Some of the instruments in Christy O’Mahony’s Analytical Chemistry Lab are split into two groups: The Avengers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The stickers that students and O’Mahony, senior academic professional in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, have placed on the equipment are appropriate: ‘Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America’ denote equipment that breaks apart and transforms materials into their chemical and molecular components — while the ‘Mutant Turtles’ machines safely look for and analyze possible trace amounts of radioactivity in materials.

Each machine sports a sticker with another popular public figure — Tech’s very own Buzz ringed by a halo saying: “Purchased with Technology Fee Funds.”

Tech Fees “make a huge difference in putting sophisticated instrumentation into our teaching labs,” says David Collard, senior associate dean in the College of Sciences and professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “This allows us to provide our undergraduates with experiences that are far beyond what is available at other institutions.”

“Most curriculum would have an instrumental analysis class, an analytical chemistry class where students are taught the concepts of this in a chemistry curriculum,” says O’Mahony. “But it’s unusual for them to have the access to actually do the measurements.” 

The lab’s latest Tech Fee-funded purchase, a laser-induced breakdown spectrometer, will provide more accurate measurements of chemical components in materials. An earlier purchase, a capillary electrophoresis instrument, helped O’Mahony and a graduate student publish a research paper detailing a new applied lab exercise on analyzing phenylketonuria (PKU), a birth defect. 

“I think the students being able to put on their curriculum vitae that they have done these techniques, they know these software packages, and [that] these are all the exact same ones that industry has, is a huge help for them,” O’Mahony says. “And I've had quite a few students who I've provided references for who have gone into quality control. ‘They say they're familiar with this equipment. So, what level did they use it?’,” she says companies often ask. “Well, they sat down and ran the whole thing, and fixed a problem.”

Hear from a few of O’Mahony’s students on their experiences with the equipment and instruments:

Dhruti Triveti, third-year biochemistry major 

“I did not expect being able to use equipment like this. I did not know that the technology would be this high — that the equipment that we're able to use is very cutting-edge, I believe — and some of this is used in industry, which I think is really a good stepping stone to what we want to do in the future.”

Jack Winn, fourth-year biochemistry major:

“This has given me a chance to dive into a different field of chemistry, and see, as I'm preparing to graduate, which field I want to go into.

That's actually part of the reason I came to Tech. I knew that we had these available resources and cutting-edge technology that would put me at an advantage, I suppose, to other schools.”

Julianna Mercado, third-year biochemistry major:

“I'm able to be a little bit more comfortable going into different jobs, or research internships or something like that, rather than just be, ‘oh, how do I do this again?’ I feel like it gives me a better advantage with that — and that's a good thing.”

Scot Sutton, graduate biochemistry student and Analytical Chemistry Lab teaching assistant:

“One of our experiments for the first rotation is flow injection analysis, which, in a lot of ways, is if you kind of took out the guts of one of our liquid chromatography instruments. That's actually how I explained it to the students — there's a lot of different tubing, so they get to see how the reaction takes place over time and get to see what the differences are between a batch process that they might do by hand, versus what the instrument itself can do. And they see different ways to approach chemical problems they might run into.”

A list of recently purchased College of Sciences lab and classroom equipment, instruments, and resources powered by Tech Fee funds:

Neuroscience/Biological Sciences — Instruments that use light to measure and manipulate the activity of neurons, and read electrical signals from specialized cells triggered by light/photons to learn about neurological activity. 

Biological Sciences — Equipment for "western blotting" protein identification procedures, allowing Intro to Biology students to visualize the presence of proteins downstream of various molecular biology techniques. Fall 2021 students are using it to explore the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. 

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — Equipment for Kendeda Building EAS Teaching Labs

Chemistry and Biochemistry — Next-Level Laptops for the Biochemistry Teaching Laboratories

Physics (Neuroscience) — Electrophysiology instruments, allowing students to record the activity from neurons and hearts for Georgia Tech’s new advanced neuroscience curriculum.

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — Equipment and resources for the EAS 1600 courses, including Introduction to Environmental Science and Habitable Planet.

Biological Sciences — Biological safety cabinets

Neuroscience (Biological Sciences) — Microscopy in Neuroscience Undergraduate Laboratory 

Psychology — Psychology Research Methods, including instruments for  eye tracking and skin galvanic response, which measure how the body responds to various emotional states.

Biological Sciences — Green Lab-Living Building Ecology; more campus wildlife data gathering for conservation studies; proposed building of towers on Tech campus for tracking bird migration. 

One of Georgia Tech’s core values, “We act ethically,” guides our priorities every day. But Ethics Awareness Week puts a spotlight on that value and the ways we engage ethically around campus.

This year’s events, taking place Nov. 8–12, will be a mix of scheduled in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, daily ethics IQ questions, and in-person ethics tables around campus. Experts  from the Veterans Resource Center, the LGBTQIA Resource Center, Ethicx, and the Alumni Association, among others, will join the Office of Ethics and Compliance to showcase ethics in a variety of contexts.

Kara Tucker, lead counsel and director of Ethics and Compliance in the Office of the General Counsel, said partnering with campus departments helped create a diverse schedule of events that provides an opportunity for everyone to engage.

“As an organization whose mission is to develop leaders in  our students, faculty, and staff, we know that leading ethically is a critical component. A leader is anyone who influences others, and we aim to create leaders who not only act ethically, but also influence others to act ethically.”

View a full list of the week’s events and chances to win door prizes at ethicsfirst.gatech.edu/ethicsweek.

A few events to look forward to:

• Game Time Mashup With Executive Leadership: President Ángel Cabrera and Executive Vice Presidents Steven McLaughlin, Chaouki Abdallah, and Kelly Fox will go head-to-head playing familiar games with an ethical twist. Nov. 8, 10:30 a.m. Register to attend.
• Sticker Blitz With the Ramblin’ Wreck: Visit the Ramblin’ Wreck, take photos, collect vinyl stickers, and receive Ethics First giveaways. Nov. 8, 11 a.m., Exhibition Hall. No registration required.
• A “Google Chat” With Google's Chief Compliance Officer, Spyro Karetsos: Keynote speaker Spyro Karetsos, chief compliance officer at Google, will offer insight about expectations and best practices at Google. Nov. 9, 10 a.m. Register to attend.
• Preparing Future Leaders for Ethical Challenges: An interdisciplinary panel of faculty in biological sciences, civil and environmental engineering, business, and public policy discusses teaching ethics and preparing students for ethical dilemmas in their careers. Nov. 10, 11 a.m. Register to attend.
• Gender Equity From the Perspective of Military Leadership: Examine gender equality and equity in the military through the experiences of two U.S. military members and current Georgia Tech students. They will discuss gender bias and equity, stereotypes, sexism, and how these challenges affect veterans transitioning to civilian life. Nov. 12, 12:30 p.m. Register to attend.

All in-person and hybrid events  will have giveaways and beverages or light refreshments.

This year, Ethics Awareness Week coincides with the annual online compliance training that is required of all employees. The four training modules must be completed by Nov. 19 in the Georgia Tech Learner Dashboard. 

Learn more about ethics at Georgia Tech at ethicsfirst.gatech.edu.

Billions of years ago, self-replicating systems of molecules became separated from one another by membranes, resulting in the first cells. Over time, evolving cells enriched the living world with an astonishing diversity of new shapes and biochemical innovations, all made possible by compartments. 

Compartmentalization is how all living systems are organized today — from proteins and small molecules sharing space in separate phases to dividing labor and specialized functions within and among cells.

Now, with $6 million in support from NASA, a team of researchers led by Georgia Tech’s Frank Rosenzweig will study the organizing principles of compartmentalization in a five-year project called Engine of Innovation: How Compartmentalization Drives Evolution of Novelty and Efficiency Across Scales.

It's one of seven new projects selected recently by NASA as part of its Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) program. ICAR is embedded among NASA’s five Astrobiology Research Coordination Networks (RCNs). Rosenzweig is co-lead for the RCN launched in 2022, LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity.

“We’re excited by the prospect of exploring this fundamental question through the interplay of theory and experiment,” said Rosenzweig, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, whose team of co-Investigators includes biochemists, geologists, cell biologists, and theoreticians from leading NASA research centers: Jeff Cameron, Shelley Copley, Alexis Templeton, and Boswell Wing from the University of Colorado Boulder; Josh Goldford and Victoria Orphan from California Institute of Technology; and John McCutcheon from Arizona State University. Collaborating with them is Chris Kempes, professor at the Santa Fe Institute.

Rosenzweig is also eager to eventually collaborate with existing ICAR teams, such as MUSE, led by the University of Wisconsin’s Betül Kaçar, a former Georgia Tech postdoctoral researcher, and newly selected teams, such as Retention of Habitable Atmospheres in Planetary Systems, led by Dave Brain at University of Colorado Boulder.

Meanwhile, he plans to build upon Georgia Tech’s outstanding reputation in astrobiology, where a cluster of researchers, such as Jen Glass, Nick Hud, Thom Orlando, Amanda Stockton, and Loren Williams, among others, is engaged in a diverse range of work supported by NASA.

“This is just the latest chapter in a long history of excellence in NASA research at Georgia Tech, one written by my colleagues across the Institute,” Rosenzweig said.

Billions of years ago, self-replicating systems of molecules became separated from one another by membranes, resulting in the first cells. Over time, evolving cells enriched the living world with an astonishing diversity of new shapes and biochemical innovations, all made possible by compartments. 

Compartmentalization is how all living systems are organized today — from proteins and small molecules sharing space in separate phases to dividing labor and specialized functions within and among cells.

Now, with $6 million in support from NASA, a team of researchers led by Georgia Tech’s Frank Rosenzweig will study the organizing principles of compartmentalization in a five-year project called Engine of Innovation: How Compartmentalization Drives Evolution of Novelty and Efficiency Across Scales.

It's one of seven new projects selected recently by NASA as part of its Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) program. ICAR is embedded among NASA’s five Astrobiology Research Coordination Networks (RCNs). Rosenzweig is co-lead for the RCN launched in 2022, LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity.

“We’re excited by the prospect of exploring this fundamental question through the interplay of theory and experiment,” said Rosenzweig, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, whose team of co-Investigators includes biochemists, geologists, cell biologists, and theoreticians from leading NASA research centers: Jeff Cameron, Shelley Copley, Alexis Templeton, and Boswell Wing from the University of Colorado Boulder; Josh Goldford and Victoria Orphan from California Institute of Technology; and John McCutcheon from Arizona State University. Collaborating with them is Chris Kempes, professor at the Santa Fe Institute.

Rosenzweig is also eager to eventually collaborate with existing ICAR teams, such as MUSE, led by the University of Wisconsin’s Betül Kaçar, a former Georgia Tech postdoctoral researcher, and newly selected teams, such as Retention of Habitable Atmospheres in Planetary Systems, led by Dave Brain at University of Colorado Boulder.

Meanwhile, he plans to build upon Georgia Tech’s outstanding reputation in astrobiology, where a cluster of researchers, such as Jen Glass, Nick Hud, Thom Orlando, Amanda Stockton, and Loren Williams, among others, is engaged in a diverse range of work supported by NASA.

“This is just the latest chapter in a long history of excellence in NASA research at Georgia Tech, one written by my colleagues across the Institute,” Rosenzweig said.

Billions of years ago, self-replicating systems of molecules became separated from one another by membranes, resulting in the first cells. Over time, evolving cells enriched the living world with an astonishing diversity of new shapes and biochemical innovations, all made possible by compartments. 

Compartmentalization is how all living systems are organized today — from proteins and small molecules sharing space in separate phases to dividing labor and specialized functions within and among cells.

Now, with $6 million in support from NASA, a team of researchers led by Georgia Tech’s Frank Rosenzweig will study the organizing principles of compartmentalization in a five-year project called Engine of Innovation: How Compartmentalization Drives Evolution of Novelty and Efficiency Across Scales.

It's one of seven new projects selected recently by NASA as part of its Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) program. ICAR is embedded among NASA’s five Astrobiology Research Coordination Networks (RCNs). Rosenzweig is co-lead for the RCN launched in 2022, LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity.

“We’re excited by the prospect of exploring this fundamental question through the interplay of theory and experiment,” said Rosenzweig, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, whose team of co-Investigators includes biochemists, geologists, cell biologists, and theoreticians from leading NASA research centers: Jeff Cameron, Shelley Copley, Alexis Templeton, and Boswell Wing from the University of Colorado Boulder; Josh Goldford and Victoria Orphan from California Institute of Technology; and John McCutcheon from Arizona State University. Collaborating with them is Chris Kempes, professor at the Santa Fe Institute.

Rosenzweig is also eager to eventually collaborate with existing ICAR teams, such as MUSE, led by the University of Wisconsin’s Betül Kaçar, a former Georgia Tech postdoctoral researcher, and newly selected teams, such as Retention of Habitable Atmospheres in Planetary Systems, led by Dave Brain at University of Colorado Boulder.

Meanwhile, he plans to build upon Georgia Tech’s outstanding reputation in astrobiology, where a cluster of researchers, such as Jen Glass, Nick Hud, Thom Orlando, Amanda Stockton, and Loren Williams, among others, is engaged in a diverse range of work supported by NASA.

“This is just the latest chapter in a long history of excellence in NASA research at Georgia Tech, one written by my colleagues across the Institute,” Rosenzweig said.