Annual Report 2007

Supporting Breakthrough Research and Student Opportunities A s GTRI prepares to celebrate 75 years of solving tough problems, employees and customers from around the world have shared stories of people who were not afraid to push the limits of accepted science and persevere on difficult problems when others might have given up. Creativity, innovation and hard work are mentioned time and time again. GTRI is committed to capturing the success of the past, nurturing the next generation of talent and encouraging breakthrough ideas. That’s why we must ensure that brilliant minds have the intellectual freedom and financial backing to explore promising technologies, prove their viability, and change the world. Establishing an Alumni Lab GTRI alumni (retired and former employees) and customers have shown significant interest in providing opportunities to mentor and support young researchers and in serving as catalysts in transforming great ideas into real-world results. In response, GTRI is creating an alumni laboratory to foster intergenerational learning and collaboration. Additional plans call for creating opportunities for promising young researchers to spend extended time on-site with industry and government partners learning firsthand the problems they are teaming to solve. Dr. H. Allen Ecker, Executive Vice President, Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco Company: “As a former GTRI researcher (Engineering Experiment Station from 1966-1976), I experienced firsthand the challenges of transforming ideas into workable solutions. I have many fond memories of my time at EES. I currently serve on the external advisory board of GTRI, so I stay abreast of current research capabilities and their potential impact. The developing research in IPTV at Georgia Tech Ireland is an area of special interest to me and thus I was pleased to make a personal gift to support IPTV research. I would like to urge others with current and past affiliations to GTRI who see the value of groundbreaking research and remember how hard it can be to get new ideas off the ground to consider giving back to support the next generation of students and young researchers.” Enabling the Next Breakthrough GTRI researchers have no shortage of new and creative ideas that could become revolutionary as long as there is funding in place to support their early-stage research. There is great internal demand for seed funding to explore dual-use technologies. GTRI experts who are intimately familiar with specific technologies used for defense applications often see possibilities for using the same technologies to solve problems for industry, simplify everyday life and make the world a better place. From making it easier to open jars, to developing wireless captioning devices for the hearing impaired, to reducing water consumption in the food processing industry, our researchers see opportunities to transfer technology and make a difference. Empowering the Next Generation of Scientists and Engineers Students are the future. GTRI is already the largest employer of Georgia Tech students, involving more than 200 of these hard-working young people in research projects each year. To expand student research opportunities, GTRI plans to create applied research internships in our field locations around the nation and in our first international research institute in Athlone, Ireland. (See pages 48-49) GTRI’s stakeholders have shown significant interest in real-world applied research experiences for students – a concept wholeheartedly supported by GTRI. Students bring energy, different perspectives and a fearlessness that helps to make us successful. Philanthropy will help GTRI approach the future aggressively and successfully. For information about how to make a gift to support the alumni lab, seed funding for great ideas, or to support students, please contact: Loraine Williams, community volunteer: “I made a gift to support students in Ireland because I realize that not all students have the ability to finance work or study abroad and I feel strongly that Ireland provides a unique learning laboratory. Ireland is without question the most dramatic economic development success story in the world”. Betsy Plattenburg Director of Development and Corporate Relations betsy.plattenburg@gtri.gatech.edu 404. 407. 7889 5 www.gtri.gatech.edu http://www.gtri.gatech.edu

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Annual Report 2007

Annual Report 2007 Contents From the Director Research at GTRI Defense and Security Health and Human Systems Energy and Environment Manufacturing Technologies Information and Communication Technologies GTRI Around the World Interdisciplinary Research Centers The Laboratories of GTRI Georgia Tech Ireland GTRI by the Numbers GTRI and Georgia Tech Supporting Breakthrough Research GTRI Professional Education The People of GTRI

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