A LEGACY OF STRATEGIC GROWTH GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 A Legacy of Strategic Growth 2 The Power of People 6 The Promise of Research 11 The Value of Global Partnerships 14 The Impact of Economic Development 17 The Bonds of Community 20 Enrollment and Degrees 21 2007-2008 Timeline 24 In Appreciation Main cover image and above image: Inside view of a vacuum chamber used in aerospace engineer- ing research. GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY A LEGACY OF STRATEGIC GROWTH The 2007-08 academic year capped been energized in many ways, from a fourteen-year period of exceptional electronic learning enhancements to growth and progress for Georgia Tech un- expanded study abroad programs and der the visionary and strategic leadership opportunities to participate in dynamic of G. Wayne Clough, the Institute’s tenth research offerings. president and the !rst alumnus to serve The campus has been reshaped for as president. beauty and sustainability, and its square When Clough arrived on campus on footage has more than doubled. New and September 1, 1994, he found a robust and renovated academic structures not only well-regarded regional university with a feature the latest in technology, but are reputation for engineering and applied also designed for "exibility and interdisci- research and an identity that was closely plinary collaboration. Expanded housing aligned with the South. The physical allows 70 percent of undergraduates to appearance of the campus was unimpres- live on campus, compared to 25-35 per- sive, and despite being in the middle of cent at the typical public university. Atlanta, the university was isolated psy- The vision of Georgia Tech’s future chologically and intellectually from that was shaped, articulated, and realized the city. under Wayne Clough’s leadership has What a difference fourteen years inspired alumni, corporations, founda- has made! tions, and other friends to provide gener- Georgia Tech now ranks among the na- ous support for a wide array of programs. tion’s top public universities and is seen as As Clough departed Georgia Tech in a rising national power in emerging inter- June to become secretary of The Smith- disciplinary !elds such as biotechnology, sonian Institution, he left his alma mater nanotechnology, sustainability and energy, with an incredible legacy of strategic photonics and optics, telecommunications growth. This carefully crafted growth and microelectronics, manufacturing, has laid the foundation for even greater and logistics. The research enterprise has prominence in the future. The pages of more than doubled, and the Institute’s this Annual Report not only highlight the growing global platforms are making it Institute’s major accomplishments of the one of the world’s few truly interna- most recent !scal year, but also re"ect on tional universities. the unprecedented advances of the Clough Tech is now recognized as a national years, which have led Tech to the presti- leader in diversity among students and gious position it now enjoys—and to the faculty. The undergraduate experience has threshold of still greater heights. 2008 ANNUAL REPORT 1 A LEGACY OF STRATEGIC GROWTH THE POWER OF PEOPLE Honoring the work of students, faculty, and staff Georgia Tech’s most valuable asset is—and always will be—its people. Tech’s students, faculty, and staff are among the brightest and hardest working in the nation and the world. Because talented people are so central to the Insti- tute’s ongoing success, Tech invests in them and lauds their achievements. PEOPLE Fostering Student Success meet the !nancial needs of A consistent focal point of Wayne its lowest income students Clough’s presidency was making the and families has eroded,” said undergraduate experience more engag- Clough. “The Tech Promise ing and exciting. Begun in earnest in the initiative is designed to !ll late 1990s, that effort included improving this gap, helping us ensure academic advising, increasing academic that no quali!ed Georgia stu- services, expanding opportunities for dent will be forced to decline undergraduates to engage in meaningful an offer of admission to Tech research, and creating a wide range of because of !nances.” study abroad opportunities for all majors. “Tech Promise is the pri- More than 40 percent of Tech undergrad- mary reason I am still in uates now engage in structured research, school,” says Emily Weigel, and more than a third study abroad. a double major in Biology/ Clough also oversaw the creation of an International Affairs and Honors Program and innovative inter- Modern Languages who disciplinary degree programs such as HData from the National Survey of was among the !rst group of Georgia computational media and combinations Student Engagement also con!rm this Tech Promise scholars in the fall of 2007. of modern languages, international affairs, transformation. The number of Tech “Despite getting scholarships and having and global economics. seniors who think the Institute does well a job, I still had several thousand dollars These initiatives have paid off hand- in academic advising leapt from about 51 of unmet need. Now, being able to !nish somely. Student retention increased signi!- percent in 2001 to nearly 70 percent in college and go on to graduate school is cantly, and after languishing at 68 percent 2007. In the same time frame, the propor- looking like a great possibility.” for many years, the graduation rate has tion of seniors who felt that Tech does a Last spring, the program was renamed now reached 78 percent and is poised to good job of providing academic support the G. Wayne Clough Georgia Tech go even higher. increased from less than 45 percent to Promise in recognition of the vital role nearly 60 percent. the former president played in making the As powerful as this reshaping of the scholarship a reality. Because state funds undergraduate experience has been, its cannot be used for this purpose, the Insti- impact had been limited by declining tute is presently raising an endowment to access to a Tech degree due to the rapidly support the program. rising cost of education (a national trend). Complementing academic scholarships The growing problem genuinely struck a such as Georgia Tech Promise are a host chord with Clough, and he responded by proposing a bold new scholarship initia- tive dubbed the Georgia Tech Promise. Richard “Reeve” Ingle, a co-op student at NASA, Quickly embraced by Tech alumni and worked on a variety of projects, including the other private donors, this new program design of a dashboard display unit, developing an guarantees a debt-free undergraduate RF spectrum map for the SCOUT Project (NASA’s “moon-buggy” robot rover), developing electrical education for all academically quali!ed systems drawings for the International Space Sta- residents of Georgia from low- tion Japanese Experiment Module, and investigating income families. methods of cleaning clothing in space. “While a Tech education continues to Academic advisor Nicole Leonard (left) talks with be a great value, the Institute’s ability to Honors Program student Diana Kerckhof. 2 GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE Mary Vaughn, a Science, Technology, and Culture major, says the Georgia Tech Promise scholarship has allowed her to spend more time on her studies and less time working. “Tech Promise has allowed me to work only one job, focus on my education, and begin saving money for graduate school,” she says. of athletic scholarships. Last spring, the family of the late William E. “Bill” Moore, Celebrating Student for whom the Student Success Center and the Tennis Center are named, established Achievement the Moore Family Scholarship Fund for Women’s Tennis in honor of the 2007 Georgia Tech students are known for their NCAA national titled earned by Tech’s intellectual prowess and accomplishments, women’s team. and that tradition continued in 2008. “This endowment established by the Prashant Jain, a graduate student in Moore family is a long-term investment Chemistry and Biochemistry, became one in our team that will allow us to attract of six students worldwide to receive the women students who are highly skilled Graduate Student Gold Award of the and competitive tennis players and top- Materials Research Society. Richard notch scholars,” says Bryan Shelton, “Reeve” Ingle was named Student of the head coach of women’s tennis. “This is Hackman broke new ground with a gift that will have a major impact Production Economics: Integrating the Year by the Cooperative Education Division in perpetuity.” Microeconomic and Engineering Perspec- of the American Society of Engineering tives, which integrates two historically Education. A senior Electrical Engineering Faculty Excel in Diversity of Disciplines distinct perspectives. major with a 4.0 GPA, Ingle completed four Another theme of the Clough administra- “A production economist focuses on co-op work terms with the NASA Johnson tion was increasing the size and quality of assessment, while a production engineer Space Center and an internship with the the Tech faculty. The number of full-time focuses on optimizing resources,” says U.S. Department of Defense. instructional faculty grew from 630 in Hackman. “Each group could bene!t from Tech students also garnered the nation’s 1994 to 863 in 2007, and the number of the other group’s perspective. The book most prestigious academic scholarships: National Science Foundation CAREER offers a uni!ed, integrated point of view t/JDPMF-BSTFO BEPVCMFNBKPSJO Award recipients among Tech’s young that bridges the gap between these two Mathematics and Physics, received a faculty jumped from 7 in 1995 to 122 by historically distinct perspectives.” mid-2008, second highest in the nation. Other notable faculty achievements in $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Even as engineering faculty continue to 2007-08 include: Scholarship Foundation in recognition of exhibit the excellence inherent in a top- r%BWJE#BEFS $PNQVUJOH QVCMJTIFE her exceptional performance, initiative, ranked program, professors in a range of Petascale Computing: Algorithms and and creativity in her majors.