BBISS Initiative Leads Projects Selected

Montage of portraits of the 2023 BBISS Initiative Leads. From L to R: Hailong Chen, Yi Deng, Shatakshee Dhongde, Michael Helms, Josiah Hester, Xiaoming Huo, Neha Kumar, Junshan Liu, Jian Luo, Alex Oettl, Dori Pap, Brigitte Stepanov, Yuanzhi Tang, Anjali Thomas, and Danielle Willkens.

From L to R: Hailong Chen, Yi Deng, Shatakshee Dhongde, Michael Helms, Josiah Hester, Xiaoming Huo, Neha Kumar, Junshan Liu, Jian Luo, Alex Oettl, Dori Pap, Brigitte Stepanov, Yuanzhi Tang, Anjali Thomas, and Danielle Willkens.

Ten projects have been chosen for the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) Initiative Leads program. Project themes include climate adaptation and mitigation solutions, innovation and social impact, computation and design approaches to sustainability, sustainable development, and conservation. BBISS Initiative Leads receive $10,000 in discretionary funds to advance their project.

The projects chosen involve 15 faculty members hailing from all 6 of the colleges at Georgia Tech. Several of the projects are also joint initiatives with other Georgia Tech Interdisciplinary Research Institutes (IDEAS, IPAT, and SEI), the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, or the Office of Sustainability.

The Initiative Leads and projects are:

  • Michael Helms - ME, “Nature’s Voice: Amplifying the Narrative of Biologically Inspired Sustainable Design at Georgia Tech”
  • Josiah Hester - Interactive Computing, “Computational Sustainability”
  • Co-Leads Xiaoming Huo - ISYE, and Yi Deng – EAS, “Microclimate Monitoring and Prediction at Georgia Tech”
  • Jian Luo - CEE, “Coastal Urban Flooding in a Changing Climate”
  • Brigitte Stepanov - Modern Languages, “Energy Today, Tomorrow: Illuminating the Effect of Energy Power Dynamics on the Environment”
  • Co-Leads Anjali Thomas – INTA, and Shatakshee Dhongde - ECON, “SEEDS (Southeast Exchange of Development Studies) 2023 Conference at Georgia Tech”
  • Co-Leads Danielle Willkens - Arch, and Junshan Liu – Auburn University, “Sustainable Tourism, Petra”
  • Co-Leads Yuanzhi Tang - EAS, and Hailong Chen – ME, “Sustainable Resources for Clean Energy”
  • Co-Leads Dori Pap - Institute for Leadership and Social Impact, and Neha Kumar – Interactive Computing/INTA, “Collaborative Social Impact”
  • Alex Oettl - COB, “A Sustainability-Focused Stream of the Creative Destruction Lab”

The Initiative Leads program has several overarching goals. BBISS aims to cultivate promising topics for future large-scale collaborative sustainability research, research translation, and/or high-impact outreach; to provide (mostly mid-career) faculty with leadership and community building opportunities; and to broaden and strengthen the BBISS sustainability community as a whole.

News Contact

Brent Verrill, Research Communications Program Manager, BBISS