Experts in the News

It sounds like a firework, a bang followed by a crackle of faint sparkles. Then, a background hum builds. Soon, that is overtaken by what sounds like crashing waves. In between them, random notes beep. This is the sound of a black hole. Specifically, a “black hole-star system” around 7800 light years from Earth called V404 Cygni. The firework is the sound of the black hole. This isn’t what a black hole would sound like in reality. It is a soundscape created by NASA to represent data from telescopes. Using sound this way, known as sonification, isn’t new. But in recent years, more and more astronomers are realizing the benefits of “listening” to the universe. “Our auditory system can often discern patterns and extract meaning, even when our visual system is not able to do so,” says Bruce Walker, professor in the Schools of Psychology and Interactive Computing who directs the Georgia Tech Sonification Lab.

It sounds like a firework, a bang followed by a crackle of faint sparkles. Then, a background hum builds. Soon, that is overtaken by what sounds like crashing waves. In between them, random notes beep. This is the sound of a black hole. Specifically, a “black hole-star system” around 7800 light years from Earth called V404 Cygni. The firework is the sound of the black hole. This isn’t what a black hole would sound like in reality. It is a soundscape created by NASA to represent data from telescopes. Using sound this way, known as sonification, isn’t new. But in recent years, more and more astronomers are realizing the benefits of “listening” to the universe. “Our auditory system can often discern patterns and extract meaning, even when our visual system is not able to do so,” says Bruce Walker, professor in the Schools of Psychology and Interactive Computing who directs the Georgia Tech Sonification Lab.

For centuries, mathematicians have sought to understand and model the motion of fluids. The equations that describe how ripples crease the surface of a pond have also helped researchers to predict the weather, design better airplanes, and characterize how blood flows through the circulatory system. Perhaps the oldest and most prominent of these equations, formulated by Leonhard Euler more than 250 years ago, describe the flow of an ideal, incompressible fluid: a fluid with no viscosity, or internal friction, and that cannot be forced into a smaller volume. Mathematicians have long suspected that there exist initial conditions that cause the equations to break down. But they haven’t been able to prove it. In a preprint posted online in October, a pair of mathematicians has shown that a particular version of the Euler equations does indeed sometimes fail. Rafael de la Llave, a professor in the School of Mathematics who studies dynamical systems and mathematical physics, comments on the findings. 

By growing an unusual tentacled microbe in the lab, microbiologists may have taken a big step toward resolving the earliest branches on the tree of life and unraveling one of its great mysteries: how the complex cells that make up the human body — and all plants, animals, and many single-celled organisms — first came to be. Such microbes, called Asgard archaea, have previously been cultured — once — but the advance reported in Nature marks the first time they’ve been grown in high enough concentrations to study their innards in detail. Jennifer Glass, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and a geo-microbiologist, didn't work on the study, but her research in 2020 finding unusual ribosome structures in Asgard microbes helped the scientists published in Nature zero in on what to look for in their specimens.

By growing an unusual tentacled microbe in the lab, microbiologists may have taken a big step toward resolving the earliest branches on the tree of life and unraveling one of its great mysteries: how the complex cells that make up the human body — and all plants, animals, and many single-celled organisms — first came to be. Such microbes, called Asgard archaea, have previously been cultured — once — but the advance reported in Nature marks the first time they’ve been grown in high enough concentrations to study their innards in detail. Jennifer Glass, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and a geo-microbiologist, didn't work on the study, but her research in 2020 finding unusual ribosome structures in Asgard microbes helped the scientists published in Nature zero in on what to look for in their specimens.

In this episode of the Talk Nerdy podcast, host Cara Santa Maria is joined by Feryal Özel, professor and chair of the School of Physics. They talk about her incredible career as a theoretical astrophysicist, her important work on the recent imaging of a black hole with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, and the critical need for representation in science.

As the home of prominent research universities like Georgia Tech, medical schools and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia is uniquely positioned to be a leader in public health — not just for the U.S. but around the world. Bolstered by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), whose mission is to bring government, business and academia together to expand and further university research, the state is able to recruit the scientists who are making breakthroughs in major health issues. These include forecasting the next pandemic, developing new antibiotics, and tackling chronic health problems like high blood pressure. Marvin Whiteley, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, Bennie H. and Nelson D. Abell Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar is interviewed about his research into the social behaviors of bacteria and how they can point the way to new treatments.

As the home of prominent research universities like Georgia Tech, medical schools and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia is uniquely positioned to be a leader in public health — not just for the U.S. but around the world. Bolstered by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), whose mission is to bring government, business and academia together to expand and further university research, the state is able to recruit the scientists who are making breakthroughs in major health issues. These include forecasting the next pandemic, developing new antibiotics, and tackling chronic health problems like high blood pressure. Marvin Whiteley, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, Bennie H. and Nelson D. Abell Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar is interviewed about his research into the social behaviors of bacteria and how they can point the way to new treatments.

The Ocean Visions-U.N. Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean-Climate Solutions, which launched in November, is a partnership between the Georgia Aquarium, Georgia Tech, and the nonprofit Ocean Visions.The center leads and supports ocean-based climate solutions that mitigate and reverse the effects of climate change. Headquartered at the Georgia Aquarium, the center is part of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to achieve by 2030. The center is also looking at ocean-based renewable energy technologies, and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture to produce low carbon food, just to name a few. Center officials hope to partner with local communities and universities throughout the state.

The Ocean Visions-U.N. Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean-Climate Solutions, which launched in November, is a partnership between the Georgia Aquarium, Georgia Tech, and the nonprofit Ocean Visions.The center leads and supports ocean-based climate solutions that mitigate and reverse the effects of climate change. Headquartered at the Georgia Aquarium, the center is part of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to achieve by 2030. The center is also looking at ocean-based renewable energy technologies, and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture to produce low carbon food, just to name a few. Center officials hope to partner with local communities and universities throughout the state.

Scientists working at the ongoing Department of Energy’s (DOE) Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment use the site’s northern Minnesota bog as a laboratory. SPRUCE allowed scientists to warm the air and soil by zero to 9 degrees C above ambient temperatures to depths more than 2m below ground. This warming simulates the effects of climate change on the carbon cycle at the whole ecosystem scale over the long term. The research found that the production of the potent greenhouse gas methane increased at a faster rate than carbon dioxide in response to warming. The results indicate that carbon dioxide release and methane production are stimulated by plants‘ release of metabolites, chemicals that plants create for protection and other functions. The scientists included a team from Georgia Tech led by Joel Kostka, professor and associate chair of research for the School of Biological Sciences, with an adjunct appointment in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. 

Scientists working at the ongoing Department of Energy’s (DOE) Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment use the site’s northern Minnesota bog as a laboratory. SPRUCE allowed scientists to warm the air and soil by zero to 9 degrees C above ambient temperatures to depths more than 2m below ground. This warming simulates the effects of climate change on the carbon cycle at the whole ecosystem scale over the long term. The research found that the production of the potent greenhouse gas methane increased at a faster rate than carbon dioxide in response to warming. The results indicate that carbon dioxide release and methane production are stimulated by plants‘ release of metabolites, chemicals that plants create for protection and other functions. The scientists included a team from Georgia Tech led by Joel Kostka, professor and associate chair of research for the School of Biological Sciences, with an adjunct appointment in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.