Tech Topics - Winter 2008 - (Page 21)

THE HILL Meet the Smiths AWARDS Nerem, Clough Honored Robert Nerem, professor and director of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech, and former president Wayne Clough received National Academy of Engineering awards in October. Nerem received the Founders Award for “seminal research on fluid mechanics and atherogenesis” and was recognized as a pioneer in the field of tissue engineering, founder of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and leader in engineering nationally and internationally. Clough, CE 64, MS CE 65, who left Tech in June to serve as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was presented the Arthur M. Bueche Award for “outstanding accomplishments advancing civil engineering and higher education and for leadership at the local, state and national level in policy analysis and advisory roles.” Ledbetter Properties Inc., a family-owned real estate development and management firm headquartered in Rome, Ga. “As the current market clearly shows, real estate development can be quite a challenging profession,” Ledbetter said. “To be successful in real estate development in the long run, you have to know how to anticipate trends in the marketplace and in the larger economy. “For college students interested in the real estate development business, the best way for them to start learning is through an experienced developer who has seen it all,” he said. A former member of the Georgia Tech Foundation board and the College of Management advisory board, Ledbetter served on the Class of 1958 50th reunion fund committee. CANCER RESEARCH Gary May, EE 85, chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, left, and his wife, LeShelle R. May, MS OR 89, a member of the Alumni Association’s executive committee, right, received a VIP tour of a Los Angeles academy for kindergartners through sixthgraders developed by Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith. The Smiths contacted the Mays for ideas for their state-of-the-art elementary school through Guy Primus, IE 92, MS IE 95, the head of interactive media for Will Smith’s production company, Overbrook Entertainment. LeShelle May reported that Smith was so impressed with what he learned about Georgia Tech that he made a contribution to the Institute. Betty Foundation Funding Chair The Garry Betty Foundation has joined forces with The V Foundation for Cancer Research to fund a chair at Georgia Tech. The foundations are working in collaboration with the Georgia Cancer Coalition to create the Garry Betty/V Foundation Chair of Cancer Nanotechnology. Betty, ChE 79, the president and CEO of EarthLink, died of cancer at the age of 49 in 2007. The V Foundation started with the dream of Jim Valvano, the former North Carolina State basketball coach and broadcaster, as he battled cancer. Valvano recruited friends and family to lead the V Foundation in his quest to eradicate the disease that ultimately claimed his life. GIFTS Ledbetter Establishes Professorship Robert H. Ledbetter Sr., IM 58, has made a $1 million gift to the College of Management to establish and endow a professorship. The gift for the Robert H. Ledbetter Sr. Professorship of the Practice of Real Estate Development was included in the Class of 1958 reunion-giving project. Ledbetter also has contributed to Roll Call for 45 consecutive years. Ledbetter is founder, CEO and president of R.H. TechTopics | Winter 2008 21

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Tech Topics - Winter 2008 Contents Letters Buzz Around Town Alumni House Rockin’ Good Time State of the Institute The Hill Presidential Search Going Airborne Student Life An Architect’s Eyes Weight Coach Robot Burdell & Friends Ramblin’ Roll Rural Readers Leading Ladies Yellow Jackets Beyond His Years Leading Change Real World

Tech Topics - Winter 2008

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