The first cohort of the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) Graduate Fellows published an article in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. The seven Ph.D. students reflected on their two years of working, studying, and training together as an interdisciplinary sustainability research team. In the article, they give their insights into how they benefited from this approach and what steps might be taken to improve graduate level, sustainability-related programs. Further, their paper offers researchers and educators a rare perspective into interdisciplinary research and education from the standpoint of students who are still pursuing their degrees and actively engaged in research for their chosen disciplines.

Citation: McSorley, M, Arkhurst, BK, Hall, M, Zha, Y, Spyrou, IM, Duchesneau, K, Ringania, U, Chang, M. 2023. For graduate students to become leaders in sustainability, we must transcend disciplinary boundaries. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 11(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00012

For more information about the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems Graduate Fellows program, please visit this webpage.

Georgia Tech researchers have spent years diving deep into climate solutions for Georgia. Now, the state Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Protection Division has tapped them to help develop the state’s first climate action plan. 

The plan will help the state compete for up to $500 million in federal funding for climate mitigation efforts under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Under a contract with the agency, the Georgia Tech team will work with partners across Georgia to help the state develop its greenhouse gas inventory, develop a plan to address the most important immediate opportunities the state can take to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and potentially help develop policies and programs to reach those goals. 

“Georgia Tech and our academic, business, and community partners from across the state are uniquely suited to help Georgia identify implementation-ready solutions that can significantly reduce emissions and have beneficial impacts on Georgia communities,” said Marilyn A. Brown, Regents’ Professor and Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems in the School of Public Policy.

“As part of our work with Drawdown Georgia, we already have been deeply involved in identifying climate pollution reduction strategies to drive economic and employment growth, improve air quality, deliver benefits to under-resourced residents, and protect the environment. That work gives us a great head start in providing the state the information it needs to develop Georgia’s first climate action plan,” Brown said.

Georgia Tech-Built Emissions Tracker Key Component

Drawdown Georgia is an initiative of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation to accelerate progress toward net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Georgia. Brown led the interdisciplinary science and policy team that helped develop the plan’s recommendations. 

Central to the project is the climate emissions tracker developed at Georgia Tech as part of that project. The tool provides monthly insights into carbon emissions across Georgia’s 159 counties, providing more timely, accurate, and cost-effective data than the traditional tools used in other climate planning efforts. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviewed the tracker and gave special permission for the state to use it, said William J. Drummond, associate professor in the School of City & Regional Planning and co-principal investigator on the project.

Many other states will instead have to use more traditional bottom-up inventories that take longer to create and are not as frequently updated, he said.

“The work we have done has been peer-reviewed and published, and so it has a level of authoritativeness that other states may not enjoy,” said Drummond, who led the tracker’s development. “We are uniquely positioned to identify actionable solutions for Georgia, help the state meet its incredibly tight timeline, and give Georgia a competitive advantage that other states just can’t match.” 

The Atlanta Regional Commission, which received separate funding to make a plan specific to metro Atlanta, also will use the tracker in its work. 

State Plan Due in March

The state’s priority plan is due in March, with the full plan due a year later. 

“The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is excited to work with Georgia Tech in the development of the state's first climate action plan and appreciates all the work that Georgia Tech and other Drawdown Georgia partners have done to lay the groundwork for this project,” said DeAnna Oser, assistant branch chief of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s Air Protection Branch.

The effort is focused on implementation-ready solutions. Brown said proposals could include projects that advance transportation electrification, energy-efficient housing, climate-smart agriculture, forest management, and urban tree canopies, among other opportunities.

She said it is exciting to see the years of work her team has put into climate mitigation practices and policies to help move Georgia closer to being climate-neutral. 

“We’ve always hoped that this work would have real policy impacts that will help improve our environment, economy, and society,” Brown said. “It’s exhilarating to see the state recognize and incorporate our work, and I look forward to seeing where it leads.”

The Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN) and the Institute for Materials (IMat) have announced they will combine to form a new Interdisciplinary Research Institute (IRI) set to begin operations on July 1, 2024.

The new IRI, which has yet to be named, will explore the vast scientific, technological, societal, and economic impacts of innovative materials and devices, as well as foster their incorporation into systems that improve the human condition in areas such as information and communication technologies, the built environment, and human well-being and performance.

“The new IRI will not only combine the strengths of IEN and IMat, but will also allow us to further expand faculty representation from across the Institute,” said Julia Kubanek, vice president of Interdisciplinary Research at Georgia Tech. “As we look at the future of research in these areas, expanding inclusivity of researchers from the liberal arts, design, business, and basic sciences will allow us to better meet the education, workforce development, and innovation needs of Georgia, the U.S., and the world.”

The new IRI will strengthen Georgia Tech’s role in national focus areas such as the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the Materials Genome Initiative, and the CHIPS and Science Act, as well as identify and shape future priorities.

Core competencies of the new IRI will include:

• Fundamental science to comprehend and control matter from the nanoscale to the mesoscale.
• The synthesis, processing, and characterization of materials to achieve desired properties.
• The design and fabrication of novel devices and components with enhanced capabilities.
• The integration of materials, devices, and components into larger systems.
• Computing, modeling, simulation, and big data to advance progress at all length scales.
• Integration into all stages of research, from conceptualization to impact assessment, of economic, business, and social factors to ensure sustainable and evenly distributed benefits.

“IEN and IMat have worked closely together for years, and there is overlap in the research areas we cover,” said Eric Vogel, IMat’s executive director. “This is an opportunity for us to build on IEN and IMat’s individual successes and our strong record of collaboration to create something even more exceptional.”

The new IRI will strengthen the state-of-the-art core cleanroom and characterization facilities, providing researchers with the tools and resources necessary for cutting-edge interdisciplinary research. These facilities will continue to serve both Georgia Tech and, through its leadership within the NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure, the nation. Recognizing the importance of nurturing talent, it will champion education and outreach programs to inspire the next generation and equip the workforce with the skills necessary to collaborate and communicate across multiple disciplines.

“This is an exciting time to look to the future,” said Michael Filler, interim executive director of IEN. “We highly value the dedication and hard work of our staff and research faculty, who have been crucial to the success of IEN and IMat and will be the backbone of this new organization. We look forward to creating something exceptional in the coming months.”

Projects address basic research challenges facing the Energy Earthshots Initiative to mitigate climate change and reach a net-zero carbon economy.

Georgia Tech faculty and researchers are involved in five university-led projects and two new Energy Earthshot Research Centers that are part of a $264 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The funding includes establishing 11 new Energy Earthshot Research Centers (EERC) led by DOE’s national labs and 18 university research teams addressing one or more of DOE’s Energy Earthshots initiatives focused on industrial decarbonization, carbon storage and removal, offshore wind, and more.

Matthew McDowell, Akanksha Menon, and Claudio Di Leo

Akanksha Menon, assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded $3 million in funding to lead a university project titled “Understanding Thermo-Chemo-Mechanical Transformations in Thermal Energy Storage Materials and Composites.” The project will bring together Matthew McDowell, associate professor in the Woodruff School; Claudio Di Leo, assistant professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering; and Jeff Urban from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to provide a fundamental understanding of the coupled thermo-chemo-mechanical phenomena in thermal energy storage materials that will enable low-cost and stable storage.

Annalisa Bracco, Taka Ito, and Chris Reinhard

Annalisa Bracco, professor and associate chair; Taka Ito, professor; and Chris Reinhard, Georgia Power Chair and associate professor — all from the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — will join colleagues from Princeton, Texas A&M, and Yale University for an $8 million Earthshot project that will build an “end-to-end framework” for studying the impact of carbon dioxide (CO_²) removal efforts. The project, titled “Carbon dioxide removal and high-performance computing: Planetary Boundaries of Earth Shots,” includes creating computer models to measure how well CO_² removal techniques work on land, rivers, and oceans.

Elizabeth Qian, assistant professor in the Guggenheim School and the School of Computational Science and Engineering, will join colleagues from New York University, Los Alamos National Lab, and National Renewable Energy Lab for an Earthshot project titled “Learning reduced models under extreme data conditions for design and rapid decision-making in complex systems (ROME).” The project will develop mathematical foundations and computational methods to support the design and operation of complex systems for carbon removal and renewable energy generation that will be used for simulation, design, and decision-making of the Floating Offshore Wind Shot and the Carbon Negative Shot EERCs.

 

David Flaherty, professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering will join colleagues from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northern Arizona University, Texas State University, and Argonne National Lab to co-lead a project titled “Harnessing Electrostatics for the Conversion of Organics, Water and Air: Driving Redox on Particulate Liquids Earthshot (DROPLETS).” The overall objective of DROPLETS is to explore an approach based on microdroplet-enabled redox reactions (which involve the transfer of electrons between substances) toward H_² production (a clean and renewable energy source), CO_² activation (which can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions), and the synthesis of redox species for long-duration energy storage.

Guoxiang (Emma) Hu, assistant professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, joins colleagues from Georgia State University, Carnegie Melon University, Oak Ridge National Lab, and the University of Utah on a project titled “Atomic Level Compositional Complexity for Electrocatalysis (Atomic-C_²E).” Atomic-C_²E will integrate fundamental electrochemistry, quantum chemical and multiscale simulations, and materials chemistry to develop an understanding of electrocatalysts that aid in the conversion of CO_² into value-added chemical fuels and hydrogen production via water electrolysis — and address technological bottlenecks challenging them.
 

The DOE national lab EERCs will bring together multi-institutional, multidisciplinary teams to perform energy-relevant research with a scope and complexity beyond what is possible in standard single-investigator or small-group awards. Addressing key research challenges relevant to the Energy Earthshots, the 11 new centers will be housed at eight DOE national laboratories and will receive a combined $195 million over four years.

Of the 11 lab centers, the DEGradation Reactions in Electrothermal Energy Storage (DEGREES) center led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory consists of Professor Akanksha Menon and Associate Professor Shannon Yee from the Woodruff School. DEGREES is an EERC that will provide fundamental understanding of the science behind complex degradation mechanisms and instabilities that affect the performance of thermal energy storage.

 

Non-Equilibrium Energy Transfer for Efficient Reactions (NEETER) is the second EERC that will be housed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and involves Georgia Tech. Led by David Sholl, director of ORNL’s transformational decarbonization initiative and professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, NEETER is focused on developing chemical processes that use sustainable methods instead of burning fossil fuels to radically reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions to stem climate change and limit the crisis of a rapidly warming planet.

The Department of Energy launched the Energy Earthshots Initiative to spur decarbonization efforts that will help the United States meet climate and clean energy goals. The initiative connects DOE’s basic science and energy technology offices to accelerate innovations toward more abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy solutions; seeks to revolutionize many sectors across the United States; and will rely on fundamental science and innovative technology to be successful.

Professor Elizabeth Qian will Serve as Co-PI on DoE Energy Earthshots Project                  

Qian will develop computing methods to support design and operation of complex systems for carbon removal and renewable energy generation.

Full story

Three Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Researchers Awarded DOE Earthshot Funding for Carbon Removal Strategies

Bracco, Ito, and Reinhard will create computer models to measure how well CO_² removal techniques work on land, rivers, and oceans, as part of $264 million in grants.

Full story

Assistant Professor Akanksha Menon Awarded $3 Million for Research as part of DOE's Energy Earthshots Initiative

Menon and her team will address two Energy Earthshots to help achieve net-zero carbon by 2050, combat climate crisis.

Full story

Professor David Sholl Leading New Energy Earthshot Research Center to Stem Climate Change

The Department of Energy also selected David Flaherty to co-lead a second project designed to lower energy input and reactor cost for complex chemical reactions.

Full story

Writer and Media Contact:
Priya Devarajan | priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu        

Eleven new Faculty Fellows were appointed to the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS). In addition to their own work, BBISS Fellows serve as a board of advisors to the BBISS; foster the culture and community of sustainability researchers, educators, and students at Georgia Tech; and communicate broadly the vision, mission, values, and objectives of the BBISS. Fellows will work with the BBISS for three years, with the potential for a renewed term.

The BBISS Faculty Fellows program has been in place since 2014. Fellows are drawn from across all 6 colleges and GTRI at Georgia Tech. BBISS Interim Executive Director Beril Toktay says, "I’m delighted with the diversity of backgrounds and disciplines among the fellows and look forward to seeing the strengthening ties and growing collaborations in the sustainability community."

The new BBISS Faculty Fellows are:

• Omar Asensio - Associate Professor, School of Public Policy
• Christos Athanasiou - Assistant Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
• Fani Boukouvala - Associate Professor, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• Peng Chen - Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering
• Kelly Comfort - Professor, School of Modern Languages
• Constance Crozier - Assistant Professor, H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering
• Ashutosh Dhekne - Assistant Professor, School of Computer Science
• Jennifer Kaiser - Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Neha Kumar - Associate Professor, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the School of Interactive Computing
• Jian Luo – Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Akanksha Menon - Assistant Professor, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

These faculty members will join the current roster of Faculty Fellows:

• Baabak Ashuri - Associate Professor, School of Building Construction
• Joe Bozeman – Assistant Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Dylan Brewer - Assistant Professor, School of Economics
• Kate Pride Brown- Associate Professor, School of History and Sociology
• Andre Calmon – Assistant Professor, Scheller College of Business
• Kevin Caravati – Principal Research Scientist, Georgia Tech Research Institute
• Ellen Dunham-Jones – Professor, School of Architecture
• Brian Gunter - Associate Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
• Daniel Matisoff - Associate Professor, School of Public Policy
• Jenny McGuire – Assistant Professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Jessica Roberts – Assistant Professor, College of Computing
• Ilan Stern – Senior Research Scientist, Georgia Tech Research Institute
• Yuanzhi Tang - Associate Professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Anjali Thomas> - Associate Professor, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
• Zhaohui Tong - Associate Professor, School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
• Perry Yang – Professor, School of City and Regional Planning

More information can be found on the BBISS website.

Hundreds of thousands of honeybees make their home atop The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, and it's up to Janelle Dunlap to make sure the hives thrive.  

Dunlap was hired earlier this year as the Urban Honey Bee Project's (UHBP) first-ever beekeeper in residence. Throughout her residency, she'll conduct research into the pollinator's place in our ecosystem and how beekeeping may offer relief to veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while connecting with the bees through art.  

Dunlap had been gardening for over a decade, but in 2016, when she got the urge to find new ways to engage with nature, she recalled a powerful piece of imagery that shaped her childhood — Wu-Tang Clan's music video for “Triumph” and its depiction of the group's members as a powerful swarm of Africanized killer bees.  

"The political messaging and tying Africanized killer bees in with the stereotypes and the tropes of African Americans in the media, and the way that that was so poetically tied in, visually stuck with me,” she said. “It was the first time I recognized a political message being articulated through art. For that reason, it stuck with me that bees were a form of strong symbolism tied to resilience." 

Living in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dunlap became a certified beekeeper under the Mecklenburg County Beekeepers Association in 2017. She continued practicing as she moved around the country, with stops in Chicago and Denver, eventually landing in Atlanta in 2021. Looking for a way to connect to the local beekeeping community, she attended an April presentation by UHBP Director Jennifer Leavey, who offered Dunlap a chance to get involved at Georgia Tech.  

She now handles the inspection of the hives on The Kendeda Building roof, where she monitors for pests and ensures the bees have proper nutrition to sustain their population through the seasons. The UHBP began in 2012 with the goal of educating the Tech community on the importance of these pollinators within the Atlanta ecosystem and beyond — a charge that Dunlap carries on.  

Over the next year, she will continue working on her sound art project that examines the frequency at which bees “buzz” and how it, along with the responsibilities of beekeeping, is being used by VA hospitals and programs to ease the effects of PTSD. While the science behind the connection is still being explored, beekeeping was recommended more than a century ago — to soldiers returning home from World War I — according to a CNBC profile of Bees4Vets, a nonprofit based in Nevada.  

From the Hive to the Canvas 

Whether it was baking sourdough bread or learning a new language, many people, including Dunlap, took the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic to pick up a new hobby. She began a master's program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with the goal of using beeswax in encaustic painting, which uses hot wax mixed with pigments. The use of natural materials collected through her beekeeping practice connects Dunlap to her work.  

“It's a way of tapping into another level of consciousness. It's a way of articulating the noncommunicable relationship between me and the bees. When there's a language gap between people, we try to fill it in with translation, but without a direct way to translate the language or the sensation that I feel from the bees, this allows me to document my practice in an abstract form,” she said.  

By layering the wax and applying heat throughout the process, Dunlap watches the pieces take shape, often with the unpredictability of an active hive, as she says the art “can create itself.” She collects the wax in small amounts, knowing that she can only produce her art if the bees are healthy.  

"It's an eco-conscious practice, making sure I don't use more than I need," she explained. “I love the landscape it creates, and it's all about me creating a direct relationship with my medium and knowing that I earned it by developing a relationship with the bees." 

As Dunlap continues her year-long residency with the UHBP, she intends to help educate the community, both on campus and around the Atlanta area, in the hopes that more prospective beekeepers will explore their curiosity to unlock the full potential of the practice. 

"It's been a practice that keeps unveiling itself to me," she said. "As you get more engaged, you learn there is so much more to it than just the day-to-day hive inspections. There is a lot of beauty to it as well." 

Students at Tech have several ways to get involved with research and beekeeping, including the Living Building Science VIP team, the Beekeeping Club, and various classes and workshops hosted by the UHBP.