Spectacular Collision of Georgia Tech & Dragon Con

The spectacular collision of Georgia Tech and Dragon Con

Spectacular Collision of Georgia Tech & Dragon Con

Georgia Tech is a great place to be if you’re a nerd, said cosplay celebrity and senior Industrial Design student Monika Lee.

Senior Industrial Design student Monika Lee

“There’s a sense that even if you’re kind of weird and you stand out a little bit, everyone here is the same way,” she said. As an award-winning costume designer and model, Lee collaborates with companies like Blizzard Entertainment, Carbine Studios, Intl, and Ubisoft — and was recently a featured cast member on SyFY’s Heroes of Cosplay.

Georgia Tech surrounded Lee with a community that made her feel normal after years of feeling like she was strange and should hide her passion for costuming. Everyone from her roommates to her professors in the College of Architecture supports and appreciates her interests, she said.

“That’s why I feel Georgia Tech was the perfect school for me. Here people say, ‘Oh, I know what cosplay is,’ or, ‘Yeah, I’ve watched (the long-running anime) Naruto’ and for me that is really unusual.”

Even better, she said, is that once a year the nerdy communities of Georgia Tech and cosplayers intersect close to campus during Dragon Con.

For four days, spanning Labor Day weekend in downtown Atlanta, this convention brings together fans of science fiction, fantasy, gaming, science, comic books, cosplay, anime, and other pop culture from around the globe.

And while this year’s 70,000 Dragon Con attendees appreciated Lee’s and others’ world-class costumes, they were also soaking in Georgia Tech’s intellectual, influential, and righteously nerdy culture:

  • Georgia Tech’s Sci-Fi Lab Director Lisa Yaszek — who also serves as a professor of Literature, Media, and Communication — hosted a panel on multiculturalism and diversity in science fiction.
  • Stephen Fleming, director of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, hosted panels on commercial space travel and missions to Mars.
  • Atlanta Maker Faire director David MacNair — a lecturer in Georgia Tech’s Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering — hosted a panel and preview of the upcoming regional event.
  • Staff from the College of Architecture’s AMAC Accessibility Solutions Research Center spoke at a panel about gaming and accessibility.
  • Pete Ludovice, associate professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, WREK radio regular, and professional comedian, led the Geekapalooza Comedy Tour, proving nerds can be funny AND do math.
  • Lee was a judge of the cosplay competition.


Stephen Fleming (on left), director of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, hosts a panel on commercial space travel and missions to Mars.

Georgia Tech has long been a part of Dragon Con, said Pat Henry, president of Dragon Con Inc. and one of the founders of the 29-year-old convention. In a rare interview in 2013, Henry said Georgia Tech has always been “Nerd University,” and a major player in Atlanta’s science and science fiction heritage – a unique environment that allows Dragon Con to succeed.

“I would love to take credit and say that Dragon Con created this, but no, Dragon Con just thrives in it,” he said. 

“I would love to take credit and say that Dragon Con created this, but no, Dragon Con just thrives in it,” said Pat Henry, president of Dragon Con Inc.

In addition to experts on panels, countless other students, faculty, staff, and alumni attend Dragon Con as a way to celebrate their inspirations and fan communities.

This year, a small Buzz doll dressed in a light-up dragon suit drew Georgia Tech attendees out of the massive crowds and into an impromptu meet-up in the lobby of convention host hotel, Atlanta Hilton Towers.

A small Buzz doll dressed in a light-up dragon suit drew

Lee’s fellow School of Industrial Design students and members of the Interactive Product Development Lab (IPDL) conducted a mini hackathon in the days leading up to Dragon Con. Armed with felt, aperture wire, strips of neopixels, and a cell phone battery, they devised a custom cosplay for their beloved mascot.

Held aloft in the Hilton and blinking with white and gold lights, it was mere seconds before Georgia Tech’s Dragon Con attendees descended upon the lobby, whipping out their cell phones to take selfies with the Buzz doll and celebrating the moment.

(IPDL already has plans for next year’s cosplay: More lights, movements, and possibly even smoke could herald the next surprise Georgia Tech meetup at Dragon Con.)

What makes Dragon Con so interesting to those of us from Georgia Tech? Discover Georgia Tech’s stories of nerdy inspiration at the nation’s premier science fiction, fantasy, and pop culture fan convention.

Abraham Marsen, age 28, Electrical and Computer Engineering student

“Proximity, breadth of interests covered, curiosity.”

Abraham Marsen, age 28, Electrical and Computer Engineering student

Serena Wallace, Institute Communications

"I go to DragonCon to meet people who love the same fandoms as much as I do. "

Serena Wallace, Institute Communications

Aaron Lanterman, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering with his wife Joyce

“There is real science happening here, and it is a chance for everyone to explore their creativity.”

Aaron Lanterman, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering with his wife Joyce 

Lauren Rhodes, age 23, International Affairs and Modern Languages student, event coordinator for Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center

“Going with fellow students and alumni.”

Lauren Rhodes, age 23, International Affairs and Modern Languages student, event coordinator for Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center

Matt Bernstein, age 21, Aerospace Engineering student

“It’s so relevant for all of us interested in technology and the future as well as all the great things we’re interested in besides school.”

Matt Bernstein, age 21, Aerospace Engineering student

Andrew Lippens, age 18, Mechanical Engineering student

“It combines the interests of many of us on campus and it’s a cool place to see others’ costumes made with various technologies.”

Andrew Lippens, age 18, Mechanical Engineering student

Natalie Chu, age 20, Electrical and Computer Engineering student

“Nerds with great conversations and nerds that make great costumes. As an EE, I like seeing cool LED and electronic additions to costumes.”

Natalie Chu, age 20, EE student

Rachel Miller, age 18, Georgia Tech student

“It’s a gathering of fans just like how Tech is a gathering of like-minded people who are passionate about what they are learning. Plus we show off our mad cosplay-making skills!”

Rachel Miller, age 18, Georgia Tech student

Randy Long, age 20, Mechanical Engineering student

“Lots of nerds! I can see things from all the TV shows, books, etc. that I enjoy and I can buy things to prove my fan power!”

Randy Long, age 20, Mechanical Engineering student

 

Tiffany Sun, Computer Engineering student

“We are so geeky already on campus, it doesn’t surprise me like a quarter of us are at the con.”

Tiffany Sun, Computer Engineering student

Camille Pettit, age 18, Business student

“We’re all nerds, now we get to see other nerds!”

Camille Pettit, age 18, Business student

Lisa Richard-Bailey, age 47, Engineering Science and Mechanics alumna

“Science! Geekiness!”

Lisa Richard-Bailey, age 47, Engineering Science and Mechanics alumna

Bonnie Turner-Adomatis, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering alumna

“My son asks to go every year.”

Bonnie Turner-Adomatis, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering alumna

Shelli Godfrey, Materials Science and Engineering alumna, Ceramics

“Costumes, science, space trak, geekdom, sci fi!”

Shelli Godfrey, Materials Science and Engineering (Ceramics) alumna

Eric Lange, age 25, Mechanical Engineering alumnus

“Science fiction and fantasy have inspired many great minds to do astounding things. It is only logical for anyone from Tech to attend in order to find that spark to turn their mind’s engines and create the next great thing. Also, it’s a heck of a lot of fun!”

Eric Lange, age 25, Mechanical Engineering alumnus

Stacey Gangloff, Georgia Tech staff

“It’s just awesome for us geeks. So much to do!!”

Stacey Gangloff, Georgia Tech staff

Petar Penev, age 24, Bioinformatics master’s student

“I came to see the co-optional podcast – Total Biscuit, Jesse Cox, Dodger, Gennan Bain. I have followed them for a long time, and seeing them for real was great! I managed to discover lots of fun and weird people here, I loved it!”

Petar Penev, age 24, Bioinformatics master’s student

“All the costumes, each is an individual piece of art in which the artist has spent countless hours, days, and months fabricating. It’s the same thing we do at Tech, envision then create.”

Joshua Davis, age 18, Computer Engineering student

“Georgia Tech has an awesome community who are passionate for all the geeky shenanigans we do, and Dragon Con brings it all together. Dragon Con is an awesome once-a-year opportunity for students to express themselves in everything that we do, from video games like League of Legends all the way to comics and cards.”

Leonard Chen, age 18, Georgia Tech student 

“Dragon Con appeals to the geek culture that thrives at GT. It’s incredibly close to campus as well.”

William Kao, age 18, Biomedical Engineering student

 

“Cool costumes, speakers, opportunities to meet like-minded fans.”

Andrew Chang, age 29, alumnus

Credits

Writer: Ann Hoevel
​Photography: Josh Preston, Erica Endicott
Digital Design: Brett Lorber