Georgia Tech will be a key partner for the New York Climate Exchange (The Exchange), a first-of-its-kind international center for developing and deploying dynamic solutions to the global climate crisis. In addition to convening the world’s leaders and climate experts, The Exchange will address the social and practical challenges created by climate change — including commercially viable research and ideas that lead to immediate action on local and global levels.
“Today's climate issues are urgent, and environmental justice and ecological sustainability necessitate action from leaders across the world,” said Chaouki Abdallah, executive vice president for research at Georgia Tech. “As a core partner of The Exchange, Georgia Tech will provide research expertise in the areas of energy, urban planning, biological ecosystems, public policy, and more, and we look forward to playing an instrumental role in bringing its mission to fruition.”
Georgia Tech researchers are studying glacial melt, coral growth, sea level rise, and other climate concerns in the state of Georgia and around the world and will share their data and research results with partners at The Exchange. Likewise, research at The Exchange will be applicable for towns and cities across Georgia, allowing state leaders to take advantage of economic opportunities that arise when climate change is addressed head on.
In addition to contributing critical research across the many areas of climate change, Georgia Tech leads major initiatives that are focused on solving the crises laid out in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Generation 2 Reinvented Toilet (G2RT) — a solution to the world’s water and sanitation problem — is led by Shannon Yee, associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. This cost-effective, globally scalable reinvented toilet with built-in human waste treatment will ensure that drinking water stays clean and will improve public health around the world.
Georgia Tech is also a leading partner of the Ocean Visions – UN Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean-Climate Solutions, an international center headquartered at the Georgia Aquarium that aims to co-design, develop, test, fund, and deliver scalable and equitable ocean-based solutions to reduce the effects of climate change and build climate-resilient marine ecosystems and coastal communities. Championed at Georgia Tech by Susan Lozier, dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair in the College of Sciences, the Center also supports opportunities to accelerate ocean-based carbon dioxide removal research and advance sustainable ocean economies.
“We are looking forward to contributing and demonstrating some of the engineering sustainability solutions that have been developed at Georgia Tech with New York City and the world,” said Yee. “Many of the technical and economic solutions that serve the state of Georgia, the coastal city of Savannah, and the urban center of Atlanta can also serve the urban harbor of New York City. Similarly, the innovations and economic opportunities that address climate change can be shared with and benefit Georgia. This collaboration embodies the concept of an exchange where we share with one another.”
As The Exchange’s anchor institution, Stony Brook University will build and operate the center which will be located on Governors Island in New York City. The center is slated to open in 2028.
“It is becoming clear year after year in New York, and around the world, that the impacts of climate change are real and are here,” said Kevin Reed, associate dean for Research and associate professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook. “By partnering with communities, industries, governments, and universities, The Exchange will help to accelerate the implementation of urban solutions to these climate impacts through an interactive research ecosystem where community engagement is paramount. As a climate scientist, I recognize that New Yorkers need solutions to the climate crisis now, and The Exchange will help to make that a reality.”
Click here for the full list of Georgia Tech faculty and staff awardees.
College of Sciences faculty and teaching assistants were recently recognized for their educational and research excellence during the 2023 Georgia Tech Faculty and Staff Honors Luncheon, held April 21 at the Exhibition Hall.
The awards included Institute-wide honors and those from Georgia Tech’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Honorees were recognized for their service, activities, and accomplishments over the past academic year.
Please join us in congratulating College of Sciences faculty and teaching assistants who received 2023 Georgia Tech and CTL awards:
Georgia Tech Chapter, Sigma Xi Awards
Best Faculty Paper
Itamar Kimchi, Assistant Professor, Physics
Institute Research Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Research Innovation
Younan Xia, Brock Family Chair, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor
John R. Reynolds, Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development
Spaceflight Project Group
Christopher Carr, Assistant Professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences/Aerospace Engineering
ANAK Awards
Outstanding Faculty
Timothy Cope, Professor, Biological Sciences
Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Awards
Undergraduate Educator
Adam J. Decker, Senior Academic Professional, Biological Sciences
Geoffrey G. Eichholz Faculty Teaching
Mary E. Peek. Principal Academic Professional, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Emily Weigel, Senior Academic Professional, Biological Sciences
Center for Teaching and Learning/BP Junior Faculty Teaching
Anton Bernshteyn, Assistant Professor, Mathematics
Gongjie Li, Assistant Professor, Physics
Innovation in Co-Curricular Education
Pamela Pollet, Senior Research Scientist, Chemistry and Biochemistry
International Initiatives Award
Steven A. Denning Faculty Award for Global Engagement
Anton Leykin, Professor, Mathematics
Faculty Honors Committee Awards
Class of 1940 W. Howard Ector Outstanding Teacher
Dan Margalit, Professor, Mathematics
Center for Teaching and Learning Teaching Assistant (TA) and Future Faculty Awards
(These awards were presented April 19 in the Georgia Tech Exhibition Hall.)
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant of the Year
Charlotte Carl, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Bret Hendricks, Mathematics
Maeve Janecka, Biological Sciences
Benjamin Peer, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year
Santana Afton, Mathematics
Alex Costa, Biological Sciences
Erin Griffith, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Tiffany Nguyen, Psychology
Markace Rainey, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Leo Wood, Physics
Graduate Student Instructor
James Anderson, Mathematics
Terri Dunbar, Psychology
Cassandra Shriver, Biological Sciences and Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP)
Online TA of the Year
Mollene Denton, Mathematics
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) TA Awards
CIRTL Associate Certificates
Stephanie Bilodeau, Biological Sciences
Katherine Booth, Mathematics
Abigail Diering, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Luke Foster, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Eliza Gazda, Physics
Chad Gomard-Henshaw, Physics
Sarah Gonzalez, Physics
Erin Griffith, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Abigail Hagwood, Chemistry
Kamisha Hill, Chemistry
Mary Kho, Biological Sciences
Na Liu, Physics
Ravyn Malatesta, Chemistry
Sarah Roney, Biological Sciences
Afaf Saaidi, Mathematics
Steven Tarr, Physics
Alisha Vera, Physics
Mengshi Zhang, Biological Sciences
CIRTL Associate and Tech to Teaching Certificates
Rebecca Guth-Metzler, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Taehun Kim, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Katie Kuo, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Kavita Matange, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Emily Saccuzzo, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Breanna Shi, Biological Sciences
Tech to Teaching Certificates
Austin Christian, Mathematics
Sierra Knavel, Mathematics
Andrew Kristof, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Athulya Ram Sreedharan Nair, Mathematics
Danielle Skinner, Physics
Yan Zhang, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Graduate Teaching Fellows
Maugan Lloyd, Psychology
Jelly Vanderwoude, Biological Sciences
International TA Liaisons
Chang Ding, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Download photos from this year’s Sciences Celebration on the GTSciences Flickr.
The College of Sciences community gathered in Harrison Square on April 18 to honor faculty and staff with awards for the 2022-2023 school year during the Spring Sciences Celebration.
“It is nothing short of a pleasure to recognize outstanding faculty who excel in teaching and research,” said Susan Lozier, College of Sciences Dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair, “and to celebrate the leadership and commitment to excellence of remarkable staff members across the College.”
At the annual celebration, Lozier and the College also recognized the 25 new faculty members who joined Georgia Tech for the 2022-2023 academic year.
This year’s awardees include:
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARDS
The Cullen-Peck Fellowship Awards, established by Frank Cullen (‘73 Math, MS ‘76 ISyE, PhD ‘84 ISyE) and Elizabeth Peck (‘75 Math, MS ‘76 ISyE), to encourage the development of especially promising mid-career faculty.
Cullen-Peck Faculty Fellows:
- Thackery Brown, Psychology
- Alex Robel, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Amanda Stockton, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Gretzinger Moving Forward Award, endowed by Ralph Gretzinger (‘70 Math) and named to honor his late wife Jewel, recognizes the leadership of a school chair or senior faculty member who has played a pivotal role in diversifying the composition of tenure-track faculty, creating a family-friendly work environment, and providing a supportive environment for early-career faculty:
- Cam Tyson, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Eric R. Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching, endowed by Charles Crawford (‘71 Math) recognizes exemplary instruction of lower division foundational courses. It honors the late School of Mathematics professor Eric R. Immel, who greatly influenced Crawford’s undergraduate experience at Tech:
- Christina Ragan, Biological Sciences
The Leddy Family Dean’s Faculty Excellence Award, established by Jeff Leddy (’78 Physics) and Pam Leddy, supports a faculty member at the associate professor level with proven accomplishments in research and teaching:
- Amit Reddi, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Faculty Mentor Award, established jointly by the College of Sciences and its ADVANCE Professor, awards the efforts and achievements of our faculty members who mentor fellow faculty:
- Andrzej Swiech, Mathematics
RESEARCH FACULTY AWARDS
The CoS Outstanding Junior Research Faculty Award and CoS Outstanding Senior Research Faculty Award recognize postdoctoral and non-tenure track research faculty who have made exceptional research contributions with significant impact on their field of study:
- Junior Research Faculty: Claudia Alvarez-Carreño, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Senior Research Faculty: Mu Gao, Biological Sciences
The CoS Research Faculty Community Trailblazer Award recognizes postdoctoral and non-tenure track research faculty who have demonstrated and sustained leadership that strengthens the sense of community among research faculty within the College of Sciences:
- Eric Shen, Chemistry and Biochemistry
STAFF AWARDS
The College of Sciences Staff Awards are made possible by funding from the Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Dean’s Chair endowment. They include:
The Exceptional Staff Member Award and Leadership in Action Staff Member Awards recognize College of Sciences staff who exemplify outstanding performance above and beyond the call of duty, by positively impacting the strategic goals of their department and the College, consistently providing excellent service within their school or the overall College, and demonstrating exemplary teamwork.
- Exceptional Staff Member: Aria Higgins, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Leadership in Action Staff Member: Gary Longstreet, Physics
The Excellence in Leadership Staff Awards and the Staff Excellence Award recognize College of Sciences staff who have made exceptional contributions to the College through innovative and strategic leadership, change management, business process improvement, special project leadership, and similar accomplishments.
Excellence in Leadership Staff
- Shameka Fahie, Dean’s Office
- Nguyen Nguyen, Academic and Research Computing Services
Staff Excellence Award
- Jenny Eaton, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Danny Hardwar, Academic and Research Computing Services
- David Murray, Academic and Research Computing Services
- Shebbie Murray, Psychology
NEW COLLEGE OF SCIENCES FACULTY
Academic Year 2022-2023
- Jason Azoulay, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Isaiah Bolden, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Gong Chen, Mathematics
- Aditi Das, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Anjuli Datta, Biological Sciences
- Chunhui Du, Physics
- Benjamin Freeman, Biological Sciences
- Qiliang He, Psychology
- Svetlana Jitomirskaya, Mathematics
- Shina (Lynn) Kamerlin, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Thomas Kelly, Mathematics
- Hunter Lehmann, Mathematics
- Kalila Lehmann, Mathematics
- Andrew McShan, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Farzaneh Najafi, Biological Sciences
- Feryal Özel, Physics
- Michael Porter, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Dimitrios Psaltis, Physics
- Stephanie Reikes, Mathematics
- Surabhi Sachdev, Physics
- Deborah Santos, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- William Stern, Psychology
- Tiffiny Hughes-Troutman, Psychology
- Hailong Wang, Physics
- Michael Wolf, Mathematics
Download photos from this year’s Sciences Celebration on the GTSciences Flickr.
The College of Sciences community gathered in Harrison Square on April 18 to honor faculty and staff with awards for the 2022-2023 school year during the Spring Sciences Celebration.
“It is nothing short of a pleasure to recognize outstanding faculty who excel in teaching and research,” said Susan Lozier, College of Sciences Dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair, “and to celebrate the leadership and commitment to excellence of remarkable staff members across the College.”
At the annual celebration, Lozier and the College also recognized the 25 new faculty members who joined Georgia Tech for the 2022-2023 academic year.
This year’s awardees include:
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARDS
The Cullen-Peck Fellowship Awards, established by Frank Cullen (‘73 Math, MS ‘76 ISyE, PhD ‘84 ISyE) and Elizabeth Peck (‘75 Math, MS ‘76 ISyE), to encourage the development of especially promising mid-career faculty.
Cullen-Peck Faculty Fellows:
- Thackery Brown, Psychology
- Alex Robel, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Amanda Stockton, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Gretzinger Moving Forward Award, endowed by Ralph Gretzinger (‘70 Math) and named to honor his late wife Jewel, recognizes the leadership of a school chair or senior faculty member who has played a pivotal role in diversifying the composition of tenure-track faculty, creating a family-friendly work environment, and providing a supportive environment for early-career faculty:
- Cam Tyson, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Eric R. Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching, endowed by Charles Crawford (‘71 Math) recognizes exemplary instruction of lower division foundational courses. It honors the late School of Mathematics professor Eric R. Immel, who greatly influenced Crawford’s undergraduate experience at Tech:
- Christina Ragan, Biological Sciences
The Leddy Family Dean’s Faculty Excellence Award, established by Jeff Leddy (’78 Physics) and Pam Leddy, supports a faculty member at the associate professor level with proven accomplishments in research and teaching:
- Amit Reddi, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Faculty Mentor Award, established jointly by the College of Sciences and its ADVANCE Professor, awards the efforts and achievements of our faculty members who mentor fellow faculty:
- Andrzej Swiech, Mathematics
RESEARCH FACULTY AWARDS
The CoS Outstanding Junior Research Faculty Award and CoS Outstanding Senior Research Faculty Award recognize postdoctoral and non-tenure track research faculty who have made exceptional research contributions with significant impact on their field of study:
- Junior Research Faculty: Claudia Alvarez-Carreño, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Senior Research Faculty: Mu Gao, Biological Sciences
The CoS Research Faculty Community Trailblazer Award recognizes postdoctoral and non-tenure track research faculty who have demonstrated and sustained leadership that strengthens the sense of community among research faculty within the College of Sciences:
- Eric Shen, Chemistry and Biochemistry
STAFF AWARDS
The College of Sciences Staff Awards are made possible by funding from the Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Dean’s Chair endowment. They include:
The Exceptional Staff Member Award and Leadership in Action Staff Member Awards recognize College of Sciences staff who exemplify outstanding performance above and beyond the call of duty, by positively impacting the strategic goals of their department and the College, consistently providing excellent service within their school or the overall College, and demonstrating exemplary teamwork.
- Exceptional Staff Member: Aria Higgins, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Leadership in Action Staff Member: Gary Longstreet, Physics
The Excellence in Leadership Staff Awards and the Staff Excellence Award recognize College of Sciences staff who have made exceptional contributions to the College through innovative and strategic leadership, change management, business process improvement, special project leadership, and similar accomplishments.
Excellence in Leadership Staff
- Shameka Fahie, Dean’s Office
- Nguyen Nguyen, Academic and Research Computing Services
Staff Excellence Award
- Jenny Eaton, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Danny Hardwar, Academic and Research Computing Services
- David Murray, Academic and Research Computing Services
- Shebbie Murray, Psychology
NEW COLLEGE OF SCIENCES FACULTY
Academic Year 2022-2023
- Jason Azoulay, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Isaiah Bolden, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Gong Chen, Mathematics
- Aditi Das, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Anjuli Datta, Biological Sciences
- Chunhui Du, Physics
- Benjamin Freeman, Biological Sciences
- Qiliang He, Psychology
- Svetlana Jitomirskaya, Mathematics
- Shina (Lynn) Kamerlin, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Thomas Kelly, Mathematics
- Hunter Lehmann, Mathematics
- Kalila Lehmann, Mathematics
- Andrew McShan, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Farzaneh Najafi, Biological Sciences
- Feryal Özel, Physics
- Michael Porter, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
- Dimitrios Psaltis, Physics
- Stephanie Reikes, Mathematics
- Surabhi Sachdev, Physics
- Deborah Santos, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- William Stern, Psychology
- Tiffiny Hughes-Troutman, Psychology
- Hailong Wang, Physics
- Michael Wolf, Mathematics
On April 26, 2023, the School of Physics and College of Sciences at Georgia Tech will welcome Stanford University physicist Steven Chu to speak on climate change and innovative paths towards a more sustainable future. Chu is the 1997 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics, and in his former role as U.S. Secretary of Energy, became the first scientist to hold a U.S. Cabinet position.
About the Talk
The event is part of the School of Physics “Inquiring Minds” public lecture series, and will be held at the Ferst Center for the Arts. The talk is free and open to campus and the Atlanta community, and no RSVP is required. Refreshments begin at 4:30, and the lecture will start at 5 p.m. ET.
“The multiple industrial and agricultural revolutions have transformed the world,” Chu recently shared in an abstract for the lecture. “However, an unintended consequence of this progress is that we are changing the climate of our planet. In addition to the climate risks, we will need to provide enough clean energy, water, and food for a more prosperous world that may grow to 11 billion by 2100.”
The talk will discuss the significant technical challenges and potential solutions that could provide better paths to a more sustainable future. “How we transition from where we are now to where we need to be within 50 years is arguably the most pressing set of issues that science, innovation, and public policy have to address,” Chu added.
The event’s faculty host is Daniel Goldman, Dunn Family Professor in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech.
About Steven Chu
Steven Chu is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics and a professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology in the Medical School at Stanford University.
Chu served as the 12th U.S. Secretary of Energy from January 2009 until the end of April 2013. As the first scientist to hold a U.S. Cabinet position and the longest serving Energy Secretary, Chu led several initiatives including ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy), the Energy Innovation Hubs, and was personally tasked by President Obama to assist in the Deepwater Horizon oil leak.
In the spring of 2010, Chu was the keynote speaker for the Georgia Tech Ph.D. and Master's Commencement Ceremony.
Prior to his cabinet post, Chu was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he was active in pursuit of alternative and renewable energy technologies, and a professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford, where he helped launch Bio-X, a multi-disciplinary institute combining the physical and biological sciences with medicine and engineering. Previously he also served as head of the Quantum Electronics Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories.
He is the co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to laser cooling and atom trapping. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Pontifical Academy Sciences, and of seven foreign academies. He formerly served as president, and then chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Chu earned an A.B. degree in mathematics and a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as 35 honorary degrees.
He has published over 280 papers in atomic and polymer physics, biophysics, biology, bio-imaging, batteries, and other energy technologies. He holds 15 patents, and an additional 15 patent disclosures or filings since 2015.
Read more about this event here:
Physics to Host Climate Talk with Former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Nobel Laureate
On behalf of the Georgia Tech College of Sciences and the School of Physics, we invite you to join us and our esteemed guest Professor Steven Chu, former U.S. Secretary of Energy and co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Speaker: Prof. Steven Chu
Host: Prof. Dan Goldman
Time: 5:00 PM (Refreshments start at 4:30 PM)
Location: The Ferst Center for the Arts
Title: Climate Change and innovative paths towards a more sustainable future
Abstract: The multiple industrial and agricultural revolutions have transformed the world. However, an unintended consequence of this progress is that we are changing the climate of our planet. In addition to the climate risks, we will need to provide enough clean energy, water, and food of a more prosperous world that may grow to 11 billion by 2100. The talk will discuss the significant technical challenges and potential solutions that could provide better paths to a more sustainable future. How we transition from where we are now to where we need to be within 50 years is arguably the most pressing set of issues that science, innovation and public policy have to address.
Event Details
Natural products – small organic molecules made by living things like bacteria, fungi, and plants – are at the forefront of medical innovation. The majority of clinically used antibiotics and drugs are derived from these unique molecules, and innovations in their development, identification, and synthesis are driving the fight against antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
In the race to develop new pharmaceuticals, an increasing number of biochemists are looking to discover new natural products – and uncover the mechanisms that produce and influence them. And Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Assistant Professor Vinayak Agarwal is helping lead that charge. “I’m interested in how and why natural products are created in nature, what we can learn from their processes, and how we can harness nature's capabilities for interesting applications,” Agarwal says.
Now a $700,000 NSF CAREER grant will help him do so. The National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award is a five-year funding mechanism designed to help promising researchers establish a personal foundation for a lifetime of leadership in their field. Known as CAREER awards, the grants are NSF’s most prestigious funding for untenured assistant professors.
Agarwal’s award specifically focuses on his research into peptides, short strings of amino acids that make up proteins. “We’re making new types of peptides and modified peptides,” Agarwal explains. “Modifications in a lot of antibiotics that we use are actually peptides.” Over 100 peptide-based drugs are currently available in the US, where they’re used to treat conditions ranging from type-2 diabetes to MS.
Changing the tides with peptides
While peptides are naturally made in the body, they can also be synthesized in the lab, where they’re modified using different enzymes. By harnessing these enzymes, peptides can be better tailored to suit needs – they can be changed to interact with biologies in different ways, an essential aspect of creating new medicines.
Discovering and studying the enzymes that modify peptides is a key part of Agarwal’s research, as is understanding the mechanisms that these enzymes use to recognize and bind to the peptides. This is called “enzymatic modification,” and it’s a lush playing field for discovering new chemical reactions. “We want to solve the need of the chemistry community when it comes to peptide modifications, providing new reactions to the community regarding peptide development and peptide modification,” Agarwal says.
While gene mining has revealed some enzymes that might be useful in modifying peptides, the reactions caused by these enzymes and the resulting structure of the peptide are not fully understood: in-situ research is needed. Agarwal’s first goal is to discover new chemical reactions between peptides and enzymes by leveraging in vivo synthetic biology (inside living organisms) and in vitro biochemistry experiments (outside of living organisms).
Agarwal also hopes to better understand how peptides and proteins interact, and why so many chemical reactions depend on them. “Peptide-protein interactions and modification of peptides is a central tenet of all biological processes,” Agarwal explains. “We want to know how and why peptides are chosen by nature as scaffolding for chemical reactions.”
Hands-on research and the student connection
Leveraging in vivo synthetic biology and in vitro biochemistry experiments means a lot of hands-on research. “The team is making peptides in the lab using an E. coli bacteria,” Agarwal explains. “We provide genes to an E. coli bacteria, and it modifies the chemistries using specific enzymes.”
What does this research look like? Petri dishes. A lot of petri dishes. And a lot of opportunities for students. “One of our key goals is to use our interdisciplinary training to engage underserved students in research and lab experience. We want to educate, train, and diversify the next generation of scientists,” Agarwal says. “We are designing new courses in the laboratory which introduces undergraduates to new coursework and experiments in peptide science.”
Some of these opportunities are already bearing fruit: Agarwal recently collaborated with a team of undergraduates over a semester-long lab course, which included conducting laboratory research and publishing their findings.
Now, Agarwal plans to use this new CAREER grant to further expand opportunities for undergraduates, and will develop original curriculum starting with peptide-based lab research together with scientific communication and writing.
“The training that students are going to get provides a broad experience in biological and chemical science,” Agarwal says. “We want our students to learn mechanisms for peptide modifications, but the training is broadly applicable. It will prepare them to move forward in STEM – and especially graduate studies – but will also prepare them for industry careers, government and regulatory science, graduate studies, and more. This kind of background is applicable in all fields.”
All in all, Agarwal expects the research to span across this decade and into the next. There’s excitement in that timeline, too – ten-plus years of teaching, discovery, and opportunities for students, at Georgia Tech and beyond.
“For me, the biggest thing is student progress, as well as curriculum development and training,” Agarwal says. “That’s my driving force.”
Five Georgia Tech College of Sciences researchers have been awarded CAREER grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
These Faculty Early Career Development Awards are part of a five-year funding mechanism designed to help promising researchers establish a personal foundation for a lifetime of leadership in their field. The grants are NSF’s most prestigious funding for untenured assistant professors.
Read more:
- Making Medicines: Vinayak Agarwal’s research into peptides, and their medicinal potential
- The Fundamental Questions: Jesse McDaniel’s new framework for predicting chemical reaction rates, leveraging computer modeling
- Chasing Chaos: Alex Blumenthal’s research in chaos, fluid dynamics
- Solving Infinite Problems: Anton Bernshteyn’s new, unified theory of descriptive combinatorics and distributed algorithms
- Gauging Glaciers: Alex Robel's new ice sheet modeling tool
One of the most exciting parts of the CAREER grants is that they support new faculty, who are often working at the frontier of their fields. “I am excited about the CAREER research because we are really focusing on fundamental questions that are central to all of chemistry,” says Jesse McDaniel (School of Chemistry and Biochemistry) about his project, which focuses on creating a new framework to predict the rates of chemical reactions, leveraging computer science.
Anton Bernshteyn’s (School of Mathematics) work in the recently emerged field of descriptive combinatorics is also on the cutting edge of discovery. “There’s this new communication between separate fields of math and computer science— this huge synergy right now— it’s incredibly exciting,” Bernshteyn explains. “Right now we’re only starting to glimpse what’s possible.”
Each award also includes a teaching and outreach component: Vinayak Agarwal (School of Chemistry and Biochemistry) plans to use his grant to not only investigate peptides, but also to train the next generation of leaders, emphasizing student inclusion from diverse backgrounds: “The training is broadly applicable,” says Agarwal. “It will prepare students to move forward in STEM – and especially graduate studies – but will also prepare them for industry careers, government and regulatory science, graduate studies, and more. This kind of background is applicable in all fields.”
Alex Blumenthal (School of Mathematics), who is investigating the intersection of chaos, turbulence– including fluid dynamics– mathematics, and computer-assisted proof, agrees. “There’s a whole lot of new stuff to do,” Blumenthal says. “There’s a growing community of people studying random dynamics, and a growing community of people doing computer proofs– it’s a great place for undergrads to have meaningful research experiences.”
Alex Robel (School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences), emphasizes the broad impacts of the CAREER grant projects. Robel is working to create a new ice sheet modeling tool, which will be accessible to anyone, and just require the use of a computer browser. “Ultimately,” Robel says, “this project will empower more people in the community to use these models and to use these models together with the observations that they're taking.”
Natural products – small organic molecules made by living things like bacteria, fungi, and plants – are at the forefront of medical innovation. The majority of clinically used antibiotics and drugs are derived from these unique molecules, and innovations in their development, identification, and synthesis are driving the fight against antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
In the race to develop new pharmaceuticals, an increasing number of biochemists are looking to discover new natural products – and uncover the mechanisms that produce and influence them. And Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Assistant Professor Vinayak Agarwal is helping lead that charge. “I’m interested in how and why natural products are created in nature, what we can learn from their processes, and how we can harness nature's capabilities for interesting applications,” Agarwal says.
Now a $700,000 NSF CAREER grant will help him do so. The National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award is a five-year funding mechanism designed to help promising researchers establish a personal foundation for a lifetime of leadership in their field. Known as CAREER awards, the grants are NSF’s most prestigious funding for untenured assistant professors.
Agarwal’s award specifically focuses on his research into peptides, short strings of amino acids that make up proteins. “We’re making new types of peptides and modified peptides,” Agarwal explains. “Modifications in a lot of antibiotics that we use are actually peptides.” Over 100 peptide-based drugs are currently available in the US, where they’re used to treat conditions ranging from type-2 diabetes to MS.
Changing the tides with peptides
While peptides are naturally made in the body, they can also be synthesized in the lab, where they’re modified using different enzymes. By harnessing these enzymes, peptides can be better tailored to suit needs – they can be changed to interact with biologies in different ways, an essential aspect of creating new medicines.
Discovering and studying the enzymes that modify peptides is a key part of Agarwal’s research, as is understanding the mechanisms that these enzymes use to recognize and bind to the peptides. This is called “enzymatic modification,” and it’s a lush playing field for discovering new chemical reactions. “We want to solve the need of the chemistry community when it comes to peptide modifications, providing new reactions to the community regarding peptide development and peptide modification,” Agarwal says.
While gene mining has revealed some enzymes that might be useful in modifying peptides, the reactions caused by these enzymes and the resulting structure of the peptide are not fully understood: in-situ research is needed. Agarwal’s first goal is to discover new chemical reactions between peptides and enzymes by leveraging in vivo synthetic biology (inside living organisms) and in vitro biochemistry experiments (outside of living organisms).
Agarwal also hopes to better understand how peptides and proteins interact, and why so many chemical reactions depend on them. “Peptide-protein interactions and modification of peptides is a central tenet of all biological processes,” Agarwal explains. “We want to know how and why peptides are chosen by nature as scaffolding for chemical reactions.”
Hands-on research and the student connection
Leveraging in vivo synthetic biology and in vitro biochemistry experiments means a lot of hands-on research. “The team is making peptides in the lab using an E. coli bacteria,” Agarwal explains. “We provide genes to an E. coli bacteria, and it modifies the chemistries using specific enzymes.”
What does this research look like? Petri dishes. A lot of petri dishes. And a lot of opportunities for students. “One of our key goals is to use our interdisciplinary training to engage underserved students in research and lab experience. We want to educate, train, and diversify the next generation of scientists,” Agarwal says. “We are designing new courses in the laboratory which introduces undergraduates to new coursework and experiments in peptide science.”
Some of these opportunities are already bearing fruit: Agarwal recently collaborated with a team of undergraduates over a semester-long lab course, which included conducting laboratory research and publishing their findings.
Now, Agarwal plans to use this new CAREER grant to further expand opportunities for undergraduates, and will develop original curriculum starting with peptide-based lab research together with scientific communication and writing.
“The training that students are going to get provides a broad experience in biological and chemical science,” Agarwal says. “We want our students to learn mechanisms for peptide modifications, but the training is broadly applicable. It will prepare them to move forward in STEM – and especially graduate studies – but will also prepare them for industry careers, government and regulatory science, graduate studies, and more. This kind of background is applicable in all fields.”
All in all, Agarwal expects the research to span across this decade and into the next. There’s excitement in that timeline, too – ten-plus years of teaching, discovery, and opportunities for students, at Georgia Tech and beyond.
“For me, the biggest thing is student progress, as well as curriculum development and training,” Agarwal says. “That’s my driving force.”
Five Georgia Tech College of Sciences researchers have been awarded CAREER grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
These Faculty Early Career Development Awards are part of a five-year funding mechanism designed to help promising researchers establish a personal foundation for a lifetime of leadership in their field. The grants are NSF’s most prestigious funding for untenured assistant professors.
Read more:
- Making Medicines: Vinayak Agarwal’s research into peptides, and their medicinal potential
- The Fundamental Questions: Jesse McDaniel’s new framework for predicting chemical reaction rates, leveraging computer modeling
- Chasing Chaos: Alex Blumenthal’s research in chaos, fluid dynamics
- Solving Infinite Problems: Anton Bernshteyn’s new, unified theory of descriptive combinatorics and distributed algorithms
- Gauging Glaciers: Alex Robel's new ice sheet modeling tool
One of the most exciting parts of the CAREER grants is that they support new faculty, who are often working at the frontier of their fields. “I am excited about the CAREER research because we are really focusing on fundamental questions that are central to all of chemistry,” says Jesse McDaniel (School of Chemistry and Biochemistry) about his project, which focuses on creating a new framework to predict the rates of chemical reactions, leveraging computer science.
Anton Bernshteyn’s (School of Mathematics) work in the recently emerged field of descriptive combinatorics is also on the cutting edge of discovery. “There’s this new communication between separate fields of math and computer science— this huge synergy right now— it’s incredibly exciting,” Bernshteyn explains. “Right now we’re only starting to glimpse what’s possible.”
Each award also includes a teaching and outreach component: Vinayak Agarwal (School of Chemistry and Biochemistry) plans to use his grant to not only investigate peptides, but also to train the next generation of leaders, emphasizing student inclusion from diverse backgrounds: “The training is broadly applicable,” says Agarwal. “It will prepare students to move forward in STEM – and especially graduate studies – but will also prepare them for industry careers, government and regulatory science, graduate studies, and more. This kind of background is applicable in all fields.”
Alex Blumenthal (School of Mathematics), who is investigating the intersection of chaos, turbulence– including fluid dynamics– mathematics, and computer-assisted proof, agrees. “There’s a whole lot of new stuff to do,” Blumenthal says. “There’s a growing community of people studying random dynamics, and a growing community of people doing computer proofs– it’s a great place for undergrads to have meaningful research experiences.”
Alex Robel (School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences), emphasizes the broad impacts of the CAREER grant projects. Robel is working to create a new ice sheet modeling tool, which will be accessible to anyone, and just require the use of a computer browser. “Ultimately,” Robel says, “this project will empower more people in the community to use these models and to use these models together with the observations that they're taking.”
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