GTRI

Tech Visionary Chris Klaus Empowers Georgia Tech Grads to Launch Startups

admin — Fri, 02 May 2025 13:35:41 +0000

Tech Visionary Chris Klaus Empowers Georgia Tech Grads to Launch Startups admin Fri, 05/02/2025 - 09:35

In a bold move to ignite Atlanta's entrepreneurial spirit, renowned tech entrepreneur and Georgia Tech alumnus Christopher W. Klaus announced during his Georgia Tech Commencement address on Friday, May 2 that he will personally cover the incorporation costs for any graduating student aspiring to launch a startup. "This is about more than just covering fees — it’s about lighting a spark,” said Klaus. “Every founder needs someone to believe in them early. Through this gift, we’re offering that belief and giving graduates the chance to start building with purpose and confidence.” Klaus is a driving force in Atlanta’s tech and startup community. While still a student at Georgia Tech, he founded Internet Security Systems, which went public and was later acquired by IBM for nearly $2 billion. Today, he leads Fusen, a startup accelerator that connects students with founders, mentors, investors, and early-stage funding to launch new ventures. In 2000, Klaus donated $15 million to help create Georgia Tech’s Christopher W. Klaus Advanced Computing Building, an innovation hub at the Institute. He also co-founded CREATE-X, Tech’s flagship entrepreneurship program, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024 and has launched over 500 student startups. “We invited Chris Klaus to speak at Commencement because he embodies the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that has defined Georgia Tech for 140 years,” said President Ángel Cabrera, who will also bestow an honorary Ph.D. on Klaus during the ceremony. “Through his groundbreaking work, his message, and now his generous gift to this semester’s graduates, Chris continues to inspire a new generation to lead with imagination and creativity.” Klaus' commitment complements Atlanta's broader efforts to foster a robust tech ecosystem and aligns with Mayor Andre Dickens' ambitious goal of positioning Atlanta as a top five U.S. tech hub. Achieving this status necessitates the creation of approximately 2,000 startups annually by 2027 to attract significant venture capital, generate employment, and solidify the city's standing as a premier innovation center. "Chris Klaus' generosity and vision will help further Atlanta's position as one of the country’s leading tech hubs," said Mayor Dickens. "His support for emerging entrepreneurs exemplifies our city’s group project and what is needed to equip the next generation of job creators for success."

Summary sentence

Summary

Christopher W. Klaus, a renowned tech entrepreneur and Georgia Tech alumnus, announced during his Commencement address that he will personally cover the incorporation costs for any graduating student aspiring to launch a startup, aiming to ignite Atlanta's entrepreneurial spirit. His commitment complements Atlanta's broader efforts to foster a robust tech ecosystem and aligns with Mayor Andre Dickens' goal of positioning Atlanta as a top five U.S. tech hub.

Dateline

Fri, 05/02/2025 - 12:00

media@gatech.edu

Contact

Georgia Tech Media Relations

Institute Communications

Associated importer

Keywords

Christopher W. Klaus

Georgia Tech

Commencement address

incorporation costs

graduating student

startup

entrepreneurial spirit

Internet Security Systems

Fusen

Christopher W. Klaus Advanced Computing Building

CREATE-X

Atlanta tech ecosystem

Mayor Andre Dickens

top U.S. tech hub

yellow jackets

ramblin' wreck

Tech Square

innovation hub

Georgia Tech Research Institute

GTRI

News room topics

Business and Economic Development

Campus and Community

Categories

Institute and Campus

Mercury ID

682185

Source updated

Fri, 05/02/2025 - 09:34

Georgia Tech's Computer Science Initiative Expands Opportunities for Rural Students

admin — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 13:57:51 +0000

Georgia Tech's Computer Science Initiative Expands Opportunities for Rural Students admin Tue, 01/28/2025 - 08:57

In Georgia, where rural communities often face barriers to accessing advanced education in science and technology, Georgia Tech is leading a transformative effort to bridge the gap. The Rural Computer Science Initiative, designed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC), is redefining computer science education for underserved school districts.

The program, inspired by Georgia state representative Todd Jones, connects Georgia Tech faculty and students with rural schools to co-teach engaging computer science lessons while supporting local teachers in developing the skills needed to independently teach these subjects. As Rep. Jones explains, “At the end of the day, your birthplace should not determine the type of education you receive here in our state.”

Empowering Teachers and Students

Through a combination of remote teaching and in-class collaboration, the program is already active in 40 school districts, with plans to expand in 2025. The program's co-teaching model enables rural teachers to upskill while offering students dynamic, hands-on learning opportunities. Shiona Drummer, a participating computer science teacher in Twiggs County noted, “It's been really good to me because I did not have a background in computer science. Being a part of the program has influenced my teaching in that I know I have colleagues I can call on.”

For students, the program unlocks new possibilities.

"It's been fun. It's something new,” shared a Twiggs County student. “You get to just express yourself,” she continued. “Most classes, you just sit there, pretty much just bored. This class, you get to interact with things, and it’s just more fun.”

These reactions reflect the initiative's broader goals: to inspire students, foster their confidence, and connect their education to real-world challenges. Lizanne DeStefano, CEISMC’s executive director, emphasizes this point: “The way that we've designed the Rural CS Initiative is that the student work is embedded in real-life problems, particularly those that affect our rural communities.”

Preparing for the Future Workforce

Beyond classroom learning, the program is helping shape Georgia’s future workforce to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving tech landscape. Rep. Jones highlights the initiative's broader implications: “We’ve given [students] that opportunity and that springboard to be able to do things they possibly may never have had the opportunity to do. It provides a greater educated workforce — one that brings us into 2030, 2040, and 2050 with the advent of AI, autonomous vehicles, and other technological advancements.”

The initiative is also tackling one of the pain points for rural communities: the belief that young people must leave their hometowns to find well-paying, high-value jobs. DeStefano explains, “We’re using this as a way to show how students can remain in their communities, contribute to them with a computer science degree or knowledge, and still be an important cog in the global workforce.”

How the Initiative Works

The professional development aspect of the Rural Computer Science Initiative helps ensure that the teachers can sustain the program’s impact long after Georgia Tech’s involvement.

Leigh McCook, who leads the initiative at GTRI, outlined the process: “We first meet with the teachers, providing professional development to walk through the modules and show them how they should get involved in the classroom. Then we co-teach the first week and guide problem-based learning in the second week to assess student comprehension.”

Ensuring that cutting-edge topics such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and robotics are paired with a problem-based learning approach, is how Georgia Tech is properly equipping rural students with 21st-century skills.

“Knowledge is power,” said Rise’ Jenkins, principal at Twiggs County High School. “Once you show students what’s available to them and the access they have, they just readily embrace the idea of learning.”

An initiative that moves beyond education into more of a transformation, this program aims to prepare students for careers in emerging fields while ensuring Georgia remains competitive in the global economy. CEISMC’s DeStefano notes, “We’re not thinking about filling jobs today; we’re thinking about filling jobs for the next decade.”

Summary sentence

Georgia Tech’s Rural Computer Science Initiative empowers rural teachers and students in Georgia through co-taught computer science courses, preparing them for tech careers and supporting Georgia’s future workforce.

Summary

With 40 schools systems throughout Georgia participating so far, Georgia Tech’s Rural Computer Science Initiative bridges the educational divide for underserved communities across the state by connecting Georgia Tech faculty and students with rural school systems to co-teach dynamic computer science courses, empowering teachers with new skills and inspiring students to pursue tech careers while addressing workforce needs for Georgia's future economy.

Dateline

Wed, 01/22/2025 - 12:00

Blair.Meeks@gatech.edu

Contact

Blair Meeks
Institute Communications
Georgia Tech

Associated importer

Keywords

STEM education

CEISMC

GTRI

economic development

rural economic development

News room topics

Business and Economic Development

Categories

Computer Science/Information Technology and Security

Economic Development and Policy

Education

Mercury ID

679831

Source updated

Tue, 01/28/2025 - 08:57

Georgia Tech Ph.D. Student, GEM Fellows Alum Receives Role Model Award from SHPE

dgivens8 — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 15:31:39 +0000

Georgia Tech Ph.D. Student, GEM Fellows Alum Receives Role Model Award from SHPE dgivens8 Fri, 03/22/2024 - 11:31

Carolina Colón, a Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech and a member of GTRI’s GEM Fellowship cohort, has been honored with the "Role Model Award – Graduate" by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). This award is part of SHPE's Technical Achievement and Recognition (STAR) Awards and will be presented at the SHPE National Convention taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Nov. 1-5.

Carolina Colón

Carolina is currently working toward her Ph.D. in Bioengineering, focusing on T-cell therapies, at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. She earned her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2022 and holds an A.A. in Engineering from Valencia College, awarded in 2019.

Originally from Puerto Rico, she moved to Florida for her last year of high school.

Research at GTRI, Georgia Tech

Carolina's research work aims to combine aerospace engineering and bioengineering to develop devices that enable the mass production of cell therapies to lower their cost and make them more accessible.

GEM Fellowship

Colón was a participant in GTRI’s GEM Fellowship program in 2022. The national GEM Consortium provides funding for graduate education through corporate sponsorships and a partnership with university partners, such as Georgia Tech.

The National GEM Consortium is a network of leading corporations, government laboratories, elite universities, and elite research institutions that empowers qualified students from underrepresented communities to pursue a graduate degree in a STEM field. GEM’s mission is to garner a talent pool of African American, Hispanic American, and Native American advanced degree-seekers in STEM fields.

Every year, GEM identifies and recruits close to 2,000 students and working professionals from underrepresented groups to participate in its program, which consists of three graduate fellowship tracks: Master of Science in Engineering, Ph.D. in Science, and Ph.D. in Engineering.

GEM also provides financial support to aspiring graduate students from underrepresented groups, allowing them to pursue their dreams without worrying about money.

Students selected into the GEM Fellowship program must complete a corporate internship during the summer and attend graduate school during the fall and spring semesters. In exchange, students are provided funding for graduate school through an agreement with their home institutions.

In the GEM Fellowship program, one of her advisors was GTRI Principal Research Engineer Jud Ready of the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory (EOSL).

Ready said that Carolina “increased teamwork and morale while creatively expanding knowledge of her lab mates’ different cultural backgrounds.”

Said Carolina of her GEM experience: "The experience I gained at GTRI will definitely last me a lifetime, and it’s something that has changed my life immensely. Thanks to all at EOSL and GEM."

Other Research Programs

Carolina’s research and professional trajectory has also been aided by her participation in multiple Georgia Tech summer research programs, including the Cell Therapy Manufacturing (CMaT), FOCUS, and SURE programs. Georgia Tech’s FOCUS program is one of the nation’s premier graduate recruitment programs designed to attract highly skilled students who have historically been underrepresented in higher education. The Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering/Sciences (SURE) program is a 10-week summer research program designed to attract qualified under-represented minority and women students into graduate school in the fields of engineering and science.

Woodruff School Honors

Most recently, as a new graduate student at Georgia Tech, she has been selected as the Vice President of the Woodruff School Graduate Women (WSGW) group and has already put into motion her ideas regarding Hispanic heritage, GT PRIDE, community college information sessions, etc.

The School of Mechanical Engineering has recognized her Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. She is an active volunteer with student recruitment panels and represented the school at the Women of Technology Gala. The school also awarded her the Inaugural Women of Woodruff “Rising Star” award for her efforts.

To cap it off, the Woodruff School also awarded Carolina the inaugural Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship (IRF). This honor recognized Carolina's vision of intertwining the fields of aerospace and bioengineering to create enhanced devices and enable cell therapies in the space environment for astronauts in long-term space missions.

Nada es imposible si lo intentas. (Nothing is impossible if you try.)
-- Carolina Colón

Beyond Academia

In addition to her studies, Carolina has worked with Marriott Hotels for about ten years. When she is not in the lab, Carolina enjoys activities such as watching anime, learning languages, playing video games, and swimming.

About the Award and SHPE

SHPE is the largest association in the U.S. aimed at supporting Hispanics in STEM fields. The organization’s STAR Awards are annual honors given to individuals, companies, and government agencies that have demonstrated commitment and measurable impact in advancing Hispanics in STEM. The awards are a key feature of the annual SHPE National Convention.

Carolina has been a member of SHPE for three years. A key example of her contribution to SHPE is that, in 2022, she was invited to represent Georgia Tech College of Engineering at the SHPE national conference in North Carolina, and is reprising the same role this year as well.

Leading up to last year’s event, she helped students with graduate school applications, resumes, practice interviews, and pointers on how to land internships. At the event, she talked to many students and told/encouraged them to apply to the many programs that she has participated in, such as Georgia Tech’s FOCUS and SURE programs.

The award received by Carolina Colón reflects GTRI’s and Georgia Tech’s ongoing commitment to creating a diverse academic environment and advancing excellence in STEM fields.

Carolina Colón’s recent accolade serves as a testament to her dedication and contribution to the field of STEM. It also highlights the quality of research and academics within GTRI and Georgia Tech.

We are proud to celebrate her achievements.

Ready said about Carolina: “It seems apparent already that she is destined to be one of those ‘special’ students that go on to make an impact throughout their career in numerous areas.”

We agree—and expect to note many more achievements in the future.

Writer: Christopher Weems
GTRI Communications
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Atlanta, Georgia

Photos: Candler Hobbs
Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry. GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.

Summary sentence

Summary

Dateline

Fri, 10/27/2023 - 12:00

michelle.gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

Contact

(Interim) Director of Communications

Michelle Gowdy

Michelle.Gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

404-407-8060

Associated importer

Keywords

GTRI

Research

go-researchnews

science and technology

EOSL

student researcher

developing future technology leaders

SHPE

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

Categories

Research

Student and Faculty

Student Honors and Achievements

Student Research

Mercury ID

670725

Source updated

Fri, 03/22/2024 - 11:30

GTRI’s Stefan Abi-Karam Receives Esteemed FPL Community Award

dgivens8 — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 14:56:41 +0000

GTRI’s Stefan Abi-Karam Receives Esteemed FPL Community Award dgivens8 Fri, 03/22/2024 - 10:56

Stefan Abi-Karam, a member of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and a Ph.D student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, has been honored with the prestigious FPL Community Award at the 33rd International Conference on Field-Programmable Logic and Applications (FPL 2023) in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Abi-Karam, a Research Engineer I in GTRI's Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research (CIPHER) Laboratory, was recognized for his paper titled "GNNBuilder: An Automated Framework for Generic Graph Neural Network Accelerator Generation, Simulation, and Optimization." The paper explores the intersection of hardware acceleration and applied deep learning, and delves into areas such as electronic design automation (EDA), FPGA architecture, and VLSI algorithms.

The FPL Community Award recognizes significant research contributions within the field-programmable logic community. It is awarded based on the impact and potential long-term benefits of open-source research, as assessed by peer reviewers during the conference.

Said Stefan, "I am really happy that there is community recognition for open-source academic hardware research, as this is still not the norm, or the open-source aspect is not seen as valuable in many academic research projects."

Abi-Karam's work, conducted in collaboration with Prof. Cong Hao of Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), stands out for its focus on the pragmatic aspects of engineering, automation, and co-design of high-level-synthesis-based hardware accelerators for computing graph neural networks. Stefan also received his bachelor's degree from Georgia Tech.

Stefan’s research has potential applications in various fields, including high-energy physics, where the deployment of graph neural networks in hardware.

Abi-Karam's dedication to his research and his success in blending his Ph.D. studies with his work at GTRI exemplify GTRI’s Mission's aims of Educating Future Technology Leaders and being a “People-First” environment.

This award not only recognizes Abi-Karam's individual excellence but also underscores GTRI’s and Georgia Tech's role as leaders in the field of cybersecurity and electrical and computer engineering research.

"The award itself was very unexpected since this was my first time at the FPL conference!" said Stefan excitedly and humbly. "It was also the first time I got to meet and talk to many of the other professors and students for the first time who also work in my research area as well as other areas that overlap with my work at GTRI."

Congratulations, Stefan!

Subtitle

Summary sentence

Stefan Abi-Karam, a member of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and a Ph.D. student was recently honored with the prestigious FPL Community Award for his significant research contributions within the field-programmable logic community.

Summary

Dateline

Mon, 11/27/2023 - 12:00

michelle.gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

Contact

(Interim) Director of Communications

Michelle Gowdy

Michelle.Gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

404-407-8060

Associated importer

Keywords

GTRI

Research

go-researchnews

science and technology

innovation

student research

developing future technology leaders

FPL

Field-Programmable Logic and Applications

Georgia Tech Electrical and Computer Engineering

Categories

Education

Institute and Campus

Research

Student Honors and Achievements

Mercury ID

671239

Source updated

Fri, 03/22/2024 - 09:58

Digital Inspection Portal Uses AI and Machine Vision to Examine Moving Trains

admin — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 13:50:41 +0000

Digital Inspection Portal Uses AI and Machine Vision to Examine Moving Trains admin Fri, 01/26/2024 - 08:50

Collaboration between Norfolk Southern Corporation and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has led to the development of digital train inspection portals that use advanced machine vision and artificial intelligence to examine trains moving at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour to identify mechanical defects that may exist.

Machine vision technology in the portals produces images of key components located on the front and back, top, bottom, and sides of train cars, providing a 360-degree view of the complete train. Images produced by the portal are analyzed within minutes of a train’s passage, allowing any issues identified to be reported immediately.

Two train portals are currently in operation on adjacent tracks in Leetonia, Ohio, and the company plans to have as many as a dozen in service by the end of 2024. Among them will be a train portal already under construction near Jackson, Georgia, which is located south of Atlanta.

“Norfolk Southern is deploying Digital Train Inspection Portals to enhance rail safety across the company’s 22-state network,” said Mabby Amouie, chief data scientist for the company. “The portals feature cutting-edge machine vision inspection technology developed in partnership with GTRI, which engineered the hardware, and Norfolk Southern’s Data Science/Artificial Intelligence and Mechanical teams, which built the brains behind the program.”

The machine vision portion uses 38 high-resolution cameras consisting of a mix of area and line scan cameras to photograph critical components of each rail car moving through the portals. Powerful lights comparable to those used in sports stadiums allow the cameras to take approximately a thousand photographs of each moving rail car.

“Being able to look at the train while it’s moving at 60 miles per hour provides visibility into defects that would be difficult to see otherwise,” said Gary McMurray, division chief of GTRI’s Intelligent Sustainable Technologies Division. “You want to be able to look at a train while it’s in motion because that’s when components are stressed, and you can see other dynamic faults.”

To reduce the amount of data that must be analyzed, each camera is aimed at a specific area of the train and takes photographs only when components of interest are visible. “The high-speed cameras are strategically placed at angles to capture things that are difficult to detect with the human eye during stationary inspections,” said Amouie.

Sensors at each portal determine the speed of each train passing through and use that information to precisely control when the photographs are taken.

“Even with a train traveling 60 miles per hour, we are able to calculate in real time when to tell each camera to take a picture,” said Colin Usher, a GTRI senior research scientist who led development of the machine vision system. “Only images of critical components are taken and the other areas of the train that are inconsequential to identifying defects are not captured. That optimizes the image capture and saves space in the computer system.”

The images produced by the system are analyzed by artificial intelligence algorithms developed by Norfolk Southern. The algorithms were designed to provide a combination of high accuracy and very low rates of false positives. If defects are spotted, the AI systems reports them immediately.

“The computer transmits the information to Norfolk Southern’s Network Operations Center, where the data is reviewed by subject-matter experts to identify and address issues to proactively ensure the safety of rail operations,” Amouie said. “Critical defects are flagged for immediate handling.”

The machine vision system uses image compression techniques to reduce the size of the photographs processed by computer servers located in the portals. For a single train, the data analyzed can amount to as much as 500 gigabytes. Because the inspection needs to be done quickly, the image processing is done on-site.

The inspection portals must operate year-round in all kinds of weather conditions and in geographic locations that range from extreme heat to cold. The machine vision system therefore has to operate despite heavy vibration levels, temperature extremes, rain and snow – and to remain clean as trains pass over.

To protect the cameras, air blown over the camera lenses shields them, while air-conditioned enclosures prevent overheating of the equipment. The system operates in a tunnel structure that helps protect the equipment and control lighting, which must be consistent across the train being inspected.

The project, which began in 2021, involved approximately a dozen researchers in four GTRI laboratories. The research built on imaging work done earlier for a variety of applications, including the food processing industry, which needed to monitor poultry on moving processing lines.

“By partnering with GTRI, Norfolk Southern is tapping into the best in machine vision technology in any market,” Amouie said. “We chose GTRI to be a partner because they develop advanced technology solutions and large-scale system prototypes to address the most difficult problems in national security, economic development and the overall human condition.”

Writer: John Toon (john.toon@gtri.gatech.edu)
GTRI Communications
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Atlanta, Georgia USA

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry. GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.

Summary sentence

Norfolk Southern Corporation and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed digital train inspection portals that use advanced machine vision and artificial intelligence to identify mechanical defects that may exist on moving trains.

Summary

Collaboration between Norfolk Southern Corporation and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has led to the development of digital train inspection portals that use advanced machine vision and artificial intelligence to examine trains moving at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour to identify mechanical defects that may exist.

Dateline

Fri, 01/19/2024 - 12:00

michelle.gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

Contact

(Interim) Director of Communications

Michelle Gowdy

Michelle.Gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

404-407-8060

Associated importer

Keywords

GTRI

Research

go-researchnews

science and technology

innovation

Norfolk Southern

Transportation

Trains

security

inspection

artificialintelligence

railways

Rail

machinevision

nationalsecurity

Georgia

News room topics

Business and Economic Development

Categories

City Planning, Transportation, and Urban Growth

Community

Computer Science/Information Technology and Security

Institute and Campus

Research

Mercury ID

672285

Source updated

Fri, 01/26/2024 - 08:49

Common Probiotic Bacteria Could Help Boost Protection Against Influenza

admin — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 18:56:31 +0000

Common Probiotic Bacteria Could Help Boost Protection Against Influenza admin Fri, 09/08/2023 - 14:56

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) have received funding to study the concept of using modified strains of probiotic bacteria – that are already part of the human gut microbiome – to stimulate the formation of antibodies against the flu virus in the body’s mucosal membranes. Respiratory viruses like influenza infect the body through mucosal membranes, and the proof-of-concept project will help evaluate whether snippets of influenza proteins – tiny fragments of the virus – could be added to two common bacterial strains to create the antibody response. Antibodies in the mucosal membranes might then complement those created by traditional intramuscular injections to head off flu infection.

The research, supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), will study whether or not the harmless bacteria can be successfully modified to carry snippets of a viral coat protein that could stimulate the desired response in mucosal membranes lining the gut. Beyond reducing influenza infection in the general population, improved protection against the flu could have a significant impact on the U.S. military, which wants to provide the best possible protection for its warfighters to reduce possible impacts on readiness and training from influenza outbreaks.

At Georgia Tech, the project is a collaboration between researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the Georgia Tech School of Biological Sciences. All of the research at Georgia Tech will be done using BSL-2 facilities designed for this type of study. The award does not include research on animals or humans.

“Ultimately, this could one day make vaccination programs much more effective,” said Michael Farrell, a GTRI principal research scientist. “This isn’t going to be a replacement for flu vaccines as they currently exist, but it could act as an adjuvant – something that’s done in addition to vaccination to increase the overall immune response. To benefit from it, you might take a pill like you do with probiotics now.”

Using Common Probiotic Bacteria as Vehicles

The project will focus on two common probiotic bacteria: Escherichia coli – a gram-negative bacterium better known as E. coli – and Lactococcus lactis, a gram-positive bacterium found in cheese, buttermilk, and other dairy food items. The researchers will attempt to coax the bacteria to express the influenza virus’ Hemagglutinin (HA) receptor protein on their outer cell surface. There, the protein would stimulate an antibody response in the gut mucosal membrane as it passes through the body’s gastrointestinal tract.

“We’re using some well-established probiotic bacteria that have been utilized for dozens of years, are well vetted and safe for humans,” said Brian Hammer, an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences who specializes in bacterial genetics. “Ultimately, the idea is to use these bacteria as a chassis to create living vaccines, since the body already tolerates them both well.”

Researchers at AFRL and Georgia Tech envision that a single pill or capsule would carry the bacteria into the gastrointestinal tract to provide the necessary antibody stimulation. The bacteria would be modified so they could not reproduce, preventing them from becoming part of the body’s gut microbiome – a diverse collection of bacteria that live in the body and help carry out specific functions, including metabolizing food and modulating the immune system.

“We know the human microbiome is intimately involved in human health and disease, influencing processes in ways that have both positive and negative outcomes for us,” said Richard Agans, senior research biological scientist at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM). “Recently, we have started to better understand how the microbiome communicates with our bodies and how we can identify, target, and promote the beneficial aspects. Currently, we are working to determine how to utilize these microbial communities to better protect our warfighters as well as the general public.”

Overcoming Challenges of Manipulating Bacteria

Hammer’s lab specializes in manipulating proteins of organisms such as bacteria and viruses to create novel fusions. Among the techniques available is the new CRISPR-Cas, the gene-editing technology that was the subject of a Nobel Prize in 2020, but other more traditional techniques may also be used to get the influenza surface protein where the researchers want it to be.

Among the challenges ahead is that adding a new component to bacterial organisms can be difficult.

“In general, bacteria have evolved with the genetic components they need to survive,” Farrell explained. “If you add something else, they may just kick it out. It’s very hard to find a neutral location in the bacterial genome where we can stably add new functionality. This is especially true for this effort, in which there will be no cointroduction of antimicrobial resistance markers.”

In addition, the probiotic bacteria strains that are widely used in research as model organisms, or “lab rats,” are adapted to living in laboratory conditions. This project, however, will use natural commensal strains that co-exist in humans. That approach may make it even more challenging to add the appropriate material for expressing the viral proteins on the bacteria cell surfaces, Hammer said.

“We used to perceive that genes could be shuffled around in the bacteria without much effect on them, but we’re learning now that location really matters,” he said. “One of the concerns is that tools that work on the ‘lab rat’ versions of these bacteria will not be as readily accepted by these commensals.”

As part of the project, the researchers will have to show that the addition of the protein doesn’t cause instability in the bacteria, and that the modified bacteria generate the correct response when exposed to human immune cells in culture.

Proof of Concept Could Lead to Broader Vaccine Therapies

Beyond its importance to the military, influenza was chosen to study this adjuvant approach because a number of vaccines exist for this virus, and they have been well studied over the years. If this approach works with influenza, the combination of pill and injection might be useful for vaccines against other respiratory viruses.

“If this is ultimately successful, it could be the first foray into showing that these vehicles, these probiotics, could potentially be scaled up for lots of different therapeutic uses,” said Hammer. “By customizing the cargo, this approach could be rapidly adapted to address new and emerging threats that may arise in the future.”

Project Provides Student Opportunity

The two-year project life was chosen because of the expected difficulty – and because another of its goals is to train a master’s degree student in the bacterial modification techniques being utilized.

The Georgia Tech researchers have chosen an underrepresented minority student who holds an undergraduate degree in biology from Kennesaw State University and has worked in a commercial DNA laboratory. Katrina Lancaster will begin work on this project during fall semester, collaborating with both Hammer and Farrell – and the students and other researchers in their labs.

“This student will have excellent opportunities, not only to learn the skills in the lab and take the coursework, but also to develop a rich network of connections, both in the School of Biological Sciences and at GTRI, that will be helpful in moving forward and advancing their career,” Hammer said. “It’s a really beautiful combination of components for this project.”

The project is funded through the AFRL’s Minority Leaders Research Collaboration Program (ML-RCP).

“Partnering with academic institutions, such as GTRI, presents great opportunities for our team to interact and work with top minds in these fields to develop better outcomes for everyone,” Agans said. “We are especially grateful for the opportunity to mentor and provide opportunities for underrepresented students with STEM aspirations. We are excited to work with GTRI in this endeavor and envision this being just the first step.”

USAFSAM is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Performance Wing.

Writer: John Toon (john.toon@gtri.gatech.edu)
GTRI Communications
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Atlanta, Georgia

This story first appeared in the GTRI newsroom.

Subtitle

A newly funded research project might one day lead to the development of a pill or capsule able to boost the effectiveness of traditional vaccines against influenza

Summary sentence

A newly funded research project might one day lead to the development of a pill or capsule able to boost the effectiveness of traditional vaccines against influenza

Summary

A newly funded research project might one day lead to the development of a pill or capsule able to boost the effectiveness of traditional vaccines against influenza, which kills as many as 52,000 people and leads to hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations a year in the United States.

Dateline

Wed, 09/06/2023 - 12:00

jess@cos.gatech.edu

Contact

Jess Hunt-Ralston
Director of Communications
College of Sciences at Georgia Tech

Associated importer

Keywords

cos-microbial

go-researchnews

Brian Hammer

mike farrell

GTRI

Flu

influenza

human health

Air Force Research Laboratory

News room topics

Health and Medicine

Science and Technology

Categories

Research

Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics

Life Sciences and Biology

Mercury ID

669550

Source updated

Fri, 09/08/2023 - 14:44

GTRI Works to Enhance EV Battery Reuse and Recycling in Georgia

admin — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 14:11:31 +0000

GTRI Works to Enhance EV Battery Reuse and Recycling in Georgia admin Fri, 06/09/2023 - 10:11

Amid the surge in demand for lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles (EVs), there is a greater need to properly recycle them. The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is working to optimize Georgia’s EV battery supply chain by developing cost- and energy-efficient methods to recover materials from spent batteries so that more of them can be reused – and pose fewer environmental risks.

Georgia is quickly emerging as a hub for the electronic transportation industry. According to data from the Georgia Department of Economic Development, since 2018, 35 EV-related projects have contributed $23 billion in investments in the state.

South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group recently broke ground on its first fully dedicated EV manufacturing facility in Savannah’s Bryan County. The company has also teamed up with LG Energy Solution to invest $4.3 billion in building an EV battery cell manufacturing plant at the same location.

EV manufacturer and automotive technology company Rivian, which is based on Irvine, Calif., has announced a $5 billion investment in its second U.S. plant located east of Atlanta in Morgan and Walton Counties.

Hyundai’s new facility is expected to reach full production capacity at the end of 2025, with 30 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy anticipated to support the production of 300,000 EVs. Rivian, meanwhile, anticipates its Georgia plant will employ over 7,500 workers while producing up to 400,000 vehicles each year.

“This level of industry engagement in Georgia is unprecedented,” said Kevin Caravati, a GTRI principal research scientist, who is supporting this project. “The Hyundai plant, for example, could create tens of thousands of jobs in a very rural part of Georgia, which would be a step in the right direction for the entire state.”

The lithium-ion batteries that power EVs are seen as desirable over other battery technologies because of their high energy density, which allows electric cars to travel longer distances on a single charge. These types of batteries also have a low self-discharge rate, which means that the stored energy remains available for an extended period of time even when the vehicle is not in use.

However, these batteries can easily turn into fire hazards – especially at the end of their life cycle. Very few batteries ever end up being recycled and those that do get recycled are often mishandled.

“Currently, there are no recycling standards in place, which poses challenges for the entire supply chain,” said Milad Navaei, a GTRI senior research engineer, who is leading this project. “Our goal is to create circular economy for batteries in Georgia where we can reduce our dependence on raw materials that often come from overseas and can be very expensive.”

Lithium-ion batteries use metals including lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt that are mined in locations such as Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chile and Argentina. During the production process, the metals are combined with other materials to form the two key components of a battery cell – the cathode and the anode. Inside a battery, the cathode, which has a negative charge, and anode, which has a positive charge, interact to generate electrons that power the electronic device. Most lithium-ion batteries are currently made in China.

Navaei noted that geopolitical sensitivities and lingering supply chain challenges in many of these regions makes GTRI’s work all the more crucial.

GTRI’s research consists of two parts: One, develop more advanced analytics capabilities for fleet management companies to monitor the health and performance of EV batteries, and two, optimize the recovery of raw materials from batteries at the end of their useful life.

“The battery is the most important part of an EV, and it’s critical to know the battery’s state of health (SoH), which is the ratio of the present capacity to the initial capacity,” said Navaei. “Our goal is to utilize technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor the SoH of these batteries and estimate the life cycle, which heavily depends on the usage and the type of battery for its safe and reliable implementation in the next life application.”

GTRI aims to integrate these technologies into companies’ existing inventory management systems to streamline process management and reporting.

For the second part of the research, GTRI is utilizing a statistical technique known as parametric modeling to aggregate data about known behaviors and characteristics of EV batteries to help companies make more informed decisions about properly depowering them and repurposing their raw materials with minimal environmental impact.

“Developing a robust system-modeling approach to support our energy research is a primary focus of ours,” said GTRI Principal Research Scientist Ilan Stern, who is also supporting the project. “Since our ultimate goal is to utilize domestic sources in our supply chain, really the only way to do that is by building out strong recycling models to account for the fact that these companies are working with finite materials and many of them are coming from conflict zones.”

GTRI is working with a number of industry partners on this project, including many companies that participated in Georgia Tech Battery Day earlier this year. At the event, over 230 energy researchers and industry participants convened to discuss emerging opportunities in energy storage research. Some of the companies represented at the event included Hyundai Kia, Delta Airlines, Cox Automotive and Panasonic.

Writer: Anna Akins
Photo Credit: iStock
GTRI Communications
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Atlanta, Georgia

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $800 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry. GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.

Summary sentence

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is working to optimize Georgia’s EV battery supply chain by developing cost-and energy-efficient methods that pose fewer environmental risks.

Summary

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is working to optimize Georgia’s EV battery supply chain by developing cost- and energy-efficient methods to recover materials from spent batteries so that more of them can be reused – and pose fewer environmental risks.

Dateline

Wed, 06/07/2023 - 12:00

michelle.gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

Contact

(Interim) Director of Communications

Michelle Gowdy

Michelle.Gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

404-407-8060

Associated importer

Keywords

battery

GTRI

Research

go-researchnews

science and technology

recycling

Georgia Economy

EV battery supply chain

EV battery

Hyundai

energy

News room topics

Earth and Environment

Categories

Community

Energy

Environment

Research

Mercury ID

668019

Source updated

Fri, 06/09/2023 - 10:08