Experts in the News

Two researchers from Georgia Tech are part of a multi-university team collaborating on a $4.5 million project to better understand cislunar space — the area between Earth and the moon — which is critical for future space exploration. The Characterizing Highways and Automated Navigation in Cislunar Environment (CHANCE) project is funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and involves scientists from Purdue University, Penn State University, Georgia Tech, and the University of Texas at Austin. With the moon’s gravity being one-sixth of Earth’s gravity, significantly less propulsion is required to navigate within cislunar space and the costs to explore the solar system using the moon as a launching platform are much cheaper. John Christian, associate professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, is a co-principal investigator, and Anton Leykin, professor in the School of Mathematics, is a collaborator.

The average American commute is about 27 minutes. While people in many industries were able to start working from home during the pandemic, recouping their travel time, nearly half of U.S. workers kept devoting a good chunk of their day — sometimes an hour or more — to being in transit. Pandemic-era commuting has widened several divides: between those who can work remotely and those who can’t, and between those who drive and those who use public transportation. The decrease in travel by those able to work remotely has changed the nature of commutes for everyone else — streamlining rush-hour traffic, for example, but making trains run less often. This examination of how commutes have changed over the last three years includes comments from Christopher Wiese, assistant professor in the School of Psychology.

On a mid-October Monday, shortly before 9 a.m., 179 elite puzzlers made their way into the ballroom of a Toronto hotel and found their allocated seats for the World Sudoku and Puzzle Championships. The annual championship event comprises two days of Sudoku, followed by three days of other types of pencil-and-paper logic puzzles. Although puzzlers qualify for the event on a national level, most attend just for fun and for the community — to revel with people who share in the same nerdy delight. The top solvers are also there to win. (The glory comes with a trophy, but no prize money.) For the Sudoku event, the leading contenders this year included Tantan Dai, 23, who grew up in Beijing and is pursuing a Ph.D. in the School of Mathematics. 

A team of infectious disease researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine, working with colleagues from the Georgia Institute of Technology, has found via clinical trial that fecal transplants after kidney transplantation reduce the susceptibility of patients to infections by multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs). In their study, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the group tested the impact of fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) on kidney transplant patients receiving care at Emory Transplant Center, in Atlanta. One of the researchers involved in the study is Roth E. Conrad, an Ocean Science and Engineering Ph.D. scholar in the School of Biological Sciences. 

Crevasses, as discovered through groundbreaking research led by Cornell, are not just fissures in the ice; they serve a crucial function in the circulation of seawater beneath Antarctic ice shelves. This unique study, carried out with the assistance of an innovative underwater robot, suggests that crevasses may have a significant impact on the stability of these ice shelves. The Icefin robot, operated remotely, made an ascent and descent within a crevasse located at the base of the Ross Ice Shelf. This operation marked a significant milestone by providing the first 3D measurements of ocean conditions at the vital intersection where the ice shelf meets the coastline, commonly referred to as the grounding zone. Georgia Tech scientists included in this research include Benjamin Hurwitz, an Ocean Science and Engineering Ph.D. scholar, and Justin Lawrence, Ph.D. scholar in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. (This story was also covered at India Education Diary.) 

One of the most consequential places on earth is also one of its least accessible: Antarctica’s icy underbelly. The grounding line is where the terrestrial ice sheet reaches the sea and begins floating, becoming the ice shelf. As global temperatures rise, seawater is eating away at that belly, forcing the grounding line to retreat and speeding the decline of Antarctica’s glaciers. Two new papers, though, are shining light on this mysterious realm. Alexander Robel, assistant professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences who leads Georgia Tech's Ice and Climate Group, did not participate in the studies but is quoted in the article. 

A new computer simulation of the early universe has been built by researchers, and it closely matches data obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The results, which were presented in The Open Journal of Astrophysics, were obtained by Maynooth University and Georgia Tech researchers. They demonstrate that the data obtained with JWST are consistent with theoretical expectations. The team’s “Renaissance simulations” are a set of extremely complex computer models of galaxy formation in the early universe. The School of Physics researchers are John Wise, Professor and Director of the Center for Relativistic Astrophysics (CRA), and Samantha Hardin, graduate student. (This study was also covered at CityLife, Silicon Republic, SciTechDaily, Phys.org and List23.)

Bacteria form colonies on many natural surfaces, from tree bark to our own teeth. Now, a team of evolutionary biologists in Switzerland has identified genetic mutations that enable some bacterial colonies to expand rapidly. The findings, recently reported in PLoS Biology, suggest that mutations in just a few key genes can have widespread impacts on gene expression as bacteria replicate and move into new territory. “It’s really creative work,” says evolutionary biologist William Ratcliff, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences in the School of Biological Sciences, who was not involved in the study. “Understanding the way that [bacteria] might evolve in nature, the complex life cycles that they possess, and how they respond to different kinds of environments can be really hard.”

More than merely cracks in the ice, crevasses play an important role in circulating seawater beneath Antarctic ice shelves, potentially influencing their stability, finds Cornell-led research based on first-of-its-kind exploration by an underwater robot. The remotely operated Icefin robot’s climb up and down a crevasse in the base of the Ross Ice Shelf produced the first 3D measurements of ocean conditions near where it meets the coastline, a critical juncture known as the grounding zone. The robotic survey revealed a new circulation pattern – a jet funneling water sideways through the crevasse – in addition to rising and sinking currents, and diverse ice formations shaped by shifting flows and temperatures. Included in the Cornell research team is Justin Lawrence, a visiting Ph.D. scholar from the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. 

Researchers at 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. 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. “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, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences who specializes in bacterial genetics. 

This fall, the Institute will launch a foundational, interdisciplinary program to lead in research related to neuroscience, neurotechnology, and society. The Neuro Next Initiative is the result of the growth of GTNeuro, a grassroots effort over many years that has led in the hiring of faculty studying the brain and the creation of the B.S. in neuroscience in the College of Sciences, and contributed to exciting neuro-related research and education at Georgia Tech. Guided by faculty members Christopher Rozell, professor and Julian T. Hightower Chair in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Simon Sponberg, Dunn Family Associate Professor of Physics and Biological Sciences; and Jennifer S. Singh, associate professor in the School of History and Sociology, the Neuro Next Initiative at Georgia Tech will lead the development of a community that supports collaborative research, unique educational initiatives, and public engagement in this critical field.

In fulfillment of Georgia Tech's Strategic Plan for Expanding Access, the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) has established the first cohort of the Georgia Tech STEM Educators' Network (GTSEN). The goal of this initiative is to give teachers and administrators the tools and information to help them prepare the youth in their communities to become college and career ready. The group attended a two-day kick-off event held at Georgia Tech in late September. The visit included a trip to Zoo Atlanta for some educational activities related to bio-inspired design led by Marc Weissburg, professor in the School of Biological Sciences.