Pinar Keskinocak Named Chair of H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Pinar

Pinar Keskinocak has been selected as the next leader of Georgia Tech’s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE). She will serve as the H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart School Chair beginning January 1.

Keskinocak is the William W. George Chair and Professor and serves as ISyE’s associate chair for faculty development. 

She will be ISyE’s ninth permanent chair, leading a school renowned for its top-ranked graduate and undergraduate industrial engineering programs. U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked ISyE as the nation's best since the mid-1990s.

“Pinar is a proven and respected leader both on campus and within her academic and research community,” said Raheem Beyah, dean of the College of Engineering and Southern Company Chair. “She is well-positioned to continue advancing ISyE’s national prominence and accelerate the School’s trajectory.” 

Keskinocak is the cofounder and director Georgia Tech’s Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems, an interdisciplinary research center focused on education, outreach, and developing innovative solutions via advanced modeling, analytics, and systems engineering.

Keskinocak’s research has had broad societal impact. This includes policies and practices for improved emergency preparedness and response, disease prevention and public health, healthcare access, resource allocation, and supply chain management. 

Keskinocak has collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Carter Center, and other governmental and nongovernmental organizations to translate research into real-world solutions that benefit people and communities.

“I am honored to have the privilege of serving our School in this important leadership role,” Keskinocak said. “As ISyE continues to expand our core activities in education and research, we will strive to advance our excellence and leadership and grow our impact. I look forward to collaborating with our faculty, staff, students, and alumni, as well as with the leadership of the College, Georgia Tech, and our broader community and partners.”

A highly regarded researcher, Keskinocak has published extensively in top-tier academic journals. She served in various leadership roles within professional societies, including as the 2020 president and a two-time board member of INFORMS (The Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences). She is the cofounder, and has been president, of multiple INFORMS subdivisions. She also has served on several National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committees. 

Keskinocak is a fellow of INFORMS and recipient of the society’s George E. Kimball Medal, President’s Award, and Daniel H. Wagner Prize. At Georgia Tech, she has been recognized with the Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development Award, Class of 1934 Outstanding Service AwardOutstanding Professional Education Award, and Denning Award for Global Engagement

A dedicated mentor, educator, and advocate for broadening participation in STEM fields, Keskinocak served as the College’s ADVANCE Professor from 2014 to 2020. She was recognized with the INFORMS Women in OR/MS Award and the Georgia Tech Women in Engineering Excellence Teaching Faculty Award. 

Keskinocak replaces Edwin Romeijn, who will return to the ISyE faculty after 10 years as chair. 

“I am thankful to Edwin for his very successful tenure, during which ISyE enrollment grew from 1,800 students to more than 8,000,” Beyah said. “I’m also grateful to our search committee and chair Arijit Raychowdhury. This group of students, faculty, and staff diligently worked to help identify a national, diverse pool of strong candidates.”

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Jason Maderer

Beatriz Palacios Abad Wins Best Paper Award and Impact Award at CSCW 2024

Beatriz Palacios Abad

Beatriz Palacios Abad

Beatriz Palacios Abad, a computer science doctoral student in Georgia Tech’s College of Computing, won both a best paper award and impact recognition award at the 2024 ACM SIGCHI conference on computer-supported cooperative work and social computing (CSCW 2024) held in San José, Costa Rica, November 9-13, 2024.

The ACM SIGCHI best paper awards honor exceptional papers published at the conference. The impact recognition award is given for strong examples of work that demonstrates or has clear potential to demonstrate real-world or practical impact. 

Her paper, “Mending the Fabric: the Contentious, Collaborative Work of Repairing Broadband Maps,” was co-authored by Elizabeth Belding at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Morgan Vigil-Hayes at Northern Arizona University, and Ellen Zegura, professor of computer science at Georgia Tech who also serves as Palacios Abad’s advisor.

Her research paper shows that the repair of broadband data maps in the U.S. involves a complex interplay between competition and collaboration among various stakeholders, mediated by the government. The process disproportionately burdens marginalized groups, who are often tasked with correcting the official records that misrepresent their communities. Accurate, repaired maps are crucial for guiding substantial investments in broadband infrastructure, emphasizing the need for better tools and support for long-term, community-driven efforts.

This study underscores the ongoing struggle for digital equity and the critical role of accurate data in shaping policy and infrastructure investments. The paper calls for a more inclusive approach to broadband map repair, recognizing the efforts and challenges faced by those working in digital inclusion.

CITATION: Beatriz Palacios Abad, Ellen Zegura, et. al. “Mending the Fabric: the Contentious, Collaborative Work of Repairing Broadband Maps” Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Vol. 8, CSCW2, Article 464 (November 2024). https://doi.org/10.1145/3687003

 

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Understanding the Reality-Fiction Distinction: The BLINCS Model

Join us for a special seminar featuring Anna Abraham, E. Paul Torrance Professor in the department of Educational Psychology and director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia, entitled "Understanding the Reality-Fiction distinction: The BLINCS Model."

 

Time: Nov 15, 2024 12:30 PM (ETC Time)
Location: Jesse W. Mason Building, Rm. 2117, 790 Atlantic Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30332 or Zoom

Shaping Artistic Research at Tech

Arts at Tech
Community Salon with Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) 
 -> Initiative Lead for Arts, Expression and Creative Technologies

Present:

Shaping Artistic Research at Tech
"A Conversation about existing creative research happening across campus and what we can do to strengthen the artistic community." Cocktail reception to follow. Register here >>

New Space IRI Executive Director Town Hall

We invite you to join us for a hybrid town hall on Tuesday, November 19, from noon to 1:00 p.m., to discuss the search for the executive director of the new Space Research Institute (SRI). This event will be hosted  both in-person at the atrium in the H.

Building Resilient Communities: Insights from Kait Morano at Georgia Tech

Kait Morano is the resilience planning director for the Coastal Equity and Resilience Hub (CEAR Hub) and research scientist with Georgia Tech.

Kait Morano is the resilience planning director for the Coastal Equity and Resilience Hub (CEAR Hub) and research scientist with Georgia Tech.

In a recent interview on The Weather Channel, Kait Morano, a research scientist from Georgia Tech, discussed disaster resilience and the strategies communities can adopt to withstand extreme weather events. The discussion was particularly focused on the aftermath of hurricanes and the opportunities for rebuilding that they present.

Understanding Resilience:
Morano emphasized that while events like Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton, and other powerful storms cause widespread devastation, they also provide unique opportunities for transformative change. "Communities can take advantage of funding sources available after extreme events from the federal government, private equity firms, and philanthropic organizations to build back better," she said. “The key is having post-disaster redevelopment plans in place to seize these opportunities and build resilience against increasing storm frequency and severity.”

The Role of Zoning:
The conversation also touched on the controversial topic of zoning. Morano acknowledged that while zoning can be politically and publicly contentious, post-disaster scenarios create a window for necessary change. "Often, zoning ordinances inadvertently encourage development in high-risk areas," she explained. “Post-disaster periods allow communities to reassess these policies and potentially shift development to lower-risk areas, enhancing overall safety and resilience.”

Moving Forward:
Morano's insights highlight the need for proactive planning and policy reassessment to create safer, more resilient communities. As extreme weather events become more frequent, her expertise underscores the importance of seizing post-disaster opportunities to implement long-term, sustainable changes.

For communities looking to weather the storms of the future, the message is clear: resilience is not just about surviving the next storm, but about preparing and planning to thrive in the face of inevitable challenges according to Morano.
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Kait Morano is the resilience planning director for the Coastal Equity and Resilience Hub (CEAR Hub) and research scientist with Georgia Tech. CEAR Hub, a research project supported by Georgia Tech’s Institute for People and Technology, is working with coastal communities to build a future informed by data, guided by strategy, and empowered by knowledge. Their work is organized around three core pillars: environmental sensors and decision support tools, community engagement and planning, and K-12 education and workforce development.

A portion of her interview with The Weather Channel on October 24, 2024 can be found here: https://fb.watch/vvk6ABVAe0/

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Walter Rich

Challenging Erasure: Collaborative Architectural Documentation and Historic Interpretation


Speaker: Danielle S. Willkens, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, Georgia Tech

Abstract: How can we study and reveal the hidden, or repressed, histories within the built environment that illuminate a more complete and accurate record of our shared history? This talk will feature ongoing documentation, visualization, and historic interpretation work at modern civil rights sites in the southern U.S., and how expanded narratives can pave the way for a more resilient and inclusive future.

Russell Clark Named Interim Director of Sustainability

Russell Clark named the interim director of sustainability for IPaT.

Russell Clark named the interim director of sustainability for IPaT.

Russell Clark, lead principal investigator of the Coastal Equity and Resilience Hub (CEAR) and senior research scientist at the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT), has been named the interim director of sustainability for IPaT where he can help drive the practice and culture of sustainability related to IPaT’s research projects.

“Sustainability has been an important and growing theme for Georgia Tech during the last several years as evidenced by Georgia Tech’s Sustainability Next plan,” said Clark. “I’m looking forward to this new role which aligns with the Institute’s strategic vision and goals.”

Clark has been supporting IPaT in various roles for many years and continues with a joint appointment as faculty in the School of Computer Science. He earned his doctoral degree from the College of Computing at Georgia Tech and was the co-director of the Georgia Tech Research Network Operations Center which supported a variety of research projects across campus.

He was also part of the leadership team creating the Smart Sea Level Sensors project that installed internet-enabled water level sensors across flood-vulnerable Chatham County via a working partnership between officials from the Chatham [County] Emergency Management Agency (CEMA), the City of Savannah, and Georgia Tech scientists.

In addition to IPaT’s research, Clark is working to incorporate educational opportunities for Georgia K-12 students to learn more about resiliency, sustainability, and emergency preparedness. Sharing the latest environmental, economic, and social sustainability research topics are part of his community engagement vision which he has already done by working with Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) which enhances PreK-12 and post-secondary STEM education in the state.

At the college level, Clark, through CEAR Hub, is establishing a new Vertically Integrated Projects Program team which engages undergraduate and graduate students in ambitious, long-term, large-scale, multidisciplinary projects. His resilience and sustainable knowledge expertise has been utilized to teach and co-advise students across campus in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Georgia Tech’s Lorraine campus in France.

“My long and deep involvement with the Georgia coastal community where I live today has created a passion for pursuing research focused on resilience and sustainability,” said Clark. “I hope to build on Georgia Tech’s rich history of sustainability to forge innovative relationships, elevate research and education, and improve the long-term economic and commercialization potential for the state of Georgia with our current and future research projects.”

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Walter Rich

NASA Summer Camp Inspires Future Climate Leaders

Rising Georgia 7th-8th graders learn how coastal areas are changing due to sea level rise. 

Rising Georgia 7th-8th graders learn how coastal areas are changing due to sea level rise.

The Coastal Equity and Resilience (CEAR) Hub partnered with the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant to host a week-long NASA Sea Level Changemakers Summer Camp, introducing 14 rising 7th-8th graders to how coastal areas are changing due to sea level rise. CEAR Hub is a project that joins community organizations, local governments, and educational institutions together to develop the knowledge, tools, and strategies that make our communities more resilient.

Set at the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Island, the camp offered students hands-on activities and outdoor educational experiences, where they analyzed real data collected by NASA scientists and learned about community adaptations to flooding. 

Students interacted with experts from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, gaining insights into satellite observations, green infrastructure, environmental sensors, and careers related to sea level rise. The camp also included a visit to the Pin Point Heritage Museum, where students engaged with leaders from the historic Gullah Geechee community of Pin Point. The camp concluded with a boat trip to Wassaw Island, where students observed the effects of sea level rise on an undeveloped barrier island and compared these observations with earlier findings from urban environments. Funding from the NASA Science Activation Program ensured that the camp was accessible to all students, eliminating financial barriers for groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.

Russell Clark, a member of the Georgia Tech's Institute for People and Technology (IPaT), is CEAR Hub's principal investigator 

Article originally posted on CEAR HUB news

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Walter Rich