Ph.D. students Cassandra Shriver, in Quantitative Biosciences (QBioS) and Noam Altman-Kurosaki in Biological Sciences have been selected to receive an ARCS® Scholar Award: Achievement Rewards for College Scientists. They are two of only eight from Georgia Tech to receive the scholarship this year, and join seven returning ARCS Scholars.

ARCS Scholars are selected annually by qualifying departments of science, engineering, and medical research within the ARCS Foundation’s 51 academic partner universities. The ARCS Scholars Award recognizes outstanding students who have a record of past achievement and who show exceptional promise of making a significant contribution to the worldwide advancement of science and technology. The ARCS fellowship is made possible each year by way of the fundraising and continuous generous support of the ARCS Foundation Atlanta Chapter.

Meet Cassandra Shriver

“I am honored to be recognized for my previous achievements and grateful to be joining a wonderful community of people passionate about advancing science and technology,” said Shriver.

Her proposed research is to analyze how scaling affects mammalian climbing mechanics, with emphasis on conservation applications.

“I plan to observe and compare gait kinematics for mammals of various sizes, with the understanding that scaling relationships may require alternative postures or strategies to overcome gravitational forces,” Shriver explained. “This research will require extensive collaborations with zoological and wildlife institutions, which are often more willing to collaborate when efforts are made to include conservation and animal welfare initiatives in research proposals.”

“Specifically, I'm curious how various morphological differences and scaling constraints affect climbing kinematics,” she explained, “and how these strategies might change as you increase in size from something as small as a squirrel to as large as a bear.”

“Cassie is an ideal student for this project in the biological sciences, combining her technical engineering background with her interest for studying natural systems,” said Professor and Associate Chair for Faculty Development in the School of Biological Sciences Young-Hui Chang, Shriver is co-advised by Chang and David Hu, professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering with a joint appointment in the School of Biological Sciences.

“In particular, Cassie has a passion for understanding animal behavior and impacting conservation efforts, which has led to her research on climbing biomechanics,”  Chang added. “I have no doubt that the ARCS scholarship will play a major role in helping Cassie continue to develop as a scientist that will work to grow the conservation technology community in metro-Atlanta and make Georgia Tech an industry leader in sustainable and evidenced-based technology solutions for wildlife and beyond.”

In her first year of graduate school at Georgia Tech, Shriver engaged in a project mentoring students to create a solution to solve an urban human-wildlife conflict, designing an open source automated rabies vaccine dispenser for foxes.

Meet Noam Altman-Kurosaki

Ph.D. candidate Noam Altman-Kurosaki, a graduate research assistant in the School of Biological Sciences added on receiving the ARCS Award, “I'm very excited and honored to have received it.”

Most of Altman-Kurosaki’s work takes place in Mo'orea, French Polynesia, studying the mechanisms that drive coral reef decline and recovery, often focusing on how anthropogenic stressors alter the interactions between corals, algae, and fishes.

“As you can imagine, doing work out here can get quite costly,” Altman-Kurosaki explained, adding that the award will also “help me cover the difference in the cost of living and supplies for my work.”

Working in the lab of Professor Mark Hay, an experimental marine ecologist known for his work on community, marine, and chemical ecology, Altman-Kurosaki said that Hay, who also holds the Teasley Chair in Environmental Biology and is a Regents’ Professor, has encouraged  his curiosity and independence. This has made him a much stronger and more creative scientist overall, he said.

“Mark is really good at making sure I ‘couch’ my ideas in broader theory and ecological phenomena — and making sure that I can test them through manipulative experiments, not just correlative and comparative survey techniques,” said Altman-Kurosaki of his mentor and research advisor.

“Noam is innovative, energetic, resourceful, and a tireless researcher that is discovering new approaches to retain or recover the critical ecosystem services that threatened coral reefs provide to tropical human populations,” Hay added.

Altman-Kurosaki’s science career actually began with a pre-university trip to an aquarium. “I saw a Mola mola and couldn't believe something so ridiculous existed on this planet,” he said of the ocean sunfish. “So I decided on a lark to take the classes I'd need for my university's summer marine biology course. I ended up falling in love with the general field of ecology, and that love only deepened when I finally got hands-on field experience in marine biology.”

As he continued to gain experience and learn more about the field, Altman-Kurosaki began to realize that this was what he wanted to do with his life, and ultimately decided to pursue a graduate education to keep conducting research.

About ARCS®

The ARCS® Foundation, a national organization started by a group of women “who focused upon the future” in 1958, has granted more than $120 million to over 10,000 ARCS Scholars in top-rated STEM programs at leading US universities who are “determined to be the best and the brightest in their fields.” The awards are given to outstanding students who are U.S. citizens studying to complete degrees in science, engineering, math, technology, and medical research.

ARCS® Foundation Atlanta, comprised of about 150 philanthropic women, supports scholars from Emory University, Morehouse College, and the University of Georgia, in addition to Georgia Tech. The Atlanta chapter has awarded more than $4.5 million to over 400 scholars since it was incorporated in 1992.

Ph.D. students Cassandra Shriver, in Quantitative Biosciences (QBioS) and Noam Altman-Kurosaki in Biological Sciences have been selected to receive an ARCS® Scholar Award: Achievement Rewards for College Scientists. They are two of only eight from Georgia Tech to receive the scholarship this year, and join seven returning ARCS Scholars.

ARCS Scholars are selected annually by qualifying departments of science, engineering, and medical research within the ARCS Foundation’s 51 academic partner universities. The ARCS Scholars Award recognizes outstanding students who have a record of past achievement and who show exceptional promise of making a significant contribution to the worldwide advancement of science and technology. The ARCS fellowship is made possible each year by way of the fundraising and continuous generous support of the ARCS Foundation Atlanta Chapter.

Meet Cassandra Shriver

“I am honored to be recognized for my previous achievements and grateful to be joining a wonderful community of people passionate about advancing science and technology,” said Shriver.

Her proposed research is to analyze how scaling affects mammalian climbing mechanics, with emphasis on conservation applications.

“I plan to observe and compare gait kinematics for mammals of various sizes, with the understanding that scaling relationships may require alternative postures or strategies to overcome gravitational forces,” Shriver explained. “This research will require extensive collaborations with zoological and wildlife institutions, which are often more willing to collaborate when efforts are made to include conservation and animal welfare initiatives in research proposals.”

“Specifically, I'm curious how various morphological differences and scaling constraints affect climbing kinematics,” she explained, “and how these strategies might change as you increase in size from something as small as a squirrel to as large as a bear.”

“Cassie is an ideal student for this project in the biological sciences, combining her technical engineering background with her interest for studying natural systems,” said Professor and Associate Chair for Faculty Development in the School of Biological Sciences Young-Hui Chang, Shriver is co-advised by Chang and David Hu, professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering with a joint appointment in the School of Biological Sciences.

“In particular, Cassie has a passion for understanding animal behavior and impacting conservation efforts, which has led to her research on climbing biomechanics,”  Chang added. “I have no doubt that the ARCS scholarship will play a major role in helping Cassie continue to develop as a scientist that will work to grow the conservation technology community in metro-Atlanta and make Georgia Tech an industry leader in sustainable and evidenced-based technology solutions for wildlife and beyond.”

In her first year of graduate school at Georgia Tech, Shriver engaged in a project mentoring students to create a solution to solve an urban human-wildlife conflict, designing an open source automated rabies vaccine dispenser for foxes.

Meet Noam Altman-Kurosaki

Ph.D. candidate Noam Altman-Kurosaki, a graduate research assistant in the School of Biological Sciences added on receiving the ARCS Award, “I'm very excited and honored to have received it.”

Most of Altman-Kurosaki’s work takes place in Mo'orea, French Polynesia, studying the mechanisms that drive coral reef decline and recovery, often focusing on how anthropogenic stressors alter the interactions between corals, algae, and fishes.

“As you can imagine, doing work out here can get quite costly,” Altman-Kurosaki explained, adding that the award will also “help me cover the difference in the cost of living and supplies for my work.”

Working in the lab of Professor Mark Hay, an experimental marine ecologist known for his work on community, marine, and chemical ecology, Altman-Kurosaki said that Hay, who also holds the Teasley Chair in Environmental Biology and is a Regents’ Professor, has encouraged  his curiosity and independence. This has made him a much stronger and more creative scientist overall, he said.

“Mark is really good at making sure I ‘couch’ my ideas in broader theory and ecological phenomena — and making sure that I can test them through manipulative experiments, not just correlative and comparative survey techniques,” said Altman-Kurosaki of his mentor and research advisor.

“Noam is innovative, energetic, resourceful, and a tireless researcher that is discovering new approaches to retain or recover the critical ecosystem services that threatened coral reefs provide to tropical human populations,” Hay added.

Altman-Kurosaki’s science career actually began with a pre-university trip to an aquarium. “I saw a Mola mola and couldn't believe something so ridiculous existed on this planet,” he said of the ocean sunfish. “So I decided on a lark to take the classes I'd need for my university's summer marine biology course. I ended up falling in love with the general field of ecology, and that love only deepened when I finally got hands-on field experience in marine biology.”

As he continued to gain experience and learn more about the field, Altman-Kurosaki began to realize that this was what he wanted to do with his life, and ultimately decided to pursue a graduate education to keep conducting research.

About ARCS®

The ARCS® Foundation, a national organization started by a group of women “who focused upon the future” in 1958, has granted more than $120 million to over 10,000 ARCS Scholars in top-rated STEM programs at leading US universities who are “determined to be the best and the brightest in their fields.” The awards are given to outstanding students who are U.S. citizens studying to complete degrees in science, engineering, math, technology, and medical research.

ARCS® Foundation Atlanta, comprised of about 150 philanthropic women, supports scholars from Emory University, Morehouse College, and the University of Georgia, in addition to Georgia Tech. The Atlanta chapter has awarded more than $4.5 million to over 400 scholars since it was incorporated in 1992.

In a significant response to urgent climate-related threats, a new international center headquartered at Georgia Aquarium, endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, will support versatile, collaborative solutions to improve the health of the world’s oceans.

The Ocean Visions ­­– UN Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean-Climate Solutions (OV – UN DCC), a partnership with Ocean Visions, Georgia Aquarium, and Georgia Institute of Technology, is the only center of its kind in the United States.

The climate crisis is one of the greatest threats facing public health, natural resources and the economy worldwide, and ocean ecosystems are not only at risk, but also offer the potential of climate mitigation solutions.

The primary focus of the Center is to help 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. There are also tremendous opportunities to accelerate carbon clean-up and advance sustainable ocean economies.

“A diverse approach is critical to address today’s serious threats to ocean health,” said Brian Davis, Ph.D., president and CEO of Georgia Aquarium. “As a mission-focused conservation leader, Georgia Aquarium is keen to host this multinational center that will connect innovative researchers with the resources to create and launch projects that may solve ocean-climate issues.”

In affiliation with the Ocean Decade, run by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Center’s work will contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to achieve by 2030 that are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

“In response to the need for partnership and investment in ocean science, and to help urgently mitigate the impact of climate change on the ocean, the Ocean Decade movement thanks Ocean Visions, Georgia Aquarium, and Georgia Institute of Technology for this generous support and long-term commitment,” said Julian Barbière, Ocean Decade Global Coordinator and Head of the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, IOC-UNESCO. “Such exemplary leadership by our Decade Collaborative Centers, spearheaded by the OV – UN DCC in the U.S.  is an important step towards developing effective ocean-climate solutions.”

The ocean nurtures 80% of all life on Earth. Billions of people rely on food from the ocean, and world economies depend upon it for fishing, tourism, shipping, energy and more. It is the world’s largest carbon sink, vital to curbing the impacts of climate change. Healthy marine habitats defend coastal communities from intensifying storms and flooding.

“The ocean crisis and the climate crisis are two sides of the same coin, and we cannot have a healthy ocean without resolving the climate crisis and the greenhouse gas pollution causing it,” said Brad Ack, executive director and chief innovation officer at Ocean Visions, a nonprofit that develops solutions to complex ocean challenges.

“This work will take bold imagination, greatly expanded innovation, and many more people from around the world engaged in this effort collectively. This new Center will give us a framework to build the innovation ecosystem we desperately need,” said Emanuele Di Lorenzo, Ph.D., chairman and co-founder of Ocean Visions.

The ocean has buffered humanity from the worst effects to date of climate disruption by directly absorbing about 30 percent of humanity’s carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and trapping more than 90 percent of the excess heat in the biosphere caused by CO₂ pollution. However, both of these climate-buffering functions have come at a high cost – unraveling marine ecosystems and crippling the ability of the ocean to support the billions of people and other creatures dependent upon it.

The Ocean Visions – UN Decade Collaborative Center will work with an emerging global network of experts and collaborators associated with projects and programs to design, test and deploy viable solutions, such as Ocean Visions’ Global Ecosystem for Ocean Solutions, 1000 Ocean Startups and Stride.

For example, one issue being solved is securing investment in ocean solutions. The Center is helping advance the development of a new open-source tool called The Ocean Impact Navigator, which consists of 30 prioritized key performance indicators (KPIs), grouped in six main impact areas. It captures effects that innovators are driving across ocean health, climate change, human wellbeing and equity.

“This Center signals an urgent, strategic commitment to finding climate solutions,” said Susan Lozier, Ph.D., dean of the College of Sciences and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair at Georgia Tech and President of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). “Ocean health is also human health, and we must find effective ways to protect waters around the planet.”

“At this Center, the best and brightest minds—including our researchers, staff and students—will ensure that our ocean will remain vital for generations to come,” added Tim Lieuwen, Ph.D., executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute at Georgia Tech who also serves as Regents’ Professor and David S. Lewis Jr. Chair in the Institute's Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. “The solutions are there, and we look forward to working alongside Georgia Aquarium and Ocean Visions to find them, with the support of the Ocean Decade movement.”

For more information about the Ocean Visions ­­– UN Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean-Climate Solutions, visit the website at oceanvisions.org/undcc/.

###

About Ocean Visions – UN Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean-Climate Solutions

The Ocean Visions – UN Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean-Climate Solutions is an innovative partnership between Ocean Visions, Georgia Tech and Georgia Aquarium, with headquarters at the Aquarium in Atlanta. The Center, endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, leads and supports processes to co-design, develop, test, fund and deploy scalable and equitable ocean-based solutions to reduce or reverse the effects of climate change, enhance food security and build climate-resilient marine ecosystems and coastal communities. The Center’s work contributes to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to achieve by 2030 that are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

About the Ocean Decade:

Proclaimed in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (‘the Ocean Decade’) seeks to stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation to reverse the decline of the state of the ocean system and catalyse new opportunities for sustainable development of this massive marine ecosystem. The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system, and deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The UN General Assembly mandated UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade.

About Georgia Aquarium

Georgia Aquarium is a leading 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Atlanta, Ga. that is Humane Certified by American Humane and accredited by the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It is also a Center for Species Survival by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Georgia Aquarium is committed to working on behalf of all marine life through education, preservation, exceptional animal care, and research across the globe. Georgia Aquarium continues its mission each day to inspire, educate, and entertain its millions of guests about the aquatic biodiversity throughout the world through its hundreds of exhibits and tens of thousands of animals across its eight major galleries. For more information, visit georgiaaquarium.org.

About Georgia Tech:

The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts and sciences degrees. Its nearly 44,000 students representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry and society.

This press release is shared jointly with the Georgia Aquarium and Ocean Visions newsrooms. Learn more: oceanvisions.org/undcc

Joel Kostka will soon receive $3.2 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) to build upon research that has ranged from northern Minnesota peat bogs to coastal Georgia wetlands, all to learn how climate change impacts soils and plants that trap greenhouse gasses — and whether some of those plants could end up as eco-friendly biofuels.

Kostka, a professor and associate chair of research in the School of Biological Sciences with a joint appointment in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, will receive funding as part of a wider $178 million dollar DOE effort to advance sustainable technology breakthroughs that can improve public health, help address climate change, improve food and agricultural production, and create more resilient supply chains. The 37 new projects also include efforts to engineer plants and microbes into bioenergy and improve carbon storage. 

Kostka’s wetlands research will continue in the salt marshes off Georgia’s coast, where his team has already conducted studies on the microbial life that benefits Spartina cordgrass in those areas, helping to strengthen resilience of the plant to sea level rise and catastrophic storms.

The DOE’s funding initiative is split into four groups. Kostka’s studies will focus on the role of microbiomes — all the microorganisms living in a particular environment — in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon in terrestrial soils and wetlands by using genomics-based and systems biology. 

Other research areas involve renewable bioenergy and biomaterials production; quantum-enabled bioimaging and sensing for bioenergy, and research to characterize gene function in bioenergy crop plants.

“Our project seeks to understand the controls of soil organic matter degradation and the release of greenhouse gasses, both of which are largely mediated by microbes” Kostka said. “And then also, as we've been studying for many years now, how climate drivers — principally the warming of ecosystems and carbon dioxide enrichment in the atmosphere — limit greenhouse gas release to the atmosphere. How might changes in plant and microbial communities lead to climate feedbacks, thereby accelerating the release of greenhouse gasses from soil carbon stores?”

That question has driven much of Kostka’s research team in the past as they focused on how soil microbes break down biomasses like woody plants and peat mosses, at an Oak Ridge National Laboratory facility in northern Minnesota called Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE). Kostka’s team is using genomics to study all the genes that code for microbial enzymes that decompose biomass in soil and how plants, which are also changing with climate, impact microbiomes by providing carbon sources that fuel microbial activities. In particular, the work is focused on lignocellulose or lignin, which gives plants their rigidity or structure and arguably comprises the most abundant renewable carbon source on the planet.

“We're just at the point now where we finally have the tools to unlock the black box of soil microbiology and chemistry,” Kostka said. “Recent advances in sophisticated analytical chemistry methods used to quantify microbial metabolites along with improved metagenome sequencing approaches enable us to better uncover metabolic pathways.”

Kostka will serve as principal investigator of the research team for the grant. That team includes School of Biological Sciences researchers Caitlin Petro, research scientist, and Katherine Duchesneau, a third-year Ph.D. student; co-principal investigator Kostas Konstantinidis, Richard C. Tucker Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Rachel Wilson, research scientist, Florida State University; Malak Tfaily, associate professor, University of Arizona; and Chris Schadt, senior staff scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

Unlocking the “enzyme latch” hypothesis

As part of his new research, Kostka will revisit what scientists call the “enzyme latch” hypothesis. This could help uncover the mechanisms by which soils and plants capture harmful greenhouse gasses, and what prompts their release into the atmosphere.

The idea behind this hypothesis is that when soils are wet, they lack oxygen, which suppresses a specific class of enzymes, oxidases, that catalyze the beginning steps in the microbial breakdown of organic compounds produced by plants in soil. When oxidases are suppressed, the breakdown products of lignin, phenolic compounds, accumulate and poison the rest of the microbial carbon cycle.  Thus a single class of enzymes may be responsible for keeping greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane captured within the soil.

“The climate linkage here is that it's thought that as the climate warms, we'll get more greenhouse gas production, because simply it'll be warmer, and microbial enzymes work faster at higher temperature. But then also, in wetlands in particular, the hypothesis is that as wetlands warm, they're going to dry out. And so when a wetland dries out, you're going to get more injection of oxygen-rich air into the soil, which would then accelerate the breakdown of organic matter.”

When that happens, it could also mean different plants having an impact on carbon storage and the breakdown of biomass. “As wetlands dry out, plant communities in northern peatlands where most of Earth’s soil carbon is stored, are expected to shift from a dominance of mosses, which do better when it's wet — to woody plants, shrubs, and trees that do better with less water, when it's drier. That would in turn potentially spark the release of more reactive carbon compounds from plant roots — mosses don’t have roots — which would likely accelerate organic matter decomposition and the production of more greenhouse gas in a feedback loop with climate.”

Kostka’s research may also help to develop new approaches for converting woody biomass into potential alternative energy sources. “To make our society more sustainable, we have to basically recycle everything, or reuse as much as we can. And that includes the biomass from plants that can be grown on more arid lands that are less suitable for food crops,” he said, referring to plant-based materials that can be used to produce biofuels and bioenergy. “And so the DOE is leading research efforts to understand the controls of biomass degradation in plants such as switchgrass and poplar.” 

Kostka and Konstantinidis will develop a database of genes that code for the breakdown of lignocellulose and lignin, compounds that largely make up plant biomass and for which metabolic pathways of degradation have been elusive. Kostka and his colleagues will also have access to the extensive resources of the DOE Genomic Sciences program, including a collaboration with the agency’s Joint Genome Institute.

“We hope that information generated from our project can be used to improve methods for breaking down woody biomass so that it can be used in a sustainable way to produce biofuels,” Kostka said. 

Public abstract of Department of Energy grant DE-SC0023297

About Georgia Tech

The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a top 10 public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its nearly 44,000 students representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.

Note: This story, written by Cory Hopkins, first appeared on the website of the Office Of Undergraduate Education, and has been tailored for our audiences.

Ten Georgia Tech students, including four from the College of Sciences, were selected for the 2022 Millennium Fellowship, a joint leadership program of the Millennium Campus Network (MCN) and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI).

The fellowship is an ambitious program to help make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and UNAI principles a reality. The Class of 2022 Millennium Fellows have been selected among a record-breaking 31,397 applicants from over 2,417 campuses across 140 nations.

Millennium Fellows are university undergraduates selected based on their leadership on sustainable development-related projects that advance the SDGs in their communities. As Millennium Fellows, they will participate in a semester-long leadership development program to improve their student organizing, partnership building, and community impact skills.

"Students' ongoing pursuit of the Millennium Fellowships reflects Georgia Tech's larger commitment to pursuing solutions on a global scale. The fellowship supports real-world initiatives in sustainable development, providing leadership training and a community of like-minded recipients," said Shannon Dobranski, director of Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional Advising in the Georgia Tech Career Center. "Each year, the Millennium Fellowship helps Georgia Tech students invested in sustainability to identify and connect with each other. It also helps them to refine and articulate their own goals related to sustainability and the impact they hope to have on their community now and in the future."

Three School of Biological Sciences students are included in the latest cohort of Millennium Fellows: Shania Khatri, Michelle Seeler, and Mandy Zhu. Biochemistry major Nathan Bowman, also invited to the Fellows program, plans to pursue his project at a later date.

The College of Sciences students join six more Georgia Tech Millennium Fellows:

• Pratul Amenini, Biomedical Engineering
• Eyas Ayesh, Mechanical Engineering
• Haaris Jilani, Biomedical Engineering
• Velin Kojouharov, Mechanical Engineering
• Athena Verghis, Environmental Engineering
• Alix Wagner, Biomedical Engineering

The Millennium Fellowship Class of 2022 includes over 3,000 Millennium Fellows on 200 campuses in 37 nations that are participating in the program this year. The Class of 2022 is on track to engage in projects collectively advancing all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and all 10 UNAI Principles.

Georgia Tech's fellowship recipients will take part in a semester-long development program divided into three parts:

1. CONVENE

• Georgia Tech Millennium Fellows will convene on-campus to learn from and challenge each other. Millennium Fellows convene at least 8 times during the program.

2. CHALLENGE

• Students will develop a plan of action for their sessions together, meet to exchange best practices, and think bigger.

3. CELEBRATE

• When the cohort meets their goals and completes the Fellowship graduation requirements, they will earn a certificate of recognition from United Nations Academic Impact and Millennium Campus Network.

Learn more about the Millennium Fellowship here.

How to Apply for This Fellowship and More

Promoting and supporting the Millennium Fellowship is a team effort each year. Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional Advising works with fellowship administrators to host information sessions and Serve-Learn-Sustain reaches out to the SLS community to spread the word. Students interested in the Millennium Fellowship, or any nationally or internationally competitive award, should follow up by scheduling an appointment with Prestigious Fellowships Advisor, Karen Mura, on AdvisorLink.

Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional Advising is part of the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE). Learn more about OUE by following @gtoue on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

As a Georgia Tech graduate, Andrew Kokabi, D.M.D. knows the Institute’s motto, Progress and Service, well — and also incorporates that ethos in life and work at his Atlanta dental practice, Brookhaven Family Dentistry.

Kokabi, who graduated with a B.S. in Biology in 2000, credits his time on campus and in the College of Sciences for preparing him to advance in his dentistry career. “The habits I developed during my undergraduate studies enabled me to thrive in dental school,” he said. “I specifically remember thinking biochemistry in dental school was a breeze compared to biochem classes at Tech.” Georgia Tech’s pre-health classes can better prepare medical students for advanced studies at a specialized medical school, he added.

Kokabi and his business partner, Joon Koh, D.M.D., a fellow Georgia Tech graduate with a B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, also enjoy working together on campaigns to help local schools and charities.

The College of Sciences recently talked with Kokabi about his time at Georgia Tech, the ethos of the Institute, generosity and business values, and advice for pre-health students and those interested in a career in health and medical fields.

What was your experience at Tech like? How did it prepare you for your career as a dentist?

My academic experience was top-notch. It was hard and demanding, but looking back at it, that is exactly what my 18-year-old self needed at the time. It was a great introduction into what the real world expects of professionals. Socially, it was wonderful as well. I met people from all around the country. I became friends with people of various backgrounds, and everyone got along. It was right after the Olympics so it was an exciting time.

My time at Georgia Tech also gave me great time management skills. The academic workload of dental school was a breeze compared to Georgia Tech. Meeting people from around the world enabled me to carry on a conversation with just about anyone — this is an important trait that still serves me well today. I meet lots of patients at my dental practice from all over, and I can usually carry on a conversation about their place of origin relatively easily. This helps them feel more comfortable with me, and strengthens the doctor-patient relationship. 

What made you want to be a dentist?  

My parents are from Iran. As I'm sure most Persian and Asian children will tell you, from birth your parents are pressuring you to be a doctor. I did not want to be around sick people all day and did not want to be on call weekends. So dentistry offers the perfect balance of being a doctor, but having a more normal schedule and not having to treat serious life-threatening illnesses. I am very happy with my decision and cannot think of myself doing anything else. 

Georgia Tech's motto, “Progress and Service” — what did that mean to you as a student, and what does it mean as an alumnus?

It meant and still means a great deal. I think people have to start at a young age thinking about how they can serve others. That is where true fulfillment comes from.  One reason we have so much depression in our country is our self-absorbed "me, me, me" culture. There is a lot of happiness and joy that comes from helping and serving others. 

It's also great for business as well. People want to buy from companies that are doing more than just selling goods and services. They want companies that care about making a difference in the world. Of course, we do quality dentistry, and care about our patients' oral health. But we take it a step further and have a community mission. We strive to be active members of our community and help our local schools and charities.  Our Brookhaven community has given us so much, the least we can do is give back.

Tell me about the "Brighten Your Smile, Better the World" campaign and how effective it has been so far.  

The "Brighten Your Smile, Better the World'' campaign is one of our two main initiatives.  Each month we partner with a different school or charity.  Any patient of ours that makes a donation to that month's chosen partner gets a set of custom teeth whitening trays for free. It's a win-win for all parties involved. 

In its first year, we have been able to raise more than $15,000 for numerous schools and organizations. Featured partners have included Ashford Park Elementary School, Huntley Hills Elementary School,  Montgomery Elementary School, Chamblee Middle School, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Giving Grace, and The Kyle Pease Foundation. 

You said you talk to many pre-dental students. What advice do you give them about whether or not they should get a degree at Georgia Tech before heading off to dental school?

A science degree from Georgia Tech is extremely valuable. It sets you apart from other candidates applying for the same spot in a specialty program. The healthcare school knows that if someone was able to get a Tech degree, they will be able to handle the academic workload of dental or medical school. 

Also, know what you are getting into. Being a healthcare professional means a lifelong pursuit of learning. It is not just a job, but a career. It takes a lot of effort and time even after you have left work for the day (being on call, continuing education, representing your profession in the community, etc).

You should also know that it's worth it. There are not too many jobs that allow you to make as big of an impact in people's lives as being a healthcare professional. I feel truly blessed and honored that I am in my field of work.