Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

A letter from Susan Lozier, Dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair:

Many voices have expressed pain, anger and frustration over the past few weeks about the recent deaths of Black men and women at the hands of police and at the centuries of racial injustice. While strides have been made in the past, recent cries for change have too often been met with inaction and indifference in this country. Change is needed, and words alone are not enough. There is plenty of work to do at national, state and local levels, but there is also work to do within our own College of Sciences community. There are steps that we can individually take to educate ourselves on countering racism, such as learning how to be anti-racist.  Transformative change within our College, however, will take collective input and collective action. For that reason, I am charging a task force to address the following two questions:

1. How do we build a College of Sciences community that is just, fair, and equitable for all members of our community – staff, students and faculty? 

To answer this question, we should ask: Who does not feel welcomed, supported, or valued in our community? What practices, written or unwritten, create a discriminatory environment?  What practices should we dismantle? Which should we construct?

2. How do we attract and retain Black faculty, students and staff to our community?

To answer this question, we should ask: Why have previous efforts to attract Black faculty failed? Why is the number of Black graduate students so low? What practices, written or unwritten, are responsible for these outcomes? What practices should we dismantle? Which should we construct?

Task Force Members

• Co-Chair: Lewis Wheaton, Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences
• Co-Chair: Matt Baker, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Mathematics
• Tamara Bogdanovic, Associate Professor, School of Physics
• Emma Blandford, Assistant Director, Living Learning Communities, College of Sciences
• Dania Ibrahim, Undergraduate, Neuroscience
• Jasmine Martin, Assistant to the Chair, School of Biological Sciences
• Lea Marzo, Assistant to the Chair, School of Mathematics
• Minda Monteagudo, Graduate Student, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences    
• Keith Oden, Director for Academic Diversity, College of Sciences
• Mary Peek, Principal Academic Professional, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Doby Rahnev, Assistant Professor, School of Psychology
• Alonzo Whyte, Academic Professional, School of Biological Sciences

I expect the work of this task force to commence this summer and to finish next May. Along the way, there will be many conversations across the College as we work to answer these questions and chart a path forward. While we do not have answers today, collective good faith will ensure that we can effect transformative change in the years ahead.

To close, I want to thank each of these members of our community for so readily agreeing to serve on this task force.  Please extend your thanks to them as well.

LAST CALL: Today, June 23, is the last day to nominate individuals to our first College of Sciences Staff Council. CoS students, staff, and faculty are invited to nominate CoS staff members who they would like to represent the College. Nominate staff members here.

The University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents (BOR) appointed seven Georgia Tech faculty members Regents Professors, the highest academic recognition bestowed by the USG.

The seven Regents Professors are:

Marilyn Brown, Brook Byers Professor in Sustainable Manufacturing in the School of Public Policy

Suresh Sitaraman, Morris M. Bryan Jr. Professor in Mechanical Engineering in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Jeffrey Skolnick, Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair in Computational Systems Biology and GRA Eminent Scholar in the School of Biological Sciences

Prasad Tetali, professor in the School of Mathematics and the School of Computer Science (renewal of October 2017 appointment)

Vigor Yang, professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering

Lisa Yaszek, professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication

Ellen Zegura, Stephen Fleming Chair in the School of Computer Science

“Many congratulations to these faculty members as they receive this well-deserved distinction from the Board of Regents,” said Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs and the K. Harrison Brown Family Chair. “We were proud to nominate them for consideration, and celebrate and honor their continued commitment to teaching, research, and scholarship in service to Georgia Tech and our students.”

Each year, the college deans may nominate two academic faculty members for the Regents Professor title and one research faculty member for the Regents Researcher title. The Georgia Tech Research Institute may nominate two research faculty members for Regents Researcher. The titles are awarded upon approval of the USG chancellor and its Committee on Academic Affairs only with unanimous recommendation of the university’s president, the executive vice president for Research, the chief academic officer, the appropriate academic dean, and three other faculty members.

The BOR approved the nominations during a May 12 meeting (via video). The BOR also approved a change to the Institute’s mission, requested by President Àngel Cabrera and effective May 12, 2020.

The updated mission statement reads: The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university established by the state of Georgia in Atlanta in 1885 and committed to developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition.

After a 35-year-long run at Georgia Tech, Keith Oden has decided to retire as the College of Sciences’ Director of Academic Diversity.

"I feel my career at Georgia Tech and the College of Sciences has been very rewarding and impactful," Oden says. "I think it is time to pass the torch to other individuals who can continue the initiatives that not only increase diversity, excellence, and inclusion, but also the overall Georgia Tech experience for all students, staff and faculty."

Oden is the first person to serve as the College’s Director of Academic Diversity. He was named to the position in 2012. Oden collaborates with faculty, student organizations, academic departments, research centers, and undergraduate/graduate admissions offices on recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations, such as ethnic minorities, women, and first-generation college students.

Oden advises the Georgia Tech student chapters of the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).

"Keith has worked tirelessly on a variety of programs to broaden participation in science and mathematics to include more students from groups that have historically been underrepresented in STEM," says David Collard, College of Sciences Associate Dean for Academic Programs. "But more important than any one program are the mentoring relationships that he has established with students over the years."

“From the moment I joined the CoS (College of Sciences) team, Keith welcomed me with open arms,” says Emma Blandford, Assistant Director for Living Learning Communities at Georgia Tech. “He supported my efforts to embed diversity and inclusion initiatives into the foundations of our first-year program, and helped me to connect with undergraduates who are working to make a difference for their peers. Keith’s passion is undeniable and I wish him the absolute best as he moves into the greatest adventure.”

Jennifer Leavey is a principal academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences, Director of Georgia Tech Urban Honeybee Project and Faculty Director for the EXPLORE Living Learning Community. Leavey says she knows Oden best from working with him on the Research Bound program for prospective graduate students.

“With that program, Keith created an experience in which young undergraduate researchers visualized and actualized themselves as professional researchers,” she recalls. “From the poster session to the professional development and networking sessions, the event paralleled the features of a scientific conference. Keith has gift for bringing out the best in young people and it was fascinating to watch the transformative effect the program had on the students who attended it. I know Keith will continue to have a positive impact on all the young people he encounters even in retirement. It's in his nature! I will miss him.”

Oden lists several accomplishments that he is proud of during his time at Georgia Tech, starting with his relationships with students and student organizations. "I feel that I have benefitted from helping these groups accomplish their goals. I have been at Georgia Tech because I enjoy working with students, encouraging them, mentoring them, and sharing opportunities with them. As an administrator, my managers gave me the liberty to be creative in implementing new initiatives and programs that would have a positive impact for the Institute. Some of these initiatives include submitting and successfully having REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) programs funded, and increasing underrepresented minority participation." In addition, Oden has served as a formal Georgia Tech mentor for Institute staff for more than 20 years. 

"Keith's work in partnership with faculty in our schools to establish National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates summer programs has been a real highlight," Collard says. "For example, the creation of a program in physics has established a strong track record of encouraging underrepresented minority students to pursue graduate study, both at Georgia Tech and elsewhere."

Oden first came to Georgia Tech in 1985. He has also served as diversity director for the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and as the director of the Graduate Co-Op and Fellowships Office. Oden received a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies-Higher Education from Georgia State University in 2004. His B.S. is from SUNY-Albany, and he received his M.S. from Brockport College. 

Oden plans to spend more time with family and friends, and will also volunteer to work with middle and high schol students, along with part-time teaching and consulting. "I will also continue to travel worldwide, once the pandemic is over. In other words, I still plan to be very active, have fun and enjoy life."

More than 50 representatives from across the campus have been appointed by President Ángel Cabrera to the newly formed Georgia Tech Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (GTDEIC). The Council will identify issues of campus racial and gender disparity, bias, and inequity to be addressed in order to deliver upon the Institute’s vision of diversity and inclusion. The members represent diverse voices and perspectives from staff, faculty, and students. Their initial meeting will be Nov. 30.

The GTDEIC will continuously monitor and assess the Institute’s progress on achieving its goals for becoming a model campus community for diversity, equity, and inclusion and develop evidenced, informed recommendations, which they will submit periodically to Cabrera and the Institute’s Executive Leadership Team for consideration in developing strategic actions.

“Our Diversity and Inclusion Council is one of several action steps announced this past summer to deliver on our promise of inclusion,” said President Cabrera. “As outlined in our new strategic plan, we are striving to remove barriers to access and success, and to build an inclusive community where people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to learn and contribute to our mission. I am grateful to the individuals who volunteered to serve as inaugural council members, and look forward to working closely with them as they identify issues and propose new courses of action.”

Campus research has revealed discrepancies in the satisfaction levels of various groups. The 2017 Faculty and Staff Climate Assessment Surveys and 2018 Student Climate Assessment Survey revealed high levels of faculty, staff, and student satisfaction on a wide array of campus experiences on a number of dimensions measured across multiple social identities, such as faculty rank, job function, gender, and race.

“The surveys also revealed there are some important differences in levels of satisfaction reported regarding some campus experiences,” said Archie Ervin, vice president for Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (IDEI). “Disaggregation of the data by social identity reveal lower levels of satisfaction with campus experiences on a number of dimensions measured by the survey that deserve attention and deeper exploration to understand why the differences exist and what action steps, if any, could be taken to address root causes of problematic or potentially adverse differences of experiences for campus members.”

“In sum, the climate assessment reports help us to understand our strengths and suggest areas where we should focus our attention to improve experiences of some members of the Tech community,” Ervin added. “Given the baseline data obtained by the Climate Assessment Surveys, and the recent development of college-level diversity councils, the establishment of an Institute-wide council on diversity, equity, and inclusion is both timely and necessary for the next iteration of an improved overarching strategy to achieve Tech’s goals for diversity and inclusion.”

The GTDEIC will be charged with the following objectives:

• Provide a forum for Georgia Tech stakeholders representing all divisions of the Institute to identify and consider forward-looking, proactive strategies, methods, and approaches to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and outcomes at Georgia Tech;
   
• Create a setting in which Institute leadership can share and vet diversity, equity, and inclusion-related issues and opportunities; and
   
• Develop data-informed recommendations to improve diversity, equity and inclusion and allow the Institute to lead by example as a model institution advancing inclusive innovation.

The group will be chaired by Ervin, and Pearl Alexander, executive director of IDEI’s Staff Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement, will serve as vice chair. The GTDEIC is composed of representatives from across the campus academic and administrative units, faculty, staff and student governance (undergraduate and graduate) and other faculty and staff who enhance the diversity of perspective of the Council.

In addition to Ervin and Alexander, council members include the following:

Chaouki Abdallah, Maryam Alavi, Sonia Alverez-Robinson, Nelson Baker, Terry Blum, Sandi Bramblett, Barrett Carson, Kim Cobb, Cheryl Cofield, Carol Colatrella, Melanie DeMaeyer, Lynn Durham, Shoshanna Engel, Kaye Husbands Fealing, Bonnie Ferri, Byron Fitch, Kelly Fox, Mary Frank Fox, Steven French, Steven Girardot, Rebecca “Beki” Grinter, Martha Grover, Lea Harris, James Hudgens, Joe Hughes, Javier Irizarry, Charles Isbell, Laurence Jacobs, Denise Johnson-Marshall, Paul Kohn, Renee Kopkowski, Keona Lewis, Brielle Lonsberry, Susan Lozier, Joe Ludlum, Steve McLaughlin, Joseph Montoya, Tegra Myanna, Frank Neville, Loraine Phillips, Dana Randall, Stephanie Ray, Elora Raymond, Catherine Ross, David Ross, Leslie Sharp, Todd Stansbury, John Stein, Yuanzhi Tang, Frank Trammer, Richard Utz, and Mitchell Walker.

Over the past ten months, colleges and universities across the nation have rapidly transformed and adapted to the shifting landscape of higher education in the midst of a pandemic. One of the more notable changes within the College of Sciences, however, centers on a standardized test that began raising questions on campuses beyond Georgia Tech long before Covid-19 first dominated headlines and the college experience.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test was established in 1936 as a way to measure reasoning and critical thinking skills for students entering graduate collegiate programs. 

Georgia Tech College of Sciences is waiving the GRE (subject and general test) and will not require the exam for fall 2021 applications into any of the College’s graduate programs. Information on requirements across campus for fall 2021 applications can be found at the Degree Programs page of the Georgia Tech Graduate Studies section of the Institute’s website.

Several College of Sciences programs have also opted to permanently drop the requirement, joining a movement coined throughout academic circles as “GRExit.” 

The GRE is permanently no longer required for entrance into Georgia Tech’s Schools of Biological Sciences, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Chemistry and Biochemistry. The Quantitative Biosciences Ph.D. Program and Ph.D. in Applied Physiology program, as well as the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) in the College of Engineering, have also permanently dropped the exam as a graduate admissions requirement.

Boosting diversity and equity in graduate admissions

Jennifer Glass, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS), who also holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Biological Sciences, has been active in asking programs across the Institute and beyond to take a closer look at whether the GRE makes sense in their individual admissions processes.

“The impetus for our efforts came largely from conversations with graduate students, who told us that removing the GRE requirement was an essential step towards boosting diversity and equity in graduate programs,” Glass says, noting that recent data also represented that the GRE can be “biased against underrepresented groups — and that it is not a good predictor of graduate school success.”

Glass joined fellow EAS professor Kim Cobb, who also serves as an ADVANCE Professor and Georgia Power Chair; EAS graduate student Minda Monteagudo; and faculty from Georgia State University and Boise State University in writing a summer 2020 op-ed about the GRE for Eos Magazine, which is published by the American Geophysical Union. The op-ed, “#GeoGRExit: Why Geosciences Programs Are Dropping the GRE,” refers to the social media hashtags #GRExit and #GeoGRExit that have surfaced as academics and students around the country discuss their personal experiences and research related to how the standardized test can narrow and stymie inclusivity efforts and representation related to science, technology, engineering, and math-based (STEM) professions — with a particular focus on bio- and geosciences.

During a fall presentation on #GRExit to Georgia Tech graduate admissions leaders, Cobb shared that 340 biology/EEB (ecology/evolutionary biology) graduate programs in the U.S. have dropped their GRE requirements, as have 75 geosciences graduate programs. (That biology graduate program number has increased to 370 programs since then, according to that database’s keeper, Joshua Hall, Director of Admissions for the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sarah Ledford, an assistant professor at Georgia State University who co-authored the Eos op-ed, publishes the geosciences database.)

Two years ago, a study published in the journal PLOS ONE examined the efficacy of the GRE in predicting Ph.D. completion related to STEM fields. The study analyzed the academic performance of 1,805 students from four flagship universities. Its lead researcher told Inside Higher Education that although the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which owns and administers the GRE, explicitly discourages the use of cutoff scores on any part of the GRE, "this is a common practice ... our study shows convincingly that the scores [were] not useful for identifying students most likely to finish STEM doctoral programs. In fact, the scores [were] negative predictors of completion rates for men."

The researcher added that “one reason given for using GRE scores to compare students is to ‘level the playing field’ for students coming from undergraduate institutions differing in prestige. It has been suggested that without these scores, admissions committees may show implicit bias that could hurt the chances of admitting students from underrepresented groups who often come from lesser-known institutions. However, for undetermined reasons women and non-Asian minorities continue to score less well than white males and Asian Americans and, therefore, the pool of ‘acceptable’ women and minority candidates is reduced substantially.”

ETS responded, sharing that “The GRE test does not predict graduate or doctoral completion rates ... Rather, the test provides a measure of graduate school readiness by assessing skills that are necessary to handle graduate-level work: verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing.”

Breaking down the barriers

Beyond concerns with cutoff scores and true readiness assessment, students and faculty alike have noted other barriers that the exam can add to the process of applying for grad school. "The issue of cost, for example ($205 to take it and $27 per report) is a major barrier for many students," notes Cobb. "This entire initiative (at Georgia Tech) was really the brainchild of the CoS Graduate Student Diversity Council, on which Minda (Monteagudo) sat."

“It's exciting to see the College of Science remove the GRE requirement in some programs temporarily, and in other cases more permanently,” Monteagudo adds. “I'm grateful to the CoS Graduate Student Diversity Council for their leadership on this issue, as well as the faculty and administrative support that made this change possible. I'm hopeful that removing the GRE requirement is an important first step towards making the graduate admissions process more equitable.”

The following links are for the individual degree program requirements for the College of Sciences graduate programs:

·      Biology

·      Bioinformatics

·      Ocean Science & Engineering

·      Mathematics

·      Quantitative Biosciences

·      Statistics

·      Chemistry and Biochemistry

·      Applied Physiology

·      Psychology

·      Physics

·      Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

More information on testing and graduate admissions at Georgia Tech, including the latest on testing delays due to Covid-19, can be found at this link in the Graduate Studies section.

As Covid-19 spread throughout the U.S. in 2020, so did misinformation about the disease that's caused by the novel coronavirus. From conspiracy theories about the origins of the virus to confusion about effects, spread, and treatment, it became more difficult over time for individuals seeking reliable information to distinguish fact from fiction across their social media and news feeds. When classes began in the fall semester, members of the Georgia Tech community and beyond also sought out evidence-based and peer-reviewed information about a number of detailed questions related to the virus — many of which were being actively answered through ongoing research around the globe.

The call for information about Covid-19 was answered in many ways by members across the Institute – in classes, virtual town halls, informational pages, emails, signage, Georgia Tech's Helping Stories series, and even a handful of informal “Ask Me Anything” posts with Tech's faculty and research experts. One such collaborative effort to answer these questions found its home on social media.

Addressing the community’s questions by getting the perspective of Georgia Tech experts on the latest developments and findings in Covid-19 research, the College of Sciences kicked off #StraightToTheSource on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook in November 2020. The campaign provides tips and tools on how to seek out and interpret scientific findings from news articles and scientific journal articles alike.

Building to tools to find accurate information

While there may be a barrage of news stories about Covid-19, not all of them accurately interpret available data and facts. They can be especially misleading for young people. In a study by a Covid-19 Consortium surveying more than 20,000 people across the U.S., people under 25 years of age were most likely to believe false claims about Covid-19. Comprised of researchers from Harvard, Northwestern, Northeastern, and Rutgers Universities, the Consortium also found that belief in false Covid-19 claims was associated with a lower intention to seek an eventual vaccine.

To learn how to spot a trustworthy news source, #StraightToTheSource spoke to Jennifer Leavey, principal academic professional in the College of Sciences and one of the leaders of a class on the biology behind Covid-19. “It’s easy to get misled by headlines,” shares Leavey. “Well-written news pieces use a variety of primary sources including quotes from experts, original scientific publications, and information provided by government agencies. Be wary of clickbait!” The big take away? Look for articles citing peer-reviewed research and avoid sensational language.

When a news article that cites peer-reviewed research doesn’t have enough information to draw a conclusion about a topic, readers can also turn to the scientific article cited to help fill in the blanks. But scientific journal articles can be intimidating. To empower the community with the tools to decipher scientific articles, #StraightToTheSource spoke to Julia Kubanek, professor in the Schools of Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry and associate dean of Research for the College of Sciences.

“When you’re reading a scientific article in an area that is new to you, do not assume that the authors are way smarter than you,” explains Kubanek. “They just know facts and words that you don’t yet know. But you can look up essential facts and words as you go, and build your own understanding of a paper — even outside of your area of expertise.”

When reading a scientific paper, Kubanek suggests a non-linear route. “Scientific papers don’t have to be read from start to finish, one page at a time,” says Kubanek. “I start with the abstract to get the overall gist. But from there I jump to the figures – they are usually where I can find the most important data. I dissect the figures, using the figure legends to help me understand the data in the figures themselves. The Discussion is where I can find the authors’ opinion of what their conclusions are, but I judge the conclusions for myself from my interpretation of the figures. The Introduction is useful for background information, but I skim that at best. I only read the Methods if I want to repeat the experiments myself, which is hardly ever.”

As for the main message of the paper, Kubanek suggests you decide it for yourself. “I think that every scientific article should be able to be summarized in a single sentence, a kind of take-home message,” suggests Kubanek. “When I’m reading a new paper, I try to build my own take-home message from the paper, turning it over in my mind as I make my way through the paper.”

The big take away? Don’t let complicated language prevent you from reading scientific papers and interpreting the results yourself.

Learning more about Covid-19 antibodies

After building the tools to dissect and interpret Covid-19 news, #StraightToTheSource spoke with Georgia Tech researchers to answer the community’s questions about Covid-19. One of the questions on the forefront of many minds: how long do Covid-19 antibodies last post-infection?

To find out, #StraightToTheSource dove into a paper published by Ania Wajnberg et al. in the journal Science with Patton Distinguished Professor Greg Gibson, who teaches and researches in the School of Biological Sciences. "Serum antibodies (for Covid-19) generally first appear a week to 10 days after infection, and then persist — albeit with some decline — for at least 5 months, and remain neutralizing in the majority of people," explains Gibson.

Gibson's statement was confirmed by Wajnberg et al., where it was found that Covid-19 antibodies are detectable in the blood at least 5 months after infection and perhaps longer. These antibodies infection still have neutralization activity and can fight the virus according to the study. "Although this cannot provide conclusive evidence that these antibody responses protect from reinfection," says Wajnberg et al., "we believe it is very likely that they will decrease the odds ratio of reinfection and may attenuate disease in the case of breakthrough infection."

While Gibson clarified the nature of Covid-19 antibodies post-infection, it was still unclear to curious Georgia Tech students exactly how the virus might manifest in the early days of infection — do most people show symptoms when they are contagious, and if not, why? To investigate this, #StraightToTheSource studied a paper published in Nature Medicine, which estimated that, remarkably, over 75% of Covid-19 cases might be clinically asymptomatic in people under 20 years old — meaning that younger people can unknowingly spread the virus to others without showing symptoms. This further bolstered the importance of weekly testing to detect infections early to help isolate and prevent spread, as testing may be the only way that certain individuals can confirm if they have the virus.

Up next: Vaccines and beyond

It has been a year since Covid-19 entered the United States. With the development and distribution of vaccines, a renewed hope to stamp out Covid-19 is on our shared horizon. Along with this hope appear new questions and answers. As we kick off a new year and phase of the pandemic, #StraightToTheSource will continue to share tips and techniques, evidence-based answers, and peer-reviewed data to help sort through news feeds and headlines — straight from our community of faculty and research experts.