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Thirteen College of Sciences students and alumni are among nearly 90 Georgia Tech students and alumni being awarded five-year fellowships and honorable mentions for their research in STEM disciplines through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

They are among 50 graduate student researchers at Georgia Tech and 39 Institute alumni being recognized by GRFP for research excellence.

The program supports outstanding students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines through five-year fellowships, which include an annual stipend to each fellow, as well as a cost of education allowance for tuition and fees to their academic institutions. 

Georgia Tech Sciences students and alumni recognized this year hail from the Schools of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Physics, and the Georgia Tech Neuroscience program.

College of Sciences student researchers receiving GRFP awards and honorable mentions are:

• Mi Yen Do — Honorable Mention in Life Sciences (Biophysics)

• Claire Elise Elbon — Award in Geosciences (Biogeochemistry)

• Tatiana Marisol-Gomez Gibson — Honorable Mention in Geosciences (Geomorphology)

• Madeleine Ellen Hardt — Award in Geosciences (Paleoclimate)

• Emily Bronwyn Hughes — Award in Planetary Geology

• Tucker James Lancaster — Award in Life Sciences (Computationally Intensive Research)

• McKinley Kinard Paul — Award in Macromolecular, Supramolecular, Nanochemistry

Half a dozen College of Sciences alumni who received their undergraduate degrees at Tech and are now conducting graduate research at other universities and organizations, are also receiving 2022 GRFP Awards:

• Yasmine Bassil — Emory University, Life Sciences (Neurosciences)

• Ashley Marie Hanna — University of Maryland, Geosciences (Geochemistry)

• Hannah Verboncoeur — Colorado School of Mines, Geosciences (Glaciology)

• Holly Lynn Nichols — University of Wisconsin-Madison, Life Sciences (Evolutionary Biology)

• Jadyn Sethna — Sea Turtle Conservancy, Life Sciences (Organismal Biology)

• Charles Cardot — University of Washington, Physics and Astronomy (Solid State Physics)

Hardt, a Georgia Tech Stamps President's Scholar, and Verboncouer are also prior recipients of the Rutt Bridges Undergraduate Research Initiative Award for Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS) students. Gibson, an AGU Bridge Fellow, and Elbon, a Georgia Tech President’s Fellow, also hail from EAS. Hanna, who majored in chemistry at Georgia Tech, also conducted undergraduate research in EAS. 

More information on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program can be found here.

This feature by Tony Rehagen was first published in Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine.

Of all earth's ecosystems, the biggest might be the one about which we know the least. Our oceans cover more than two-thirds of the planet’s surface, and yet more than 80% of that is uncharted. Scientists estimate that 91% of ocean life has yet to be classified. But what little we do know might be the key to solving some of land-dwellers’ most vexing problems.

Julia Kubanek is vice president for Interdisciplinary Research and a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She and her team study how ocean organisms, such as crabs and mollusks, use chemicals to feel out their environment and communicate with each other. This work has not only produced insight on how humans use chemical cues but also led to discovery of chemicals that can be used to create drugs that treat human disease. “Some of these molecules that function as cues in animals and algae can be useful to us too,” says Kubanek.

“For instance, usually toxins are considered bad, but you can use them to explore human cells,” she says. “You can also use paralytic toxins for neuroscience. We’ve even discovered molecules that function as natural antibiotics in the water and co-opted those functions that are applicable in medicine.”

Kubanek and her team have examined certain types of seaweed found on coral reefs, which are usually sites of intense competition. Yet the seemingly defenseless seaweed there grows a healthy, vibrant red without any sign of attack from predators or microorganisms. Upon further study, Kubanek and company discovered dozens of molecules that protect the plant from fungal attacks—some of which also have been found to kill the parasite that causes malaria. Additional study of molecules from other sponges and seaweed has revealed molecules with antiviral properties, including one currently under review that appears to be able to kill the virus that causes Covid-19.

“These compounds can be models for new drugs,” says Kubanek. “Chemists can mimic the natural products and create derivatives that are better for human application and drug discovery.” Kubanek’s study of chemical cues is also leading to discoveries of how organisms use chemicals to protect themselves from predators and competition, as well as disease. The possible applications for humanity, beyond just conservation, are as limitless as the sea.

Wild Tech

We often think of nature as an obvious source of inspiration, especially when it comes to art. Countless paintings, photographs, symphonies, books, and films have either directly or indirectly taken cues from the wild world around us. But artists aren’t the only ones who see Mother Nature as a muse. Increasingly, scientists and engineers are looking to flora, fauna, and even our own biological building blocks to find answers to humanity’s biggest mysteries.

Georgia Tech researchers are at the forefront of this vast frontier of discovery. They’ve ventured outside of the lab and gone on safari, danced into the woods, dived beneath the ocean waves, and even turned the microscope inward on our own bodies to find clues on how to do everything from help us better communicate with robots to cure disease. Here are the stories behind some of Tech’s wildest innovations.

Learn how other Georgia Tech researchers are developing innovations inspired by nature.

Mark E. Hay, Regents' Professor and Teasley Chair in Environmental Biology in the School of Biological Sciences, has been elected a member of both the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 

Hay is among 120 members and 30 international members elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Established by an Act of Congress, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, the NAS is charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. Scientists are elected by their peers to membership for outstanding contributions to research.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences was founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock, and others to honor exceptionally accomplished individuals and convene leaders in advancing the public good. Hay, an experimental marine ecologist known for his work on community and chemical ecology, is being recognized by the organization for decades of world-renowned research in the field. He is among 261 artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors who will be inducted in 2023.

“I am honored to be associated with a group that has shaped not only science and art — but the human experience and culture in general for more than two centuries,” says Hay. 

“Mark is an international leader in the field of marine chemical ecology,” says Susan Lozier, dean of the College of Sciences and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair. “His work has helped build our modern understanding of marine ecosystems and has guided marine conservation efforts across the globe. Whether as a researcher, educator, mentor, advisor, or colleague — those who are fortunate enough to know Mark also know just how fitting these honors are for him.”

Hay founded and co-directed the Center for Aquatic Chemical Ecology, now merged with the Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection at Georgia Tech. His research has provided key insights into the conservation and restoration of coral reefs, and has challenged scientists' views of ecological and evolutionary processes affecting the establishment and impact of invasive species.

“Most organisms have neither eyes nor ears and so must use chemical cues to decide whether to attack, mate with, or escape from the organism next to them,” Hay says. “Learning and interpreting these chemical cues provides an instruction manual for the critical processes structuring Earth's populations, communities, and ecosystems. This deeper understanding then produces novel approaches for improving conservation, management, and restoration of threatened and collapsed natural systems.”

Hay is the 2011 recipient of Georgia Tech’s highest faculty award, the Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor Award, and is also a past recipient of the Cody Award in Ocean Sciences for “outstanding scientific achievement in oceanography, marine biology, and earth science.” 

“My research would not have been possible without an amazing group of students and postdocs who collaborated, innovated, and often led as much as followed in our explorations of nature,” says Hay. “They are the future of science — probably my greatest contributions to science — and they will make wonderful discoveries I can't predict or even imagine.”

Hay is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) and the Ecological Society of America, as well as a recipient of the International Society of Chemical Ecology’s Silver Medal, the organization’s highest honor. In 2015, Hay received the Lowell Thomas Award from The Explorers Club as a “Visionary of Conservation,” and in 2018 the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal from the National Academy of Sciences. 

Following 17 years as a faculty member at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hay joined Georgia Tech in 1999 as recipient of the Teasley Chair.

Hay joins four current Georgia Tech faculty who are members of the NAS: Marilyn Brown, 2020; Randall Engle, 2020; Arkadi Nemirovski, 2020; and Mostafa El-Sayed, 1980. Those elected to the NAS today bring the total number of active members to 2,512 and total international members to 517. 

He is among 11 scientists recognized by the American Academy as new members in Evolution and Ecology, and joins eight other current Georgia Tech faculty who are members: Kaye Husbands Fealing, 2021; Charles Isbell, 2021; Susan Lozier, 2020; Randall Engle, 2018; Arkadi Nemirovski, 2018; Richard Lipton, 2014; Zvi Galil, 2005; and Mostafa El-Sayed, 1986. Robert Nerem (1937-2020) was elected in 1998, along with James Meindl (1933-2020) in 1992.

About the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences connects fields of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together, as expressed in the organization’s charter, “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” The Academy’s studies have helped set the direction of research and analysis in science and technology policy, global security and international affairs, social policy, education, and the arts and humanities. 

About the National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, nonprofit organization of the country’s leading researchers. The NAS recognizes and promotes outstanding science through election to membership; publication in its journal, PNAS; and its awards, programs, and special activities. Through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the NAS provides objective, science-based advice on critical issues affecting the nation.