By Brent Verrill, Communications Manager, Brent Byer Institute for Sustainable Systems
Twenty-three Georgia Tech undergraduate students have been selected for the second class of Sustainable Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF). Among them are Kathryn McCarthy, School of Biological Sciences; Shivan Mittal, School of Physics; and Gigi Pavur, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
McCarthy and Mittal are among the 20 new fellows. Pavur is among the three who are returning from the previous year of the program.
The fellows represent all six colleges at Georgia Tech and were selected from a highly qualified and competitive field of students.
- William Abdallah, Industrial Engineering
- Joseph Buehler, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Leo Chen (returning), Computer Science
- Anielle Duritza, Environmental Engineering
- Kian Halim (returning), Computational Media
- Kyte Harvey, Mechanical Engineering
- Connor Hawley, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Chloe Kiernicki, Architecture
- Elizabeth Krakovski, Public Policy
- Micah Landwermeyer, Materials Science and Engineering
- Matthew Lim, Computer Engineering
- Farouk Marhaba, Computer Science
- Kat Matthews, Business
- Kathryn McCarthy, Biological Sciences
- Shivan Mittal, Physics
- Christi Nakajima, Public Policy
- Gigi Pavur (returning), Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Leah Claire Nofsinger, Materials Science and Engineering
- Ashlyn Sasser, Industrial Design
- Alexandra Schultz, Chemical Engineering
- Ranal Apeksha Tudawe, Mechanical Engineering
- Jeniveve Vaia, Material Science and Engineering
- Eliya Olivia Wagner, Environmental Engineering
The research fellows, who are paid, are developing prototypes of interactive building-monitoring systems that convey the unique elements, qualities, and performance of the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, which is under construction. The systems will also monitor the behaviors that the buiding engenders among its occupants and visitors.
Through SURF, the students will learn about sustainability, systems thinking, and how to apply these principles to the Georgia Tech Living Building. Their work is facilitated by Michael Chang, deputy director of the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems.
As a building coordinator for the School of Biological Sciences, Lyubomir “Lyubo” Lichev takes care of the facility, but more importantly, he takes care of people.
Every workday is different, he said, but each begins at 7 a.m. with a walk through the Cherry Emerson Building to ensure everything is in place from the previous night and ready for the new day.
“Building Coordinator 1 is a very diverse job,” Lichev said. “I handle small things like issuing keys to lab members and putting fuel into the vehicles, to bigger projects like taking inventory of equipment and handling the disposal of old equipment.”
He said he likes helping professors fill their day-to-day needs in the lab, and it’s a rewarding feeling to know that he made someone’s day brighter. He also likes interacting with new people as he does his work.
“The School of Biological Sciences is a big school, so I meet new faces every day,” said Lichev, who is also an industrial and systems engineering Tech student. “It makes an interesting conversation when I meet classmates outside the classroom while working.”
Lichev grew up in Bulgaria and earned a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering from the Technical University of Sofia in 2008. He moved to the United States 10 years ago at age 22, leaving his entire family in Bulgaria. Only three of his classes from Bulgaria were transferable to the U.S., so he effectively had to start college again. In 2017, he earned an associate’s degree in engineering from Georgia State University – Perimeter College. He’s currently a part-time Tech student in his third year.
“The industrial engineering degree I’m pursuing at Tech is a natural follow-up to the manufacturing degree I earned in Bulgaria,” he said. “To me, the industrial engineering degree here shows how a business runs and how we can make it run better. It is very versatile and is the right one for me. I want to see it through.”
Lichev said that after graduating he would like to keep working at Georgia Tech, perhaps as an in-house consultant who examines a unit and identifies ways to help it work more efficiently.
“I know I’m a few years from graduation, and things change,” he said, “but I can see myself retiring from the Institute.”
Lichev said he enjoys being an employee and a student, and he encourages others to do the same through the Tuition Assistance Program.
“I would like to see more of my colleagues take classes,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be at Georgia Tech. As long as the school is in the University System of Georgia, they can access the benefits.”
Away from Work
Lichev’s job, classes, and homework leave him with little time for hobbies.
“When I’m not working or doing schoolwork, the thing I enjoy best is sleep. I know a lot of Tech students can relate to that,” he said. “After graduation, I will develop some hobbies. For now, sleep is my best friend.”
He keeps in touch with his family in Bulgaria through weekly video chats. He said that because of the seven-hour time difference, finding a good time for everyone to talk can be tricky.
His most recent trip to Bulgaria was Christmas 2018. Before then, he hadn’t been there since 2014 when he made a surprise visit on his father’s 50th birthday.
“I’m not going to wait another four years before I go back,” he said. “If I can, I’ll go back this year.”
The 2019 Karlovitz Lecture and a Frontiers in Science Lecture to celebrate 2019, the International Year of the Periodic Table
The 2019 Karlovitz Lecture will be delivered by best-selling author Sam Kean.
Kean's book about the periodic table, "The Disappearing Spoon," answers many uncommon questions about chemical elements: Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? How did radium nearly ruin Marie Curie’s reputation? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?
According to Kean, the periodic table is one of humanity’s crowning scientific achievements, but it’s also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession.
About the Speaker
Best-selling author Sam Kean’s book “The Disappearing Spoon” delves into every element in the periodic table and explains each one’s role in science, money, mythology, war, the arts, medicine, alchemy, and other areas of human history, from the Big Bang through the end of time.
In addition to “The Disappearing Spoon,” Sam Kean has several other titles on the New York Times bestselling list: “Caesar’s Last Breath,” “The Dueling Neurosurgeons,” and “The Violinist’s Thumb.” All of his books were named Amazon top science books of the year. His work has been featured on NPR’s “Radiolab,” “All Things Considered,” and “Fresh Air.”
Sam Kean will sign books after the lecture.
About the Karlovitz Lecture
The lecture is made possible by an endowment in memory of College of Sciences Dean Les Karlovitz, who served as dean for 16 years until 1989. Seeking to broaden intellectual discourse on campus, the series focuses on speakers whose work has led them to stretch across disciplinary boundaries.
About Frontiers in Science Lectures
Lectures in this series are intended to inform, engage, and inspire students, faculty, staff, and the public on developments, breakthroughs, and topics of general interest in the sciences and mathematics. Lecturers tailor their talks for nonexpert audiences.
About the Periodic Table Frontiers in Science Lecture Series
Throughout 2019, the College of Sciences will bring prominent researchers from Georgia Tech and beyond to expound on little-discussed aspects of chemical elements:
- Feb. 6, James Sowell, How the Universe Made the Elements in the Periodic Table
- March 5, Michael Filler, Celebrating Silicon: Its Success, Hidden History, and Next Act
- April 2, John Baez, University of California, Riverside, Mathematical Mysteries of the Periodic Table
- April 18, Sam Kean, Author, The Periodic Table: A Treasure Trove of Passion, Adventure, Betrayal, and Obsession
- Sept. 12, Monica Halka, The Elusive End of the Periodic Table: Why Chase It
- October 31, Taka Ito, Turning Sour, Bloated, and Out of Breath: Ocean Chemistry under Global Warming
- Nov. 12, Margaret Kosal, The Geopolitics of Rare and Not-So-Rare Elements
Closest visitor parking is Area 6 (Fifth Street and Spring) or Area 8 (Tech Square) on the parking map, https://pts.gatech.edu/visitors#l3.
Event Details
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a faculty member at a small undergraduate focused liberal arts college? This job is a great option if you’re passionate about teaching and working with undergraduates on your research projects. At this info session, three STEM faculty members working at Harvey Mudd College will give you a feel for the day-to-day life as a faculty member at this kind of institution. We’ll have lots of time for Q and A, so please bring lots of questions! RSVP here or at https://goo.gl/forms/Pyu0ty7qvCxrW98y2 to make sure you get fed!
ABOUT THE SPEARKERS
Jason Gallicchio
Assistant Professor of Physics
https://www.hmc.edu/about-hmc/hmc-experts/gallicchio-jason/
Jason specializes in experimental cosmology—the study of the origin and evolution of the universe. Gallichio spent a year at the South Pole Telescope where he researched polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and served as a South Pole NSF Station Science Leader. He is also interested in devising new ways to conduct fundamental tests of quantum mechanics and has designed improvements for Bell-type tests of quantum entanglement.
Danae Schulz
Assistant Professor of Biology
https://www.hmc.edu/biology/faculty-staff/danae-schulz/
Danae studies the African trypanosome, a protozoan parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle. Trypanosomes are transmitted to the bloodstream of a mammal through the bite of a tsetse fly, eventually leading to coma and death. Danae would like to understand what allows trypanosomes to reprogram themselves to adapt as they move between the differing environments of the fly midgut and the mammalian bloodstream, with an eye toward trying to manipulate these adaptations to generate new therapies.
Brian Shuve
Assistant Professor of Physics
https://www.hmc.edu/about-hmc/hmc-experts/shuve-brian/
Brian researches theoretical particle physics. Shuve develops and studies new theories to explain mysteries of the universe, such as the nature of dark matter and why there exists more matter than antimatter. He also devises and implements new experimental tests to learn more about the fundamental constituents and forces of matter. For example, Shuve researches how the discovery of new particles at high-energy colliders such as CERN’s Large Hadron Collider could shed light on the physical processes taking place in the early universe that shape the world as we see it today.
Event Details
Alain Frigon, Ph.D.
Department of Pharmacology-Physiology
Université de Sherbrooke
Abstract
After complete spinal cord injury (SCI), adult cats recover hindlimb locomotion after a few weeks of treadmill training. This recovery is due to the presence of a spinal locomotor central pattern generator (CPG), which is thought to be reactivated by sensory feedback from the moving legs. One of the central tenets of motor rehabilitation is that training must be task specific. However, as the locomotor CPG is present at birth, we hypothesized that task-specific training is not required to restore locomotion after complete SCI. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether providing non-task-specific training in the form of rhythmic manual stimulation of the triceps surae muscles restored hindlimb locomotion after complete SCI in cats. Twelve adult cats (>10 months) were divided into three groups and implanted with electrodes to chronically record muscle activity (EMG, electromyography). After collecting data in the intact state, we transected the spinal cord at low thoracic levels. Group 1 received rhythmic manual stimulation of the triceps surae muscles, Group 2 received traditional treadmill training while Group 3 received no treatment. Cats in all three groups recovered full body weight support during standing one week after SCI. Six weeks after SCI, cats in all groups performed full weight bearing hindlimb locomotion from 0.1 to 0.8 m/s. The results indicate that the recovery of hindlimb locomotion after complete SCI does not require task-specific training and is partly spontaneous, consistent with the hypothesis that the spinal cord produces locomotion as its default pattern.
More about the Speaker
Dr. Alain Frigon has a broad background in neuroscience and kinesiology, with specific expertise in spinal cord neurophysiology and locomotor control. For the past 15 years, his research has focused on the neural control of rhythmic movements (arm cycling, locomotion and scratching) and on neurophysiological changes that take place after spinal cord or peripheral nerve injury. He received experimental training in motor control in humans (E. Paul Zehr) and with the cat model in three different laboratories that use complementary preparations, including in vivo recordings in awake behaving cats (Serge Rossignol), intracellular/extracellular recordings in curarized decerebrate cats (Jean-Pierre Gossard) and electromyography and force recordings in immobilized decerebrate cats (Charles J. Heckman). His lab currently uses a range of experimental techniques to study the control of movement in the cat and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Physiology Brownbag Seminars
The Physiology Group in the School of Biological Sciences hosts Brownbag Lunchtime Seminars twice a month on Wednesdays at noon in room 1253 of the Applied Physiology Building located at 555 14th Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. You are welcome to bring a lunch and join us as we ruminate with us on topics in Physiology! A full listing of seminars can be found at http://pwp.gatech.edu/bmmc/physiology-brownbag-seminars-spring-2019/.
Event Details
Theme: Aquatic Microbial Systems
Miguel Rodriguez
Konstantinidis Lab
ABSTRACT
Guilds are a foundational concept in community ecology, complementing phylogeny, food webs, and niches on the understanding of community assembly, biogeography, succession, and metabolic theory, among others. However, guild definition and identification in microbial ecology has been traditionally relegated to industrially productive taxa and coarsely-defined forms of metabolism, notably primary producers and specific roles in biogeochemical cycles. Here we aim to systematically identify and evaluate the consistency of guilds in a microbial freshwater meta-community.
First, we present a chronoseries (69 metagenomes) from seven locations along the Chattahoochee River basin (Southeastern USA) and a novel iteratively subtractive binning methodology. Next, we use smoothed abundance profiles to infer directed interactions from Lotka-Volterra models, differentiating predation from mutualism, commensalism, amensalism, and competition. Finally, we apply hierarchical link clustering to the resulting network and select modules, equated to guilds, maximizing partition density.
Event Details
Professor Bruce Menge
Department of Integrative Biology
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
Host: Mark Hay
Event Details
Danae Schulz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Harvey Mudd College
Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness, is transmitted to its mammalian host by the tsetse. In the fly, the parasite’s surface is covered with invariant procyclin, while in the mammal it resides extracellularly in its bloodstream form (BF) and is densely covered with highly immunogenic Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG). In the BF, the parasite varies this surface VSG, using a repertoire of ~2500 distinct VSG genes. Recent reports in mammalian systems point to a role for histone acetyl-lysine recognizing bromodomain proteins in the maintenance of stem cell fate, leading us to hypothesize that bromodomain proteins may maintain the BF cell fate in trypanosomes. Using small-molecule inhibitors and genetic mutants for individual bromodomain proteins, we performed RNA-seq experiments that revealed changes in the transcriptome similar to those seen in cells differentiating from the BF to the insect stage. This was recapitulated at the protein level by the appearance of insect-stage proteins on the cell surface. Furthermore, bromodomain inhibition disrupts two major bloodstream-specific immune evasion mechanisms. Thus, our studies reveal a role for trypanosome bromodomain proteins in maintaining lifecycle stage identity and immune evasion. Importantly, bromodomain inhibition leads to a decrease in virulence in a mouse model of infection, establishing these proteins as therapeutic drug targets for trypanosomiasis. Our 1.25Å resolution crystal structure of a trypanosome bromodomain in complex with a known acetyl-lysine mimetic reveals a novel binding mode of the inhibitor, which serves as a promising starting point for rational drug design. Current efforts in the lab are aimed at optimizing the Cut and Run technique to further characterize bromodomain localization during the transition from bloodstream to insect stage cells. We have also set up reporter systems to be able to carry out high-throughput screens for small molecule inhibitors that initiate a transition from bloodstream stages to the insect stages, and recently used them to screen a library of FDA approved drugs.
Host: Joshua Weitz, Ph.D.
Event Details
Where is the best place to find living life beyond Earth? It may be that the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn harbor some of the most habitable real estate in our solar system. Life loves liquid water, and these moons have lots of it!
These oceans worlds of the outer solar system have likely persisted for much of the history of the solar system. As a result they are highly compelling targets in our search for life beyond Earth.
Kevin Hand will explain why we think we know these oceans exist and what we know about the conditions on these worlds. He will focus on Jupiter’s moon Europa, which is a top priority for future NASA missions. The talk will also show how the exploration of Earth’s ocean is helping to inform our understanding of the potential habitability of worlds like Europa.
About the Speaker
Kevin Peter Hand is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the solar system, with emphasis on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. His work involves both theoretical and laboratory research on the physics and chemistry of icy moons in the outer solar system.
Hand is the director of the Ocean Worlds Lab at JPL. He served as co-chair for NASA’s Europa Lander Science Definition team. He is the Project Scientist for the Pre-Phase-A Europa Lander mission.
From 2011 to 2016, Hand served as deputy chief scientist for Solar System Exploration at JPL. He served as a member of the National Academies Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences.
His work has brought him to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the sea ice near the North Pole, the depths of the Earth’s oceans, and to the glaciers of Kilimanjaro.
He was a scientist onboard James Cameron’s 2012 dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and he was part of a 2003 IMAX expedition to hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Hand has made nine dives to the bottom of the ocean. In 2011 he was selected as a National Geographic Explorer.
Hand earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University and B.S. degrees from Dartmouth College. He was born and raised in Manchester, Vermont.
About the 2019 ExplOrigins Colloquium
This interdisciplinary colloquium and networking event has two goals: (1) to forge connections across Georgia Tech straddling the boundaries between technology development and hypothesis testing in the search for life’s beginnings and (2) to explore collaborative ideas among participants.
Organizing Committee
- Peter Colin, postdoctoral fellow, School of Biological Sciences
- Zijian Li, Ph.D. student, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Tyler Roche, Ph.D. student, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Micah Schaible, postdoctoral fellow, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Pengxiao Xu, Ph.D. student, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- George Zaharescu, postdoctoral fellow, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Martha Grover, professor, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
More information is available here.
Event Details
A Frontiers in Science Lecture to celebrate 2019, the International Year of the Periodic Table
Why do atoms behave the way they do? Why do electrons form “shells,” as seen in the periodic table?
Why does the first shell hold 2 electrons, the second 8, and the third 18: twice the square numbers 1, 4, and 9?
It took many years to solve these mysteries, and a lot of detective work in chemistry, physics, and ultimately – once the relevant laws of physics were known – mathematics.
Other mysteries remain unsolved, like the mass of the heaviest possible element. This talk will give a quick tour of these puzzles and some of the answers.
About the Speaker
John Baez is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Riverside, who also works at the Centre for Quantum Technologies, in Singapore. His Internet column “This Week’s Finds” dates back to 1993 and is sometimes called the world’s first blog.
Baez used to work on quantum gravity and pure mathematics. In 2010, concerned about climate change and the future of the planet, he switched to working on a general theory of networks that appear in human-engineered and biological systems.
About Frontiers in Science Lectures
Lectures in this series are intended to inform, engage, and inspire students, faculty, staff, and the public on developments, breakthroughs, and topics of general interest in the sciences and mathematics. Lecturers tailor their talks for nonexpert audiences.
About the Periodic Table Frontiers in Science Lecture Series
Throughout 2019, the College of Sciences will bring prominent researchers from Georgia Tech and beyond to expound on little-discussed aspects of chemical elements:
- Feb. 6, James Sowell, How the Universe Made the Elements in the Periodic Table
- March 5, Michael Filler, Celebrating Silicon: Its Success, Hidden History, and Next Act
- April 2, John Baez, University of California, Riverside, Mathematical Mysteries of the Periodic Table
- April 18, Sam Kean, Author, The Periodic Table: A Treasure Trove of Passion, Adventure, Betrayal, and Obsession
- Sept. 12, Monica Halka, The Elusive End of the Periodic Table: Why Chase It
- October 31, Taka Ito, Turning Sour, Bloated, and Out of Breath: Ocean Chemistry under Global Warming
- Nov. 12, Margaret Kosal, The Geopolitics of Rare and Not-So-Rare Elements
Closest public parking for the April 2 lecture is Visitors Area 4, Ferst Street and Atlantic Drive, http://pts.gatech.edu/visitors#l3
Refreshments are served, and periodic table t-shirts are given away, after every lecture
Event Details
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