The Georgia Tech community is always deeply saddened to lose one of its own. In 2001, a group of concerned students, faculty, and staff realized the community did not have a way to collectively honor those who pass away. Thus, a new tradition began.
Near the end of each spring semester, When the Whistle Blows honors the memory of enrolled students and employees of the Institute who died during the previous year. The names of honorees are published in the Technique and The Whistle prior to the event. This year’s event on April 20 will honor 25 members of the campus community.
The simple ceremony offers a solemn tribute, with the lighting of a unity candle to represent the entire Georgia Tech community. A family representative is invited to light a candle on behalf of their loved one. Each family also receives a small gift of remembrance from Georgia Tech.
“It is so important that we recognize the loss our campus community experiences when a student, faculty member, or staff member dies,” said Steve Fazenbaker, director for the STAR Program and former director of the Wesley Foundation, who for years provided the opening message at the ceremony. This year, that role will be filled by a student. “Because we each have our own traditions and ways of dealing with the death of those close to us, it can be tricky to plan a ceremony that addresses everyone's needs and expectations. The diversity of faith traditions on campus makes the task that much harder. The ceremony is intentionally designed to create a solemn space in which family and friends can honor their loved ones in their own unique way.”
Tech’s iconic steam whistle is blown once for each person being honored that day. Before the whistle breaks the evening silence, the alma mater is played to remind attendees of our time at Tech and to relay the hope that we will always be united as a community.
The finished whistle given to families at When the Whistle Blows. Photos by Rob Felt
Keeping the Whistle With You
Each family receives a replica of Tech’s iconic steam whistle, a memento that was designed and created on campus by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) Machine Shop and College of Design’s Digital Fabrication Lab. The Machine Shop has been making the whistles since 2006, after the shop’s manager, Dennis Brown, attended the ceremony and left wanting to create a special token for families.
“He came back really wanting to take the lead on making something nice and meaningful for people,” said Dennis Denney, director of GTRI Machine Services. The original mementos were made of brass and affixed to a small marble base.
A new base was designed in 2016 by Jake Tompkins, manager of the Digital Fabrication Lab and a Tech alumnus. The base is made of Corian, a durable, solid material that provides a white contrast to the gold whistle replica. The round base has a gear pattern to evoke memories of Tech. It is cut in two parts on a CNC cutter and glued together to give it additional weight and thickness.
“It’s important, and we want it to feel important,” Tompkins said of designing part of the memento. “We know this is handed to families by the president, and it’s going to be with them for years to come.”
The nameplates are waterjet cut from gold anodized aluminum and then laser etched before being affixed to the Corian base. The whistle itself is also anodized aluminum. It is spun on a CNC lathe and designed to scale from exact drawings of Tech’s original steam whistle.
The bottom of the base bears an inscription taken from “A Tribute to the Whistle,” which first appeared in the 1914 edition of Tech’s Blueprint:
Blow on, stern Monarch of Tech's mighty crew,
Be always firm and staid:
To your compelling call we'll e're be true
Til each his part has played.
“It’s all about intentionality. The bottom isn’t something a lot of people look at, but we don’t want it to be an afterthought,” Tompkins said.
The sound of the whistle is part of daily life at Tech, as were those members of the community honored at the event. Each time the whistle sounds in the days following the event, it serves as a reminder of the students, faculty, and staff members held in our memories.
2023 When the Whistle Blows Honorees
Vikrant Bathala
Undergraduate Student
Computational Media
Jonnette Book
Senior Administrative Professional
Computer Science
Vincent Bostic
Stingerette Driver
Campus Transportation
Gregory Clower
Custodial Supervisor
Infrastructure and Sustainability
Almeisha Dallas
Financial Analyst
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Kyle Davis
Senior Research Engineer
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Jeffrey Donnell
Principal Academic Professional
Mechanical Engineering
Tiara Farmer
Custodian
Infrastructure and Sustainability
Alan Flury
Lecturer
Scheller College of Business
William Fricke
Instructional Associate
Analytics
Gordon Gray
Groundskeeper
Infrastructure and Sustainability
Lance Johnson
Utilities Engineer
Infrastructure and Sustainability
Eric Kaltenbacher
Senior Research Engineer
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Pranav Koushik
Undergraduate Student
Electrical Engineering
Kristie Macrakis
Professor
History and Sociology
Russell McCrory
Principal Research Engineer
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Bobby Price
Surgical Technician
Global Center for Medical Innovation and T3 Labs
Gossul Rohoman
Custodian
Housing and Residence Life
Annette Ross
Travel and Expense Manager
Accounts Payable
Joseph Saleh
Associate Professor
Aerospace Engineering
Darrel Simpkins
Research Associate
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Bill Threewitt
Machine Shop Supervisor
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Brian To
Undergraduate Student
Computer Science
Shirl Trawick
Financial Administrator
Materials Science and Engineering
Amanda Wilson
Graduate Student
Analytics
Credits
Written by Kristen Bailey
Photos by Rob Felt