large open space for collaborating

Georgia Tech’s reimagined library (rendered above) will make more room for study, research, and collaboration.
Where are the books? Mostly stored offsite at a climate-controlled facility that patrons can visit or order books from.

Changing expectations, combined with greater competition for resources, are creating the need for exploring innovative approaches to higher education in order to provide educational models that reduce costs, improve the effectiveness of the processes and approaches we employ, and increase the opportunities and accessibility of lifelong learning.

 

Redefining Education: The Commission on Creating the Next in Education is made up of faculty, staff, and students who are defining Georgia Tech’s educational future and designing bold and potentially transformational projects that build on the Institute’s legacy of academic excellence.

 

Making Education Accessible: Georgia Tech offers a high-quality Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMS CS) and an Online Master of Science in Analytics (OMS Analytics) degree for less than $10,000.

 

Helping Veterans: Georgia Tech’s Veterans Pathway Program helps veterans who have completed active duty within the past five years to pursue non-engineering degrees.

 

Investing in the Future of K-12 STEM Education: Georgia Tech cultivates science and technology education through its CEISMC program (Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing) for more than 11,000 K-12 students and their teachers each year.

 

Creating the Next ... through Innovation Neighborhoods

A rendering of the new Coda building.

Georgia Tech’s newest development in Technology Square is Coda, a 750,000-square-foot facility that will feature retail, office, and high-performance computing space.
Rendering courtesy of John Portman and Associates.

Georgia Tech fuels economic development by playing a major role in the region's innovation ecosystem: a network of established companies, startups, public- and private-sector organizations, and the University System of Georgia, all working together to spur innovation, develop new technologies, and expand job opportunities. Georgia Tech’s chief economic development and business-outreach arm, the Enterprise Innovation Institute, has dramatically changed the face and culture of Midtown.

 

Building an Innovation Ecosystem: Tech Square is a vibrant, energetic, live-learn-work-play district where new startup ventures, large companies, and higher education collaborate to develop new technologies and promote and enhance economic development.

 

Providing High-Performance Computing Power to the Region: The Coda building, a 750,000-square-foot, mixed-use project, is slated for completion in 2019. Coda will become a magnet for corporations and startups alike, while serving as a state-of-the-art resource for breakthrough research.

 

Fostering Medical Innovation: Georgia Tech’s Technology Enterprise Park (TEP) expanded the Global Center for Medical Innovation, and across the street is the North Avenue Research Area (NARA). The infrastructure already in place, coupled with the planned expansions, will yield yet another innovation district with a focus on energy and biotechnology.

 

Partnering with Corporations: In January 2017, Georgia Tech joined with the CEOs of 10 major Atlanta corporations and the city of Atlanta to announce project Engage, a mentorship-driven accelerator program and venture fund.

 

Creating the Next ... through Entrepreneurial Confidence

Winners of the 2017 InVenture competition posing on stage with President and Mrs. Peterson and Buzz.

Nicknamed "American Idol for Nerd's" Georgia Tech’s InVenture Prize — 2017 winners pictured above —
gives undergraduate students and recent graduates an opportunity to vie for entrepreneurial support for their inventions and innovations.

It is estimated that 65 percent of students entering primary school today will ultimately work in job types that don’t currently exist and will hold 15 different jobs during their careers. Georgia Tech is preparing students for the future through curricula and student competitions designed to instill entrepreneurial confidence.

 

 

Building a Foundation: Capstone Design is a series of courses offered to undergraduate students from all disciplines at Georgia Tech. Students work in teams to design, build, and test prototypes with real-world applications. At the end of each semester, students showcase their efforts at the Capstone Design Expo.

 

Testing Ideas: Nicknamed “American Idol for Nerds,” the Emmy award-winning InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary innovation competition open to all undergraduate students and recent graduates of Georgia Tech.

 

Launching Start Ups: Initiated in 2014, CREATE-X has helped launch 42 startups. These startups have raised outside capital, executed successful crowdfunding campaigns, and secured large corporate clients.

 

Creating the Next ... Innovators and Leaders

A portrait of Tesca Fitzgerald with a robot that has an articulated arm and hand for completing tasks

Tesca Fitzgerald, Ph.D. candidate in computer science, studies robotics and human cognition.

Georgia Tech continues to be a strong draw for some of the nation’s and the world’s most promising students. This year’s incoming freshman class is filled with future innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Each year it is our goal to enroll a class that will be committed to Georgia Tech's mission of “improving the human condition.”

 

Attracting High Performers: Georgia Tech continues to attract the brightest students. The academic credentials of the 2,860 freshmen who entered in fall 2016 set new highs with SAT scores between 1330-1490.

 

Ensuring Student Success: Georgia Tech’s retention rate is at an all-time high of 97 percent.

 

 

Educating Georgia, the U.S., and the World: The 2016 Freshman class represent 69 countries and 43 states, 89 Georgia counties, and 1,429 high schools (307 in Georgia).

 

Promoting Women in STEM: The incoming class of 2017 is 41 percent female — an Institute record for the second year in a row.

 

 

Return on Investment: Georgia Tech is ranked No. 1 in Annualized Return on Investment in Higher Education by PayScale.com.

 

Creating the Next ... through Research

May Dongmei Wang, Paula Braun, and Mark Braunstein in front of a row of computers showing health data

May Dongmei Wang, Mark Braunstein, and Paula Braun are examining death certificate data to determine what can be learned from these records.

In a time of changing national priorities in research funding, Georgia Tech is looked to as a leader in numerous areas. The Institute’s research efforts are diversified, ranging from biomedical advances to space exploration, which positions Georgia Tech well when funding decisions are made at the national level. Of the Institute’s $786 million in research expenditures during the past year, for the first time more than $100 million was industry funded.

 

Exploring Cell Manufacturing: Georgia Tech is a pioneer in cell-based manufacturing, bringing together manufacturing, biomedical engineering, materials science, and biology as a transformative opportunity.

 

Pioneering Robotics: In the field of robotics, Georgia Tech researchers are exploring the strategic research areas of autonomy, human augmentation, and collaborative robotics.

 

Forging Cybersecurity: The Institute has 11 labs and centers dedicated to cybersecurity, with nearly 500 scientists, faculty, and students involved with cybersecurity research.

 

Leading the Way in Defense and Security: Georgia Tech is the second-biggest recipient of Department of Defense research funds (after Johns Hopkins). Our cutting-edge research addresses problems such as traumatic brain injury, regenerative medicine/tissue engineering for wounded service members/veterans, prosthetics and orthotics, and numerous innovations for virtually all parts of the military.

 

Building Robust Partnerships: In the last fiscal year, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) recorded revenues of $370 million from contracts, grants, and other sources. More than 2,000 scientists, engineers, support professionals, and students help GTRI solve difficult problems facing government and industry

 

Creating the Next ... through Global Engagement

A view of the city of Shenzhen with beautiful lights in traditional buildings and large skyscrapers at night

Georgia Tech has educational and research platforms around the world, with the most recent established in Shenzhen, China.

Georgia Tech continues to have a strong global impact, as its people and programs are making their mark all over the world. Georgia Tech prepares our students for leadership roles in a highly connected world that routinely engages people of different cultures, languages, and beliefs.

 

Creating Citizens of the World: Fifty-four percent of undergraduates have an international experience prior to graduation. Georgia Tech has more than 100 study abroad programs and more than 50 student organizations that have an international or cultural focus.

 

Developing New International Partners: A new educational collaboration among Georgia Tech, the city of Shenzhen, and Tianjin University in China will expand global opportunities in science, technology, and engineering education.

 

Building on our Existing Global Relationships: The Georgia Tech-Lorraine campus in France is a self-sustaining institute that celebrated its 25th anniversary last May. Georgia Tech-Lorraine is a highly innovative institution offering year-round undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. programs in the areas of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering.

 

Creating the Next ... through Partnerships

Dr. Wilbur Lam and Ph.D. student Rob Mannino, who work on research at both Georgia Tech and Emory

Wilbur Lam, left, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, has served as a mentor to Ph.D. student Rob Mannino for several years.
Mannino is working to perfect a smartphone-based solution for monitoring hemoglobin levels in people with beta thalassemia.

Many of the Institute’s successes reported here have been made possible through partnerships among government, business, community organizations, and generous ongoing support from Georgia Tech alumni and friends. That is the power of partnerships.

 

Emory University: Georgia Tech’s strong public-private partnership with Emory University allows the two institutions to focus on core strengths and collaborate with each other in complementary areas to maximize resources and expertise.

 

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta: Children’s Healthcare and Georgia Tech are longtime partners in the quest to improve medical care for children. In September, the two announced a $5 million grant from The Imlay Foundation to Children’s Healthcare for the development of pediatric therapies.

 

Economic impact: The most recent five-year study conducted by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia revealed that Georgia Tech's $2.87 billion annual economic impact leads the USG's 28 academic institutions.

Creating the Next

Georgia Tech is in the business of Creating the Next — the next idea, the next technology, the next legion of agile minds well equipped to imagine and engineer our future. This series of features highlights the many ways in which Georgia Tech people and their work are Creating the Next.

Beyond the Bottom Line: Georgia Tech's Economic Impact

Myavana — Shattering Startup Stereotypes

The Perfect Patient

Water, Water Everywhere

Going with the Flow

Georgia Tech's Racing Roots Part 1

Georgia Tech's Racing Roots Part 2: The Need for Speed

Creating the Next Age of Learning

Creating the Next Code Composers

Creating the Next ... Real World Solutions

CREDITS

Editors: Daniel Treadaway, Margaret Tate, Dave Holston
Digital Design: Monet Fort
Photography: Rob Felt, Christopher Moore, iStock
 

Published May 3, 2017