In the News

The University of Georgia is following Georgia Tech's lead by announcing this month it would rely more on saliva-based testing for its voluntary Covid-19 surveillance program for students and employees. Georgia Tech developed its own saliva-based test last semester. 

Climate scientist Kim Cobb, who has committed to a flight-free career, gets two chances to publicly lobby for less air travel after the pandemic subsides. Her first is this Nature story, where Cobb, director of Georgia Tech's Global Change Program, argues for large conferences replaced by smaller, regional gatherings. She echoes that in The Guardian: "It will be nice to know that going forward, we have a viable, remote alternative for those trips where the climate costs, and associated injustices, outweigh the value for us as an individual."

Health officials are wondering how they can speed up the administration of Covid-19 vaccines in Georgia. M.G. Finn, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor and Chair, and James A. Carlos Family Chair for Pediatric Technology, discusses how delays impact vaccine potency. 

The pandemic's silver lining? Worldwide lockdowns have caused a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. Yet as vaccines get distributed and countries look to quickly stimulate virus-stalled economies, they should focus their economic recovery packages on efforts that are climate "friendly and equitable," says Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb. 

The Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool developed by professor Joshua Weitz and other Georgia Tech researchers continues to generate coverage worldwide. It is the subject of this BBC News television story. It is also mentioned in this Nature item, which includes other sites and apps that help communicate the risk of Covid-19 to the public. 

The science journal Nature asked scientists for advice on what their colleagues should be focusing on in 2021. Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb, who in 2020 maintained a very busy schedule of teaching online classes, homeschooling her four children, and applying for multi-million dollar research grants, says scientists should make sure to budget more than enough time for work and family obligations. 

The Suddath Award is given annually to graduate students at Georgia Tech who have demonstrated significant bio-research accomplishments while conducting biological or biochemical research at the molecular or cellular level. Cristian Crisan studies the waterborne human pathogen Vibrio cholerae, the microbe responsible for cholera, a devastating and often fatal disease.

Georgia Tech's "Conversations on the Hill" series event in December centered around the Institute's response to Covid-19. The virtual panel discussion included Julia Kubanek, professor and associate dean of the College of Sciences, who served as moderator; M.G. Finn, professor and James A. Carlos Family Chair for Pediatric Technology; Joshua Weitz, Patton Distinguished Professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of the Quantitative Biosciences Graduate Program; and Greg Gibson, Patton Distinguished Professor in the School of Biological Sciences and Director of the Center for Integrative Genomics.

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb joined an all-star panel on Facebook Watch for a discussion on how climate change is impacting the coastlines of Georgia and Rhode Island. The discussion was moderated by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) Here is how WSAV in Savannah covered the virtual panel discussion. 

New research led by Rodney Weber, professor with the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, joins several other studies indicating that chemical by-products and particles that are released into the environment during the 3D printing process can build up the longer the process takes, and some are small enough that they can infiltrate the lungs, causing damage.