The Cloud Hub, a key initiative of the Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEaS) at Georgia Tech, recently concluded a successful Call for Proposals focused on advancing the field of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). This initiative, made possible by a generous gift funding from Microsoft, aims to push the boundaries of GenAI research by supporting projects that explore both foundational aspects and innovative applications of this cutting-edge technology.

Call for Proposals: A Gateway to Innovation

Launched in early 2024, the Call for Proposals invited researchers from across Georgia Tech to submit their innovative ideas on GenAI. The scope was broad, encouraging proposals that spanned foundational research, system advancements, and novel applications in various disciplines, including arts, sciences, business, and engineering. A special emphasis was placed on projects that addressed responsible and ethical AI use.

The response from the Georgia Tech research community was overwhelming, with 76 proposals submitted by teams eager to explore this transformative technology. After a rigorous selection process, eight projects were selected for support. Each awarded team will also benefit from access to Microsoft’s Azure cloud resources..

Recognizing Microsoft’s Generous Contribution

This successful initiative was made possible through the generous support of Microsoft, whose contribution of research resources has empowered Georgia Tech researchers to explore new frontiers in GenAI. By providing access to Azure’s advanced tools and services, Microsoft has played a pivotal role in accelerating GenAI research at Georgia Tech, enabling researchers to tackle some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field.

Looking Ahead: Pioneering the Future of GenAI

The awarded projects, set to commence in Fall 2024, represent a diverse array of research directions, from improving the capabilities of large language models to innovative applications in data management and interdisciplinary collaborations. These projects are expected to make significant contributions to the body of knowledge in GenAI and are poised to have a lasting impact on the industry and beyond.

IDEaS and the Cloud Hub are committed to supporting these teams as they embark on their research journeys. The outcomes of these projects will be shared through publications and highlighted on the Cloud Hub web portal, ensuring visibility for the groundbreaking work enabled by this initiative.

Congratulations to the Fall 2024 Winners

• Yunan Luo | CSE “Designing New and Diverse Proteins with Generative AI”
• Kartik Goyal | IC “Generative AI for Greco-Roman Architectural Reconstruction: From Partial Unstructured Archaeological Descriptions to Structured Architectural Plans”
• Victor Fung | CSE “Intelligent LLM Agents for Materials Design and Automated Experimentation”
• Noura Howell | LMC “Applying Generative AI for STEM Education: Supporting AI literacy and community engagement with marginalized youth”
• Neha Kumar | IC “Towards Responsible Integration of Generative AI in Creative Game Development”
• Maureen Linden | Design “Best Practices in Generative AI Used in the Creation of Accessible Alternative Formats for People with Disabilities”
• Surya Kalidindi | ME & MSE “Accelerating Materials Development Through Generative AI Based Dimensionality Expansion Techniques”
• Tuo Zhao | ISyE “Adaptive and Robust Alignment of LLMs with Complex Rewards”
• Annalisa Bracco  | EAS “TBA”

Georgia Tech researcher W. Hong Yeo has been awarded a $3 million grant to help develop a new generation of engineers and scientists in the field of sustainable medical devices. 

“The workforce that will emerge from this program will tackle a global challenge through sustainable innovations in device design and manufacturing,” said Yeo, Harris Saunders Jr. Professor and associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

The funding, from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Training (NRT) program, will address the environmental impacts resulting from the mass production of medical devices, including the increase in material waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

Under Yeo’s leadership, the Georgia Tech team comprises multidisciplinary faculty: Andrés García (bioengineering), HyunJoo Oh (industrial design and interactive computing), Lewis Wheaton (biology), and Josiah Hester (sustainable computing). Together, they’ll train 100 graduate students, including 25 NSF-funded trainees, who will develop reuseable, reliable medical devices for a range of uses. 

“We plan to educate students on how to develop medical devices using biocompatible and biodegradable materials and green manufacturing processes using low-cost printing technologies,” said Yeo. “These wearable and implantable devices will enhance disease diagnosis, therapeutics, rehabilitation, and health monitoring.”

Students in the program will be challenged by a comprehensive, multidisciplinary curriculum, with deep dives into bioengineering, public policy, physiology, industrial design, interactive computing, and medicine. And they’ll get real-world experience through collaborations with clinicians and medical product developers, working to create devices that meet the needs of patients and care providers.

The Georgia Tech NRT program aims to attract students from various backgrounds, fostering a diverse, inclusive environment in the classroom — and ultimately in the workforce.

The program will also introduce a new Ph.D. concentration in smart medical devices as part of Georgia Tech's bioengineering program, and a new M.S. program in the sustainable development of medical devices. Yeo also envisions an academic impact that extends beyond the Tech campus.

“Collectively, this NRT program's curriculum, combining methods from multiple domains, will help establish best practices in many higher education institutions for developing reliable and personalized medical devices for healthcare,” he said. “We’d like to broaden students' perspectives, move past the current technology-first mindset, and reflect the needs of patients and healthcare providers through sustainable technological solutions.” 

Faith Sumpter, program and operations manager for the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) at Georgia Tech, is currently managing logistics for IPaT’s Convergence Innovation Competition (CIC) in Asia under the leadership of IPaT’s Executive Director Michael Best.

CIC was founded in 2007 by the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT). This year, the Asian CIC competition is co-supported by the Shenzhen Georgia Tech Education Foundation, an independent fund in support of Georgia Tech. The competition recognizes student innovation and entrepreneurship with a focus on global challenges and opportunities. Many projects are linked to United Nations sustainable development goals.

Sumpter is coordinating with eight new Asia faculty fellows recruited from IPaT’s strategic partners and anchor universities across Asia. These faculty fellows are experts in their field who have agreed to give advice and mentorship to interested student teams participating in CIC. 

In addition to supporting CIC, she manages IPaT’s lending library allowing a wide range of technology to be used by faculty and students. Devices that can be checked out include: phones, tablets, and other mobile and wearable devices; Arduinos, Raspberry Pi’s and other IoT development kits; a variety of sensors; cameras and media capture devices; virtual machines and databases, home automation hubs and sensors; and a wide range of networking equipment. 

She previously worked for the University of North Carolina in Ashville, Agnes Scott College, and Chattahoochee Technical College. Sumpter is currently a second-year doctoral student at the University of North Georgia in the higher education, leadership and practice program. Travelling the globe is one of her biggest hobbies and she’s planning to visit Panama and Mexico soon.

The Georgia Tech-led Computer Science for Rural Georgia High Schools Program recently received additional financial support from the Georgia General Assembly for 2024-25. The program has exploded with unprecedented growth over the last year, going from 800 student participants to 4,400. Participating high school teachers across Georgia met at Georgia Tech Aug. 26 – 27 to share ideas and best practices going into the new school year.

Launched with funding from the state legislature in 2022, the program was developed collaboratively by Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) and STEM@GTRI, Georgia Tech Research Institute’s K-12 outreach program.

It focuses on developing coding, music, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity skills in high school students in rural parts of the state. During its pilot year, the program served 11 schools in eight school districts in Bartow, Chattooga, Effingham, Fayette, Gordon, Haralson, Liberty, and Walker counties. 

Today, it serves 39 schools and 24 school districts: Candler, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Clinch, Decatur, Dooly, Fannin, Grady, Hancock, Houston, Jeff Davis, Jones, Laurens, Lumpkin, Macon, Oglethorpe, Peach, Screven, Stephens, Tattnall, Thomas, Treutlen, and Twiggs counties.

Modules taught to students include introduction to coding, advanced coding, principles of cybersecurity, foundations of AI, introduction to robotics, intermediate coding, intermediate robotics, sensors and data science, website design, sensors, and data science.

“This rural computer science initiative has been transformative for Twiggs County schools,” said Mack Bullard, school superintendent. “We find it very difficult to find computer science teachers who are willing to come to rural Georgia to teach.”

He called partnering with Georgia Tech professors “transformative for our school system. Experiences like robotics and coding in class have excited our kids now that they've been able to see what's possible. From our collaborations with other teachers in this program, I can see future student projects in Twiggs County related to agriculture, such as the building and programming of probes. This computer science program has been phenomenal.”