Members of the Georgia Tech community gathered in the Marcus Nanotechnology Building on Oct. 23 for the third annual Oliver Brand Memorial Lectureship on Electronics and Nanotechnology. This year’s lecture was delivered by Vijay Narayanan, fellow at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, who spoke on designing and building the future of artificial intelligence (AI) with next-generation silicon technologies.

“Oliver’s past exemplified interdisciplinary discovery, from early work in physics and MEMS to leadership in micro/nano systems — linking institutions and domains,” said Michael Filler, deputy director of the Institute for Matter and Systems (IMS). “He helped shape large-scale research infrastructures, integrated faculty from across engineering and science, and forged connections between academia, government, and industry.

The Brand Lecture invites speakers whose work and innovations reflect the spirit of Oliver Brand’s legacy of research that bridges fields and transcends traditional boundaries.

“I’d like to thank [IMS] for inviting me to this podium to talk a little bit about how I see materials really driving many of the semiconductor innovations that are key for AI design as we see it today,” said Narayanan.

“Driven by AI, there’s a growth in semiconductors in many topical areas,” he said. “There’s significant growth, and it’s not just apps. It’s hardware, technologies, things that will actually grow the ecosystem. And there’s some challenges, very big challenges.”

One of those challenges is the energy consumption associated with large language models. 

“One case of training for GPT-4 is equivalent to 25 jetliner round trips from New York to Tokyo,” said Narayanan. “That’s a lot of energy.” 

He emphasized the critical role of scientists in addressing the rapid growth in AI-driven compute demands and the urgent need for sustainable, scalable technologies. His talk explored cutting-edge developments in materials science, including nanosheet transistors, advanced lithography, and novel materials like rhodium and topological semimetals. Narayanan underscored the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to overcome energy and performance challenges in next-generation silicon technologies.

“Let us carry forward Oliver’s legacy of curiosity, collaboration, and compassion, and let us embrace the challenge of innovation,” Filler said in closing remarks.

Brand, who died in 2023, left a legacy that lives on through interdisciplinary research at Georgia Tech. He spent more than 20 years as a member of the Institute’s faculty. In addition to leading the Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN), he was a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, director of the Coordinating Office for the National Science Foundation-funded National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), and director of the Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor, one of the 16 NNCI sites.

Brand united researchers in the fields of electronics and nanotechnology, fostering collaboration and expanding IEN to include more than 200 faculty members. In addition to his respected work in microelectromechanical systems, he is remembered for his kindness, dedication, and unwavering support for all who knew him.

Previous Lectures:

• Andreas Heirlemann Gives Inaugural Oliver Brand Memorial Lecture on Electronics and Nanotechnology
• Michael Strano Presents the Second Annual Oliver Brand Memorial Lectureship on Electronics and Nanotechnology

When future hypersonic vehicles are tested far above the Pacific Ocean, the telemetry signals they transmit will be captured by a new type of modular antenna system developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in collaboration with prime contractor AV (formerly Blue Halo). 
 

Known as Advanced Phased Array Antenna Technology (APAT), the system uses Radio Frequency System on Chip (RFSoC) technology to process the signals directly on the antenna’s elements, allowing multiple signals to be tracked simultaneously in different directions. Both ground-based and airborne versions of the antenna technology have been built and tested for capturing the telemetry – data sent from the vehicles to monitor flight factors and conditions.
 

Built for the Pentagon’s Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), APAT uses commercial-off-the-shelf components paired with bespoke antenna elements and a custom system architecture to create a novel system with unparalleled operational flexibility. It is believed to be the largest all-digital antenna system ever designed by GTRI, which has been developing and building antennas for more than 25 years.
 

“We’re combining RF-efficient aperture design with an intelligently-selected RF front-end that goes directly to digital so that when they’re tracking these telemetry streams, they can track multiple streams simultaneously,” said Kevin Cook, a GTRI principal research engineer who is co-principal investigator on the project. “In earlier analog systems, you’d have to just pick a stream or split the array (or multiple arrays) and lose signal gain. But with digital, you can track as many streams as you want, limited only by the system’s processing power.”
 

Read more in the GTRI Newsroom

 

Pop culture has often depicted robots as cold, metallic, and menacing, built for domination, not compassion. But at Georgia Tech, the future of robotics is softer, smarter, and designed to help.

“When people think of robots, they usually imagine something like The Terminator or RoboCop: big, rigid, and made of metal,” said Hong Yeo, the G.P. “Bud” Peterson and Valerie H. Peterson Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. “But what we’re developing is the opposite. These artificial muscles are soft, flexible, and responsive — more like human tissue than machine.”

Yeo’s latest study, published in Materials Horizons, explores AI-powered muscles made from lifelike materials paired with intelligent control systems. The technology learns from the body and adapts in real time, creating motion that feels natural, responsive, and safe enough to support recovery.
 

Muscles That Think, Materials That Feel

Traditional robotics relies on steel, wires, and motors, but rarely captures the nuances of human motion. Yeo’s research takes a different approach. He uses hierarchically structured fibers, which are flexible materials built in layers, much like muscle and tendon. They can sense, adapt, and even “remember” how they’ve moved before.

Yeo trains machine learning algorithms to adjust those pliable materials in real time with the right amount of force or flexibility for each task.

“These muscles don’t only respond to commands,” Yeo said. “They learn from experience. They can adapt and self-correct, which makes motion smoother and more natural.”

The result of that research is deeply human. For someone recovering from a stroke or limb loss, each deliberate movement rebuilds not just strength — it rebuilds confidence, independence, and a sense of self.

 

A Glove That Gives Freedom Back

One of the first real-world applications is a prosthetic glove powered by artificial muscles (published in ACS Nano, 2025), a device that behaves more like a helping hand than a mechanical tool. Traditional prosthetics rely on rigid motors and preset motions, but Yeo’s design mirrors the natural give-and-take of real muscle.

Inside the glove, thin layers of stretchable fibers and sensors contract, twist, and flex in sync with the wearer’s intent. The glove can fine-tune grip strength, reduce tremors, and respond instantly to the user’s movements, bringing dexterity back to everyday life.

That kind of precision matters most in the smallest tasks: fastening a button, lifting a glass, holding a child’s hand.

“These aren’t just movements,” Yeo said. “They’re freedoms.”

For Yeo, the idea of restoring freedom through movement has driven his research from the very beginning.
 

A Mission Rooted in Loss

Yeo's work is deeply personal. His path to biomedical engineering began with loss — the sudden death of his father while Yeo was still in college. That moment reshaped his sense of purpose, redirecting his focus from machines that move to technologies that heal.

“Initially, I was thinking about designing cars,” he said. “But after my father’s death, I kind of woke up. Maybe I could do something that helps save someone’s life.”

That purpose continues to guide his lab’s work today, building technologies that help people recover what they’ve lost.

Achieving that vision, however, means tackling some of engineering’s toughest challenges.
 

Soft Machines, Hard Problems

Creating lifelike muscles isn’t easy. They need to be soft but strong, responsive but safe. And they must avoid triggering the body’s immune system. That means building materials that can survive inside the body — and learn to belong there.

“We always think about not only function, but adaptability,” Yeo said. “If it’s going to be part of someone’s body, it has to work with them, not against them.”

His team calibrates these synthetic fibers like precision instruments — tested, adjusted, and re-tuned until they operate in sync with the body’s natural movements. Over time, they develop a kind of “muscle memory,” adapting fluidly to changing conditions. That dynamic adaptability, Yeo explained, is what separates a machine from a prosthetic that truly feels alive.
 

From Collaboration to Innovation

Solving problems this complex requires more than one discipline. It takes an entire ecosystem of collaboration. Yeo’s lab brings together experts in mechanical engineering, materials science, medicine, and computer science to design smarter, safer devices.

“You can’t solve this kind of problem in isolation,” he said. “We need all of it — polymers, artificial intelligence, biomechanics — working together.”

That collaborative model is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health, and Georgia Tech’s Institute for Matter and Systems. In 2023, Yeo received a $3 million NSF grant to train the next generation of engineers building smart medical technology.

His team now works closely with healthcare providers and industry partners to bring these devices out of the lab and into patients’ lives.


The Future You Can Feel

The future of robotics, according to Yeo, won’t be defined by power or complexity but by feel.

“If it feels foreign, people won’t use it,” he said. “But if it feels like part of you, that’s when it can truly change lives.”

It’s the opposite of The Terminator, where machines replace us. Yeo is designing these machines to help us reclaim ourselves.

 

Asif Khan and Akanksha Menon have been selected to participate in the 2025 EU-US Frontiers of Engineering (FOE) Symposium, taking place October 20-23 in Bordeaux, France.

Hosted by the National Academy of Engineering in partnership with the European Council of Academies of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering (Euro-CASE), and supported by The Grainger Foundation, the symposium is an invitation-only gathering of approximately 60 early- to mid-career engineers from the United States and Europe. The program is designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and explore emerging engineering challenges.

Participation in the EU-U.S. FOE Symposium is considered one of the most prestigious honors for mid-career engineers and is often regarded as a catalyst for future leadership roles in the field, with many past participants going on to achieve high professional distinction.

Read the full story by the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

This story by Caitlin Hayes is shared jointly with the Cornell Chronicle newsroom.

Study co-author Joel E. Kostka is the Tom and Marie Patton Distinguished Professor and associate chair for Research in the School of Biological Sciences with a joint appointment in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. He also serves as faculty director of Georgia Tech for Georgia's Tomorrow. 

The Kostka Lab works in peatland ecosystems to quantify changes in microbial communities brought on by climate change drivers. In particular, next generation gene sequencing and omics approaches are employed to investigate the microbial groups that mediate organic matter degradation and the release of greenhouse gases.

Peatlands make up just 3% of the earth’s land surface but store more than 30% of the world’s soil carbon, preserving organic matter and sequestering its carbon for tens of thousands of years. A new study sounds the alarm that an extreme drought event could quadruple peatland carbon loss in a warming climate. 

In the study, published October 23 in Science, researchers find that, under conditions that mimic a future climate (with warmer temperatures and elevated carbon dioxide), extreme drought dramatically increases the release of carbon in peatlands by nearly three times. This means that droughts in future climate conditions could turn a valuable carbon sink into a carbon source, erasing between 90 and 250 years of carbon stores in a matter of months.

“As temperatures increase, drought events become more frequent and severe,  making peatlands more vulnerable than before,” said Yiqi Luo, senior author and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science’s Soil and Crop Sciences Section, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University. “We add new evidence to show that with peatlands, the stakes are high. We observed that these extreme drought events can wipe out hundreds of years of accumulated carbon, so this has a huge implication.”

“To me, this study is striking in that it shows that around 10 to 100 years of carbon uptake by one of the most important global soil carbon stores can be erased by just two months of extreme drought,” adds Joel Kostka, Tom and Marie Patton Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences at Georgia Tech.

It was already well-established that drought reduces ecosystem productivity and increases carbon release in peatlands, but this study is the first to examine how that carbon loss is exacerbated as the planet warms and more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates extreme drought will become 1.7 to 7.2 times more likely in the near future. 

Read the full story in the Cornell newsroom. 

###

Other co-authors include Cornell postdoctoral researchers Jian Zhou and Ning Wei; senior research associate Lifen Jiang; and researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), ETH Zurich, Northern Arizona University, the Australian National University, the University of Western Ontario and Duke University.

Funding for the study came in part from the National Science Foundation, USDA, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Building on more than a year of successful collaboration, Dolby Labs has extended its investment in Georgia Tech’s College of Computing for a second year, donating $600,000 to support cutting-edge research.

Dolby and the College each have laboratories in the Coda building, which promotes collaboration at various levels. The audiovisual technology company supported seven research projects last year, spanning computing systems and AI modeling. The partnership also includes events such as this month’s co-hosted student seminar.

“This partnership has reinforced the importance of taking an interdisciplinary approach to our research,” said Vivek Sarkar, Dean of Computing, who worked in industry for two decades before returning to academia.

“I’d like to see us go even deeper in finding ways to combine faculty from different schools and different research areas to work with one partner.”

[VIDEO: GT Computing Dean Discusses Dolby Deal Details with Senior VP]

Yalong Yang, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing, is one of the researchers who received Dolby support last year. He and his lab have been working on creating interactive, immersive versions of stories from the New York Times. 

“We’re particularly interested in the engagement side,” Yang said. “That’s what Dolby’s business is about.” Yang and his collaborators have been showing the immersive stories to test subjects while collecting data on heart rate and eye movement.

These collaborations have resulted in several published papers. The code developed is released as open source, enabling anyone to use it. Meanwhile, Dolby scientists can tailor the code for their own needs. 

“We deliberately look for ambitious, farther-looking projects," said Shriram Revankar, senior vice president of Dolby’s Advanced Technology Group.

[RELATED: Dean's Session Spotlights Industry Role in Preparing Students for Workforce Success]

"These are the risks that academia can take and do well in, because they have constant access to new students and other faculty."

At its core, the partnership is about developing relationships among faculty, students, and Dolby, according to Humphrey Shi.

"The students get experience in solving real-world problems for an international corporation, and Dolby’s researchers expand their knowledge through connecting with Tech faculty," said Shi, an associate professor in interactive computing whose research has also been supported by Dolby.

Raheem Beyah has been selected as Georgia Tech's next provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, beginning Nov. 1. 

Beyah has served as the dean of the College of Engineering and Southern Company Chair at Georgia Tech since 2021. Under his leadership, the College has strengthened its national and global reputation for innovation, research excellence, and student success, earning top-10 national rankings across every engineering discipline. 

Known for his mentorship and collaborative leadership, Beyah will assume the role of the Institute's chief academic officer — leading and supporting all academic and related units, including the Colleges, the Library, and professional education. He will also oversee academic and budgetary policy and priorities for the Institute.

"Raheem Beyah's commitment to students, faculty, and staff has always been at the heart of his leadership," said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. "He understands firsthand what they experience — their challenges, aspirations, and the drive that defines a Georgia Tech education. That perspective will make him an outstanding provost and a tremendous partner in advancing Georgia Tech's mission." 

An Atlanta native who earned his master's and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech after completing a bachelor's degree at North Carolina A&T State University, Beyah is recognized as a leading expert in network security and privacy.

"What excites me most about Georgia Tech is how we bring different disciplines together to solve real problems," he said. "Innovation happens when engineers work alongside artists, humanists, and social scientists, connecting technology with purpose and people. As provost, I'm eager to continue building those bridges and supporting the incredible creativity that defines this community."

In 2024, Beyah was named a fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It is the highest echelon of membership in IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to "advancing technology for the benefit of humanity." He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Engineering Education, a lifetime member of the National Society of Black Engineers, and an Association for Computing Machinery distinguished scientist.

Before joining the faculty at Georgia Tech, where he has served in various leadership roles, Beyah was a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science at Georgia State University, a research faculty member with the Georgia Tech Communications Systems Center, and a consultant in Andersen Consulting's (now Accenture) Network Solutions Group. 

When Microsoft announced it was ending support for Windows 10 last week, about 40 percent of all Windows users faced limited options. 

While some of those users can upgrade to Windows 11, hundreds of millions of devices don’t meet the technical requirements. 

Those users might be wondering what else they can do besides throwing away their current device and buying a new one or risking running outdated software on it.

The tech conglomerate faced backlash from environmental and cybersecurity experts after informing Windows users that it would cease providing updates for Windows 10. 

These experts have warned that rendering hundreds of millions of devices practically useless will worsen the ever-growing problem with electronic waste (e-waste) and leave users who can't upgrade vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.

Researchers from Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing (SIC) and School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) echo those concerns.

Forcing users to replace their devices means that up to 240 million old devices, according to one analysis, will inevitably end up in landfills.

“The problem of e-waste raises the question of why and how these technologies become obsolete,” said Cindy Lin, a Stephen Fleming Early Career Assistant Professor in SIC. 

Lin studies data structures and environmental governance in Southeast Asia and the U.S.

“Scholarship in human-computer interaction (HCI) on repair reveals that many of these technologies suffer from planned obsolescence,” she said. “This means that companies have designed products with a short lifespan, increasing consumption and waste simultaneously.”

When e-waste is dumped in landfills, the organic materials within devices decompose, producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. And with every discarded device comes the need to produce new ones. The raw materials of these devices are mined, refined, and processed, consuming enormous amounts of energy through the burning of fossil fuels.

The Problem with Hackers

Though Microsoft said it will continue to provide Windows 10 security updates for one year, users are still being pressured to upgrade. By this time next year, if users still haven’t upgraded to Windows 11, they can expect to become easy targets for cyber criminals.

For example, users could receive phishing emails claiming to be from Microsoft about security updates from hackers pretending to be Microsoft. 

“The cybersecurity implications are very serious because new vulnerabilities of Windows 10 will go unpatched for a large part of the user base of this system,” said Mustaque Ahamad, Regents’ Entrepreneur Professor and interim chair of SCP.

“These users will become targets of hackers and cyber criminals who will be able to exploit these vulnerabilities. This will make these machines more prone to attacks such as ransomware and data exfiltration.”

What Can Users Do?

Buying a new device typically costs around $300 at the low end, while some gaming computers can exceed $2,500. 

Josiah Hester, an associate professor in the School of IC who researches computing and sustainability, said users who want to avoid discarding their devices can install Linux Mint, a free universal operating system.

“I would hope that instead of discarding, people might see this as an opportunity to go into a more open ecosystem like Linux Mint, which was designed for Windows users,” Hester said. 

“So much perfectly good hardware is obsolesced by force, when users are more than willing to give it a second life, either through ending support on the software side, subscription services that require certain versions of an OS, or even building the hardware or low-level functions that reduce the autonomy of device owners.” 

Linux Mint is open source and offers its own suite of software products, including a word processor. It also has a built-in security system. It requires 2GB of RAM, 20GB of disk space, and 1024x768 resolution to operate.

On a systemic level, Lin and Hester said people can support organizations that advocate for right to repair and legislation that protects consumers from planned obsolescence.

“HCI studies of informal economies of improvisation and repair have demonstrated that technologies have a longer lifecycle if we have access to expertise on how to repair them without facing penalties such as copyright violations,” Lin said.

“The ongoing right-to-repair movement in the US shows promise in making technology repairable and, in turn, more sustainable.”

Georgia Tech has launched the latest edition of its National Laboratory (NL) Collaboration Data Dashboards, covering fiscal years 2016–2025. The updated dashboards provide a sharper, data-driven view of Georgia Tech’s partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories, offering insights into research impact, funding trends, and strategic opportunities for the campus community.

“This new edition goes beyond showcasing collaboration — it’s a strategic tool that helps researchers and administrators identify high-impact opportunities, optimize funding strategies, and plan future initiatives with precision,” said Vice President of Interdisciplinary Research Julia Kubanek.

What’s new in this release:

• Recent Strategic Funding Insights: For the first time, dashboards detail NL funding awarded to Georgia Tech by publication discipline for calendar years 2023–2025, providing clear visibility into where investments are concentrated and where new opportunities may lie.
• Mutual Research Investments: Georgia Tech’s collaborative projects with NLs now highlight reciprocal funding flows, reflecting shared priorities and strengthening partnerships that advance cutting-edge science and technology.
• Research and Innovation Impact: From numerous joint publications and citations to patents cited by NLs, the dashboards demonstrate Georgia Tech’s leadership in advancing innovation across STEM disciplines.
• Expanded Collaboration Areas: The dashboards spotlight high-impact research in advanced computing, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, cybersecurity, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, microelectronics, and energy solutions — underscoring how Georgia Tech-NL collaborations tackle pressing global challenges.

“National Lab collaborations are a cornerstone of Georgia Tech’s mission,” said Professor Martin Mourigal, Georgia Tech faculty liaison for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “They give our students and faculty access to world-class infrastructure, specialized expertise, and mission-driven science that shape careers and drive discovery.”

“These dashboards are more than a record. They are a roadmap for strategic investment and collaboration that positions Georgia Tech to secure larger funding opportunities and accelerate innovation,” added George White, senior director of strategic partnerships.

The dashboards are live at research.gatech.edu/national-laboratories. The next update is scheduled for February 2026.

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Sandia National Laboratories
• Savannah River National Laboratory