Military Technology

Army Vet Guides Student Team in Delivering Digital Solution for Military Operations

dgivens8 — Tue, 20 May 2025 18:04:40 +0000

Army Vet Guides Student Team in Delivering Digital Solution for Military Operations dgivens8 Tue, 05/20/2025 - 14:04

A team of Computing students has developed a digital intake system for the U.S. Army, which is set to be implemented as early as next month, transforming a time-consuming, paper-based process into an efficient, modern platform.

The project was part of Computer Science Junior Design Capstone Expo, where students collaborate in teams to build functional software solutions for real-world clients. For team members Jonathan Collins, Joel Cave, Srithan Nalluri, Mark Podrazhansky, and Caden Virant, that client was the U.S. Army. School of Computing Instruction Lecturer Aibek Musaev led their Junior Design section.

“The Army spends a significant amount of time maintaining, documenting, and repairing equipment that allows them to complete their mission,” said Collins, a U.S. Army veteran. “Our system essentially took the current maintenance process and converted it from an entirely paper-based process to a completely digital one.”

The team built a streamlined web application utilizing a set of modern tools that enhance data management, create a user-friendly interface, and ensure seamless operations. The new system improves accountability and visibility across Army maintenance operations by digitizing the intake and tracking processes. It eliminates the risk of lost paperwork and makes it easier for personnel to stay updated on equipment status and repair needs.

2nd Lt. Noah Parsons, the Army’s point of contact for the project, was impressed with both the product and the team’s professionalism.

“Georgia Tech students have completed the intake system to perfection,” Parsons said. “They performed exceptionally and professionally. I cannot stress how great of a job they have done for their class and for the Army as well. Our company intends to start using the intake system as early as next month.”

For Collins, who served four years in the Army before enrolling at Georgia Tech, the experience was meaningful.

“A large part of my role in the Army involved the very maintenance processes we’ve been working to improve,” he said. “I can’t even count how many hours my coworkers and I spent with the current system. Now, being able to use this new chapter of my life to make meaningful improvements feels incredibly rewarding.”

Collins also took the lead in communicating with the military client, helping the team navigate strict requirements and non-negotiable specifications.

With this system, the Army decided what they wanted, and the team was tasked with delivering exactly that with no variation.

The project taught the team critical lessons about ownership, communication, and collaboration under pressure.

“Communication with the client is the absolute most important thing,” Collins said. “You could have the best programmers in the world, but it won’t matter if you can’t deliver the product the client wants. Meeting often and getting consistent feedback was key.”

The Army plans to begin using the system as early as June, bringing the students’ work full circle and marking a meaningful contribution to real-world military operations.

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Thesis on Human-Centered AI Earns Honors from International Computing Organization

dgivens8 — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:30:41 +0000

Thesis on Human-Centered AI Earns Honors from International Computing Organization dgivens8 Tue, 04/22/2025 - 10:30

A Georgia Tech alum’s dissertation introduced ways to make artificial intelligence (AI) more accessible, interpretable, and accountable. Although it’s been a year since his doctoral defense, Zijie (Jay) Wang’s (Ph.D. ML-CSE 2024) work continues to resonate with researchers.

Wang is a recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). The award recognizes Wang for his lifelong work on democratizing human-centered AI.

“Throughout my Ph.D. and industry internships, I observed a gap in existing research: there is a strong need for practical tools for applying human-centered approaches when designing AI systems,” said Wang, now a safety researcher at OpenAI.

“My work not only helps people understand AI and guide its behavior but also provides user-friendly tools that fit into existing workflows.”

Wang’s dissertation presented techniques in visual explanation and interactive guidance to align AI models with user knowledge and values. The work culminated from years of research, fellowship support, and internships.

Wang’s most influential projects formed the core of his dissertation. These included:

CNN Explainer: an open-source tool developed for deep-learning beginners. Since its release in July 2020, more than 436,000 global visitors have used the tool.
DiffusionDB: a first-of-its-kind large-scale dataset that lays a foundation to help people better understand generative AI. This work could lead to new research in detecting deepfakes and designing human-AI interaction tools to help people more easily use these models.
GAM Changer: an interface that empowers users in healthcare, finance, or other domains to edit ML models to include knowledge and values specific to their domain, which improves reliability.
GAM Coach: an interactive ML tool that could help people who have been rejected for a loan by automatically letting an applicant know what is needed for them to receive loan approval.
Farsight: a tool that alerts developers when they write prompts in large language models that could be harmful and misused.

“I feel extremely honored and lucky to receive this award, and I am deeply grateful to many who have supported me along the way, including Polo, mentors, collaborators, and friends,” said Wang, who was advised by School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Professor Polo Chau.

“This recognition also inspired me to continue striving to design and develop easy-to-use tools that help everyone to easily interact with AI systems.”

Like Wang, Chau advised Georgia Tech alumnus Fred Hohman (Ph.D. CSE 2020). Hohman won the ACM SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2022.

Chau’s group synthesizes machine learning (ML) and visualization techniques into scalable, interactive, and trustworthy tools. These tools increase understanding and interaction with large-scale data and ML models.

Chau is the associate director of corporate relations for the Machine Learning Center at Georgia Tech. Wang called the School of CSE his home unit while a student in the ML program under Chau.

Wang is one of five recipients of this year’s award to be presented at the 2025 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025). The conference occurs April 25-May 1 in Yokohama, Japan.

SIGCHI is the world’s largest association of human-computer interaction professionals and practitioners. The group sponsors or co-sponsors 26 conferences, including CHI.

Wang’s outstanding dissertation award is the latest recognition of a career decorated with achievement.

Months after graduating from Georgia Tech, Forbes named Wang to its 30 Under 30 in Science for 2025 for his dissertation. Wang was one of 15 Yellow Jackets included in nine different 30 Under 30 lists and the only Georgia Tech-affiliated individual on the 30 Under 30 in Science list.

While a Georgia Tech student, Wang earned recognition from big names in business and technology. He received the Apple Scholars in AI/ML Ph.D. Fellowship in 2023 and was in the 2022 cohort of the J.P. Morgan AI Ph.D. Fellowships Program.

Along with the CHI award, Wang’s dissertation earned him awards this year at banquets across campus. The Georgia Tech chapter of Sigma Xi presented Wang with the Best Ph.D. Thesis Award. He also received the College of Computing’s Outstanding Dissertation Award.

“Georgia Tech attracts many great minds, and I’m glad that some, like Jay, chose to join our group,” Chau said. “It has been a joy to work alongside them and witness the many wonderful things they have accomplished, and with many more to come in their careers.”

Summary sentence

Zijie (Jay) Wang (Ph.D. ML-CSE 2024) is a recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI).

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Faculty, Students Pilot AI Crisis Simulation

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 18:04:50 +0000

Faculty, Students Pilot AI Crisis Simulation admin Thu, 04/17/2025 - 14:04

Researchers from Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) recently piloted an in-depth crisis simulation exploring the national security implications of advanced artificial intelligence. Designed by the AI Safety Initiative in collaboration with Model UN at Georgia Tech, the immersive half-day workshop challenged faculty to respond to a series of escalating threats — including a potential biological attack, cyberattacks, and rising global tensions.

Participants represented major governments, corporations, and organizations — including OpenAI and Google DeepMind — and were inundated with simulated press releases and intelligence reports describing the rapid evolution of AI technologies. Their task: to debate and coordinate policy responses in real time.

In one scenario, a preliminary World Health Organization report revealed AI-enabled pathogens spreading across Central Asia. The player representing China quickly moved to close borders and reimpose pandemic-era lockdowns, a move that caused global confusion and economic instability.

“There’s just no way I could have predicted that response,” said Parv Mahajan, the director of the simulation. “But that kind of extreme response tells us so much about how unprepared countries might react.”

Divjot Kaur, who constructed the simulated documents participants received throughout the workshop, agreed. “This valuable information can shed light on the research and work we must put in,” she said.

Some players took advantage of the chaos. The simulation concluded with a discussion about how profit motives might distort information access and accelerate a potential AI arms race.

What stood out most to participants was the range of ideas that emerged during the crisis. “It was great to see the perspectives of diverse disciplines on the future of AI,” said Amaar Alidina, an undergraduate researcher. “Debate provided meaningful insight on topics we wouldn't even have thought of,” Kaur said.

Looking ahead, the AI Safety Initiative hopes to expand the simulation through collaborations with labs and departments across campus.

“The future of our work will depend, in some way or another, on AI," said Mahajan. "And the best way to understand the future is to try and experience it.”

Summary sentence

Researchers explore national security risks posed by advanced AI through a high-stakes strategic exercise.

Summary

In a simulation from Georgia Tech and GTRI, participants navigated escalating global crises — including AI-enabled biothreats and cyberattacks — to assess how different actors might respond to emerging AI risks.

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Mon, 04/07/2025 - 12:00

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Grappling With Uncertainty Amid Cyberattacks

admin — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 04:06:57 +0000

Grappling With Uncertainty Amid Cyberattacks admin Wed, 04/17/2024 - 00:06

“What I’ve repeatedly found is that people are terrified of cyberattacks, because, frankly, cyberattacks are scary,” said Ryan Shandler, assistant professor of political science in Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, where his research focuses on how people react to cyberattacks. “People don’t fully understand them. They don’t know who’s behind them.”

Shandler’s latest study looks at the effect this uncertainty has on public opinion after a cyber incident.

“When faced with the unknown, people conjure visions of doom, where one bad guy in his mom’s basement clicks a button and takes over the world.”

According to Shandler, even a minor cyberattack can generate the kind of fear that “changes world views or causes people to vote a certain way, sacrificing their civil liberties for security and surveillance, regardless of how intrusive.” By way of example, Shandler refers to a digital mishap hyperbolically reported as a major cyberattack on a Florida water plant that actually resulted from an employee mistake.

“These reactions from the general public, even when they don’t know who is behind an attack, can have strong political and societal consequences,” he said.

Shifting the Focus

Sometimes he refers to this uncertainty as “a shadow of ambiguity.” Shandler and his collaborators have added a new element to the body of cyber-conflict literature, most of which deals with ambiguity from an operational or strategic perspective. His team has written an article for a special issue of the Journal of Peace Research that focuses on the uncertainty surrounding cybersecurity incidents. Shandler also co-edited the issue.

The researchers surveyed 2,025 participants, who were asked to evaluate potential cyber threat scenarios and decide on various retaliatory measures.

A typical question presented two scenarios positing a cyberattack on the U.S. In one, intelligence sources might be 70% certain that China was the perpetrator; in the other, intelligence might be 40% certain it was caused by the United Kingdom. Other options in the scenario included the proposed means of retaliation and the chance of conflict escalation. Participants were asked which strategic course they preferred — whether to retaliate and, if so, against whom.

“As the government’s certainty percentage goes down, the level of support for retaliation goes down, which is unsurprising,” said Shandler, whose collaborators on the study were Nathaniel Porter of Virginia Tech and Eric Jardine of cybersecurity firm Chainalysis. “But when we dig a little deeper, we can see that it depends on who the other country is. If we’re 50% sure China is behind it, we tend to lean more toward retaliation than if we’re 50% sure that England is behind it.”

Mental Shortcuts

Faced with the complexities of cyberspace and the potential threats inhabiting it, most people will fall back on mental shortcuts when forced to decide in the face of uncertainty, the researchers assert. As such, perceptions of countries as adversaries or allies play a role in decision-making.

Political partisanship also played a role in how people responded to the scenarios. For Republicans, the perception of another country as an ally or rival mattered more than it did for Democrats. This also wasn’t particularly astonishing to the researchers.

“We didn’t want to guess — we wanted to find out how people react when faced with the ambiguity of a cyberattack,” Shandler said. He and his colleagues hoped to identify what they called a “certainty threshold.”

That is, they wanted to answer a basic question: How sure do authorities need to be about the perpetrator to gain public support for economic, diplomatic, or military responses? After gathering and crunching the numbers, the researchers put the threshold at 60% certainty, though it shifts depending on the identity of the presumed attacker.

Shandler’s colleagues in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy are mostly computer scientists who work in bits, bytes, and rational logic — everything is mapped out and orderly, unlike human beings, who aren’t logical or rational.

“People are not computer code. We’re messy, emotional, and use mental shortcuts to make decisions,” Shandler said. “So, we thought a human analysis of the uncertainty that is so much a part of cyberspace would be a good idea.”

Ultimately, Shandler hopes his research will force policymakers and national security officials to pay more attention to the way the public experiences cyber threats, because voters won’t write a blank check and support retaliation in response to every attack.

“When states volley cyberattacks back and forth, the public gets caught in the crossfire, and they need to be a stakeholder in decisions about how to react,” he said.

Authorities should be more open with the public, he added. That would go a long way toward demystifying cyberattacks and avoiding the potential of a mass panic.

“In my experience, mystifying the situation is how we get to the theories of cyber doom and Armageddon and Mission Impossible and the robots coming to get us,” Shandler said. “I think what people are imagining is much worse than the reality. It’s the lack of information that scares them.”

CITATION: Eric Jardine, Nathaniel Porter, Ryan Shandler. "Cyberattacks and public opinion – The effect of uncertainty in guiding preferences," Journal of Peace Research. doi.org/10.1177/0022343323121

Summary sentence

Even minor cyberattacks can cause a fearful reaction from the public.

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Even minor cyberattacks can cause an over-reaction from an uninformed public.

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Tue, 04/16/2024 - 12:00

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Georgia Tech Experts Shed Light on Israel-Hamas War

admin — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 18:16:41 +0000

Georgia Tech Experts Shed Light on Israel-Hamas War admin Tue, 10/17/2023 - 14:16

In the month following Hamas' attacks in Israel, the war between the two sides has continued to escalate. As casualties increase, humanitarian concerns grow, and calls for a cease-fire mount, the situation remains volatile.

Since the war began with the killing of an estimated 1,200 Israelis and the taking of more than 200 hostages by Hamas, the Gazan death toll is estimated to have surpassed 11,000, and over 1.6 million residents have been displaced. Israel has rejected cease-fire calls to this point, but a deal with Hamas resulted in a four-day pause in fighting in exchange for the release of 50 hostages. Israel has begun to release about 150 Palestinian prisoners — primarily women and children — and is allowing up to 300 aid trucks into Gaza. An additional two-day pause was also brokered, including the release of an additional 20 Israeli hostages.

The deal offers hope that “there are lines of communication open, which, as we've just seen in the U.S.-China context, is important in and of itself between hostile or adversarial actors,” said Rachel Whitlark, political scientist and associate professor of international affairs in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

“It's not clear that the current developments signal anything about what might happen with the additional hostages being held by Hamas or those being held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. And the deal will likely allow Israel to continue its military campaign to rid itself of a neighbor committed to its destruction, perhaps more aggressively given that these hostages have been released.”

Identifying an End Goal

The temporary peace will be welcomed in the region that has seen nonstop violence since Oct. 7, but when the fighting resumes, the pressure on Israel to identify an end goal will increase, explains Lawrence Rubin, associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.

"What happens the day after you topple Hamas? But also, what happens if Israel doesn’t eliminate Hamas?" said Rubin, who recently traveled to the Middle East for the IISS Manama Dialogue. “Another sticking point is that many Arab leaders are publicly unwilling to discuss any post-conflict scenario until the fighting stops. Leaders in Egypt and Jordan, for example, face populations who would view discussions about their countries’ participation in a post-conflict Gaza as allowing Israel to complete its destruction of Gaza. Arab leaders don’t want to be held responsible for cleaning up Israel’s military operation.”

Hamas' relationship with the Jewish state complicates any large-scale political compromise with the organization.

"Hamas is not an entity that even believes in a two-state solution. It is bent on Israel’s destruction and is unlikely to relinquish power. Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas. A long-term political compromise at this stage seems highly unlikely,” Rubin said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently reiterated the intent to "destroy Hamas," and said Israel would maintain “overall military responsibility” in Gaza until it can ensure that there is no resurgence of terrorism in the region. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed the administration's position that Gaza cannot continue to be run by Hamas following the war. He also shared that conversations took place prior to the hostage deal, directing Israeli leaders to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians and increasing aid into Gaza.

Whitlark explains that the U.S. has effectively used its modest tools of persuasion and diplomatic pressure to attempt to modify behavior in the war, yet faces additional challenges in its handling of multiple conflicts around the globe.

"The Biden administration is juggling tensions both within the Democratic Party and with the Israeli government,” she said. “They are trying to manage the mounting civilian casualties in the conflict and the divisions in Congress, and among Democrats in particular, over U.S. support for Israel. This aid to Israel is also tied up with aid to Ukraine, another democracy that was attacked by a neighbor, that the U.S. is working hard to assist in its military campaign. Further, the administration had been putting significant pressure on Netanyahu to try to gain additional humanitarian aid, humanitarian pauses, and accept a deal to get some of the hostages released. Meanwhile, as we understand from the president's Washington Post op-ed last week, he is working for the longer-term future for a lasting peace, protecting democracies from encroaching aggression, and regional and global stability."

In an interview with a Lebanese television outlet, Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas leader, stated the group's intention to repeatedly attack Israel "a second, a third, a fourth time" while expressing the organization's belief that their actions are justified as victims of occupation. Along with the targeted attack on perceived military infrastructure, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have killed dozens of Hamas commanders, according to The Guardian. Israel's ground operation began in northern Gaza in late October, and in addition to the mounting pressure to reduce civilian casualties, there could be major economic ramifications of a drawn-out war.

“Israel’s operational time has lasted longer than many would have expected, but it is still working on borrowed time. As international pressure on Israel mounts, U.S. leaders will continue to push harder for ways to reduce a rising civilian death toll,” Rubin said.

A Second Battle: Misinformation

As Israeli forces operate in Gaza City, the IDF recently gained control of Al-Shifa Hospital, which it asserts was being used to house a Hamas command center in underground tunnels. An initial raid of the compound revealed duffel bags filled with weapons, ammunition, and other military equipment, but Hamas continues to deny claims that the hospital is being used as a front and asserts that the IDF planted the evidence.

With many claims unable to be independently verified, Rubin says a "misinformation problem" exists as the war goes on, and the world is watching it play out through social media and the internet. “It's almost to the extent that it doesn't even matter that we've seen the truth when it comes out because people won't believe it, and there's denial about it," he said.

He also noted that Hamas understands the value of disinformation and its ability to pit the U.S. against itself. The unfolding hostage deal will not end this conflict, Rubin says, predicting the information battle will continue until the physical fighting resumes.

Looking Ahead

In terms of further escalation in the region, Rubin observed that Iran does not seem eager to jump into the fray. Hezbollah, a terrorist group based in Lebanon, has launched several attacks, but to this point, no second front has been opened in Northern Israel. That said, Whitlark notes that a recent meeting between an Iranian leader and Hezbollah's leadership reminds the international community that a broader conflict remains a possibility if the war between Israel and Hamas continues to escalate.

*The below story was originally posted Oct. 17, 2023.

Attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel, along with subsequent strikes in Gaza and a declaration of war from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have resulted in global unrest. Georgia Tech experts offer their thoughts on the conflict, what comes next, and what role the United States will play.

What Happened?

On the Jewish Sabbath, which coincided with the holiday of Simchat Torah, 3,000 Hamas militants crossed into Israel and executed a coordinated attack on Israeli civilians and military personnel by land, sea, and air, killing an estimated 1,400.

At the latest count, nearly 200 hostages were taken, including Americans and people from other countries. The attacks caught Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by surprise in what Lawrence Rubin, associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, described as one of the biggest intelligence failures since the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

"It is too early to make a definitive assessment as to why this intelligence failure occurred. However, it’s clear that there was a heavy reliance on technology and a certain amount of complacency in thinking that the threat from Hamas was contained and the greater Palestinian threat was in the West Bank. Israel had also been much more focused on the Iranian nuclear threat," said Rubin, author of Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threat in Arab Politics.

Following Netanyahu's vow to "avenge this dark day" and win the ensuing war despite an inevitable "unbearable price," Israel quickly launched counterstrikes in Gaza, which have killed and wounded thousands. The conflict has escalated to a level not seen in the region in decades.

What's Next?

As Israel contemplates its next strategic move, Jenna Jordan, associate professor and associate chair of the Nunn School, said a ground invasion into Gaza could play into Hamas' goals of undermining diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and gaining support among the Palestinian people and the broader international community.

"A ground invasion could result in major civilian casualties in Gaza, creating a humanitarian crisis. Hamas anticipated that a massive retaliatory response would change the tide of sentiment to their favor, mobilizing new recruits, support, and allies. Hamas seeks to appear as the most committed group fighting for and protecting the Palestinian people. These highly visible operations are a way for the group to demonstrate that they are more resolved and a stronger advocate for the Palestinian cause than Fatah and the Palestinian Authority," she said.

Jordan, author of Leadership Decapitation: Strategic Targeting of Terrorist Organizations, explained that Hamas, which rose to power in Gaza and the West Bank in 2006 after winning 44.5% of the seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council, has already achieved an important strategic objective by seizing the attention of the international community and placing Israel in a strategic conundrum.

"Israel is under pressure to respond with force given the scale of the attack, as is every nation in the wake of a major terrorist attack," she said. "The U.S. faced a similar decision in the aftermath of 9/11 and launched a very long and costly ground invasion into Iraq starting in 2003. This fueled the rise of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and eventually ISIS. It is imperative that Israel considers whether its counter operations will backlash and create more support for extremism in the region.”

The possibility that Iran will intervene is the biggest wild card and could carry the greatest risk for regional conflict and escalation, according to Rubin. An Axios report states that Iran plans to intervene should a ground operation in Gaza occur and this could take the form of supporting Hezbollah operations against Israel if it opens a second front. Rubin warns this would bring the conflict to an entirely different level.

U.S. Involvement

The United States has offered its unwavering support for Israel, but President Joe Biden warned that invading Gaza would be a "big mistake." He announced plans to visit Israel before traveling to Jordan to meet with his Majesty King Abdullah, Egyptian President Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Following the attacks on Oct. 7, the U.S. positioned an aircraft carrier, the USS Ford, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as a deterrent, and a second carrier was deployed to the region on Oct. 15.

As the U.S. continues to support the Ukrainian war effort against Russia, Rubin explained that the new conflict could shift the nation's focus further away from China. Should this conflict continue, it may erode previous efforts at bringing the Saudis and Israelis together to normalize relations, which already had plenty of challenges to begin with, Rubin said.

National Trauma and Negotiations

An IDF spokesperson called the Hamas attacks Israel's 9/11. Rubin speculated that it might be worse than that for Israel because the attacks have conjured images of pogroms and the Holocaust. He said Israel's small population exacerbates the sense of national trauma and could decrease the likelihood of a non-military response.

“Almost everyone in Israel, particularly Jewish Israelis, knows someone who was killed, wounded, or kidnapped. Combined with the effect of having women and children held hostage, with reports of rape circulating on social media, this will reduce Israel’s willingness to compromise,” Rubin said.

Whether Hamas can withstand Israel's efforts to restrict the flow of resources into Gaza and likely attacks on its leadership remains to be seen, explained Jordan. President Biden said on 60 Minutes that he supports the elimination of Hamas entirely, but Jordan noted that organizations such as Hamas — with popular support, a bureaucratized organizational structure, and a strong ideological foundation — are extraordinarily resilient.

“It’s important to remember that ideology can become more entrenched in the face of violence and heavy-handed counterreactions on the part of the state fighting that particular group," she said.

On Campus

Jordan and Rubin, along with Associate Professor Rachel Whitlark and Lawrence Silverman, U.S. ambassador to Kuwait from 2016 to 2019, will host a virtual discussion titled Israel and Hamas at War on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at noon.

The following resources and services are available to members of the Georgia Tech community:

Center for Mental Health Care and Resources.

Let’s Talk program.
Satellite Counseling program.
Through a partnership with Christie Campus Health, sponsored by the University System of Georgia, students can access 24/7 assistance by calling 404.894.2575 to get immediate assistance from a counselor. Students can also visit the GT Wellness Hub webpage for more self-care resources.
Dean of Students Office.

Advocacy and assistance: If you are concerned about a student who may be in distress or believe that a student may need personal support, the Dean of Students Office accepts third party referrals from faculty and staff.
Office of International Education.
info@oie.gatech.edu – Students needing support (or faculty/staff consultation) can contact the office via this address.
Campus chaplains.

Subtitle

As the war unfolds, Tech experts offer their thoughts on what happened, what comes next, and how the U.S. will be involved.

Summary sentence

As the war unfolds, Tech experts offer their thoughts on what happened, what comes next, and how the U.S. will be involved.

Summary

As the war unfolds, Tech experts offer their thoughts on what happened, what comes next, and how the U.S. will be involved.

Dateline

Tue, 10/17/2023 - 12:00

steven.gagliano@gatech.edu

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Steven Gagliano - Institute Communications

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To reach the experts cited in this article, contact Georgia Tech Media Relations.

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Tue, 10/17/2023 - 14:14

Georgia Tech Researchers Receive $11.6 Million from the Department of Energy to Establish the Transuranic Chemistry Center of Excellence

admin — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 13:57:34 +0000

Georgia Tech Researchers Receive $11.6 Million from the Department of Energy to Establish the Transuranic Chemistry Center of Excellence admin Fri, 08/18/2023 - 09:57

Stockpile stewardship — safeguarding and maintaining nuclear defense materials using modern techniques — is a critical mission of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Maintaining and expanding the necessary physical and human capabilities to complete this mission is driving renewed investments into nuclear science and engineering.

Georgia Tech researchers were recently awarded $11.6 million from the NNSA to address this growing need — and to study and expand on existing models of transuranic chemistry, a branch of chemistry dedicated to studying elements with atomic numbers greater than that of uranium.

Led by School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Associate Professor Henry “Pete” La Pierre, the funding will serve to establish the Transuranic Chemistry Center of Excellence. Directed by La Pierre, the Center will house a collaborative network of five other universities and six national laboratories across the United States conducting both theoretical and applied research.

“Scientifically, actinides and transuranic elements present unique challenges to existing models of chemical bonding,” explains La Pierre. These elements are man-made radioactive metals, many of which are not available in large quantities. “There are amazing open-ended questions that are fundamental to our understanding of chemical bonding and activities, that serve to transform our knowledge of how the elements form bonds across the Periodic Table.”

Joining seven other universities, this funding comes to Georgia Tech as part of NNSA’s $100 million program establishing Stewardship Science Academic Alliances Centers of Excellence. A main goal of this program is to recruit, train, and educate the next generation of researchers in nuclear science and engineering.

“These cooperative agreements will allow NNSA to train the smartest and most skilled individuals while creating a direct pathway into our workforce with a diverse group of experts that can meet the evolving needs of the nuclear security enterprise,” said Kevin Greenaugh, Chief Science and Technology Officer for Defense Programs, in a recent press release.

“The science and engineering collaboration of this center is a true synergy,” says Martha Grover, professor and associate chair for Graduate Studies in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and one of the collaborators for the Center. Anna Erickson, Woodruff Professor and associate chair for Research in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, is another Georgia Tech collaborator. “This center provides a new example of the growing prominence of Georgia Tech in the nuclear field.”

Pushing the bounds of chemistry

“We are at core a synthetic inorganic chemistry group, which means we make new molecules and characterize them,” La Pierre explained. In his research as part of the Center, La Pierre will “be handling both radioactive and chemically reactive species to make new forms of matter.”

Characterizing new forms of matter is no easy task, requiring advanced techniques that allow scientists to envision and measure the properties of chemical bonds. Exposing the molecules to X-rays or neutrons and measuring how they scatter or diffract (depending on the experimental design), gives researchers insights into the chemical bonds that are formed.

Using a combination of these advanced techniques as well as theoretical models, La Pierre and the collaborators of the Center will be creating new molecules out of actinides and lanthanides — metallic elements on the bottom of the periodic table — and studying the details of their structures and behavior during chemical reactions. As these elements are not found naturally, the structures and properties of many of these compounds have never been studied before.

“We are creating systems that challenge existing bonding models, which we then have to go back and build new theoretical techniques in order to understand what we're seeing,” La Pierre explained. “So, this does push the forefront of our understanding of basic chemical model systems.”

To push those boundaries, scientists and engineers will be working together across the country — led by Georgia Tech.

“There are so many faculty at Georgia Tech working in nuclear science and technology,” says Grover. “This center gives me the opportunity to collaborate with Prof. La Pierre and Erickson for the first time, in the area of flow chemistry and separations.”

“I'm looking forward to working with some incredibly talented colleagues whom I don't normally get a chance to work with,” says La Pierre. “And now we have the opportunity to work together every week with fantastic students that I would never have met otherwise. That's the main draw for me.”

Summary sentence

Directed by School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Associate Professor Henry “Pete” La Pierre, the Center will serve to push Georgia Tech to the forefront of nuclear science and engineering — and push the boundaries of our understanding of chemical bonding

Summary

Georgia Tech researchers were recently awarded $11.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Transuranic Chemistry Center of Excellence. Directed by School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Associate Professor Henry “Pete” La Pierre, the Center will serve to push Georgia Tech to the forefront of nuclear science and engineering — and push the boundaries of our understanding of chemical bonding.

Dateline

Mon, 07/31/2023 - 12:00

davidson.audra@gatech.edu

Contact

Writer: Audra Davidson
Communications Officer II, College of Sciences

Editor: Jess Hunt-Ralston
Director of Communications, College of Sciences

Keywords

Nuclear Engineering

transuranic chemistry

Henry La Pierre

Anna Erickson

martha grover

cos-quantum

cos-community

go-researchnews

News room topics

Science and Technology

Categories

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Engineering

Military Technology

Research

Mercury ID

668643

Source updated

Fri, 08/18/2023 - 09:57

Georgia Tech Researchers to Lead Pioneering Space Wargaming Series

admin — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 19:15:12 +0000

Georgia Tech Researchers to Lead Pioneering Space Wargaming Series admin Mon, 06/26/2023 - 15:15

Space is, thankfully, a peaceful place. But that lack of conflict high overhead also obscures how little scholars down here know about the ways a conflict in orbit might play out, much less how to deter it.

Georgia Tech space policy expert Mariel Borowitz thinks she has a way to help clear up some of that confusion. Under a new $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, Borowitz plans to help lead a major series of public space wargaming exercises. They’re meant to tease out how current U.S. deterrence strategies might fall short when it comes to stopping a conflict in space and what can be done to improve them.

“When it comes to conflict in space, the stakes are enormously high and the challenges are extremely complex,” said Borowitz, an associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. “This project will better equip us to understand whether existing deterrence models can help hold the line in space or whether another model is necessary to prevent a potentially devastating outbreak in orbit.”

Jon Lindsay, an associate professor in the Nunn School with a joint appointment in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, will work with Borowitz on the project, as will U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Brian Stewart — a Nunn School Ph.D. graduate who now teaches at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Jacquelyn Schneider — a Hoover Fellow at The Hoover Center at Stanford University — rounds out the team.

A central theme of the project will be trying to understand how the concept of integrated deterrence applies to conflict in space. Integrated deterrence essentially boils down to a country using everything at its disposal to prevent conflict from escalating too far, from applying diplomatic and economic pressure to bringing the military into the mix.

Using such means to deter conflict in a global hotspot on the ground is tricky enough. Look no further than Ukraine for contemporary evidence of that.

But when that hotspot is space, conflict doesn’t just threaten stability in one part of the planet. It could quickly become a serious threat to civilian communications, commerce, and military operations across the globe. Despite the high stakes, trying to understand how to tamp down such conflict is something government officials and scholars are only beginning to tackle.

Much of the work in this space focuses on improving military technology to sense what adversaries are doing and improving the ability of militaries to destroy incoming attacks quickly. But this project highlights how no complex problem can be solved without considering both technological and human factors — a core competency of the Nunn School and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

“We understand entanglement from a technological standpoint, but we need to better understand how these entanglements affect perceptions and decisions, which ultimately shape deterrence,” Borowitz said. “And we need to have more clarity on how decisions to separate military and civilian systems or choices to integrate different sectors within the space domain more closely might affect deterrence, before billions of dollars are spent on these efforts.”

Borowitz and her colleagues have already staged versions of space conflict scenarios in the classroom at Georgia Tech. They are now broadening the scope and preparing for the first exercises, which could come as soon as September.

The team plans to hold wargaming sessions across the globe over the next few years, including at Georgia Tech and the Air Force Academy and in Washington, Brussels, Taiwan, and Tokyo. The sessions will include national security figures, scholars, students, and international partners.

The project is expected to generate a significant dataset of use to scholars, as well as a book, game design materials, and other assets to help other researchers continue the work, Borowitz said

Subtitle

Summary sentence

Mariel Borowitz and Jon Lindsay of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs will help lead a series of public wargaming exercises to test the limits of U.S. deterrence strategies in space.

Summary

Under a new $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, Mariel Borowitz plans to help lead a major series of public space wargaming exercises. They’re meant to tease out how current U.S. deterrence strategies might fall short when it comes to stopping a conflict in space and what can be done to improve them.

Dateline

Mon, 06/26/2023 - 12:00

michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu

Contact

Michael Pearson
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

Associated importer

Keywords

wargaming

space

wargaming exercises

Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts; Sam Nunn School of International Affairs

U.S. Department of Defense

school of cybersecurity and privacy

Military Technology

National Security

united states air force

News room topics

Earth and Environment

Science and Technology

Categories

Military Technology

Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts

Research

Computer Science/Information Technology and Security

Mercury ID

668227

Source updated

Mon, 06/26/2023 - 15:15

Research Out Front: Experts Look Ahead to 2023 and Beyond

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 03:46:02 +0000

Research Out Front: Experts Look Ahead to 2023 and Beyond admin Wed, 02/08/2023 - 22:46

What differentiates how people are able to hold their attention on a task? How do people acquire new skills? These are tough questions that Georgia Tech cognitive scientist Alex Burgoyne is trying to find good answers to.

For decades, schools, companies, and federal agencies have tried to use standardized tests to determine whether someone will be a success before they are hired or assigned. But Burgoyne says there are better ways to figure out if a candidate is likely to be a good fit.

“We’re looking at more fluid abilities like problem-solving, working memory, and how people can control their attention,” explains Alexander Burgoyne, a cognitive scientist in the School of Psychology.

Burgoyne and his fellow researchers are taking a closer look at the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, better known as the ASVAB. With the U.S. Navy, Burgoyne and his colleagues are using modeling to determine if pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight officers are hitting the mark during their training. The ASVAB, which is highly focused on acquired math and verbal skills, may not measure more specific skills necessary for success.

“Air traffic controllers, for example, need to be able to maintain focus for long periods of time. Whether or not they can make change for a $10 bill is less important for their day-to-day jobs,” he says.

Burgoyne says his work also addresses adverse impact in employment and selection practices. Acquired knowledge tests like the ASVAB often have stratified results that make it harder for applicants from minority communities to succeed.

“The military has a duty to improve their selection procedures to reduce inequities, and they can all better predict who will do well in certain types of training,” he says.

Burgoyne is conducting testing with naval trainees at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, but Fortune 500 companies have also been in contact with him about this cognitive ability research.

Because every failed personnel search or newly assigned team member who can’t pass training costs an organization valuable time, money, and resources, says Burgoyne, “Every company that is hiring must worry about whether they have equitable selection measures in place.” He says it’s a systemic issue and currently a hot topic of conversation.

In the next year, Burgoyne and his colleagues in the Attention and Working Memory Lab at Georgia Tech will continue identifying how to measure different levels of memory capacity and mental focus, as a better determinant for successful performance in a variety of settings.

Learn more about Burgoyne and five fellow researchers in the Georgia Tech newsroom.

Summary sentence

As we kick off a new year, hear from six young, pioneering Georgia Tech researchers who are tackling some of the world’s most complicated issues and working on solutions.

Summary

As we kick off a new year, experts at Georgia Tech are working to understand how some of the world's most pressing concerns will play out over the next 12 months. Hear from six young, pioneering Georgia Tech researchers who are tackling some of the world’s most complicated issues and working on solutions — ranging from feeding an ever-growing population to controlling wheelchairs via wireless brain wave patches.

Dateline

Thu, 01/05/2023 - 12:00

jess@cos.gatech.edu

Contact

Steven Norris
Senior Director of Social Media and Media Relations
Georgia Tech

See the full story here.
Writers: Benjamin Hodges and Steven Norris
Layout: Brice Zimmerman and Steven Norris
Design: Mark Ziemer
Editing: Brigitte Espinet

Location

Atlanta, GA

Associated importer

Keywords

cos-community

School of Psychology

Cognition

Research

psychology

skills acquisition

memory

brain science

Categories

Institute and Campus

Research

Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics

Military Technology

Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts

Core research areas

National Security

People and Technology

Public Service, Leadership, and Policy

Mercury ID

664424

Source updated

Thu, 01/05/2023 - 14:45

Military Technology

Army Vet Guides Student Team in Delivering Digital Solution for Military Operations

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Categories

Thesis on Human-Centered AI Earns Honors from International Computing Organization

Related links

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Faculty, Students Pilot AI Crisis Simulation

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News room topics

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Grappling With Uncertainty Amid Cyberattacks

Shifting the Focus

Mental Shortcuts

Keywords

News room topics

Categories

Georgia Tech Experts Shed Light on Israel-Hamas War

Identifying an End Goal

A Second Battle: Misinformation

Looking Ahead

*The below story was originally posted Oct. 17, 2023.

What Happened?

What's Next?

U.S. Involvement

National Trauma and Negotiations

On Campus

Keywords

News room topics

Categories

Georgia Tech Researchers Receive $11.6 Million from the Department of Energy to Establish the Transuranic Chemistry Center of Excellence

Pushing the bounds of chemistry

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Keywords

News room topics

Categories

Georgia Tech Researchers to Lead Pioneering Space Wargaming Series

Keywords

News room topics

Categories

Research Out Front: Experts Look Ahead to 2023 and Beyond

Keywords

Categories

Core research areas