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Class of 2021

Published July 15, 2021

$altText Melanie  Akwule, BA  12 

Melanie  Akwule, BA  12 

Founder & CEO | MINWO

Akwule founded MINWO, a diversity, equity, and inclusion technology company, to close the racial wealth gap through business ownership. Akwule’s company was recently featured in the Washington Business Journal, graduated from Techstars, a premier accelerator program, and released their platform, Rialto, in Beta. Last year, the company connected 109 Black business owners and founders to over $300,000 in funding and business development resources. Through that work, Black founders have been accepted into incubator programs that can support their growth, hired their first team members, and gained access to consultants to revamp their business models. During school, Akwule, a student-athlete on Tech’s Track & Field team, was named to the NCAA All-ACC Academic Team.

“Georgia Tech helped me find my voice. I was a student-athlete, and at the time, the Black community was around 11%. Between my coaches, my teammates, and the tight-knit Black community on campus, I was constantly supported and poured into until I became unwavering in my confidence of my own abilities,” Akwule says.

Fun fact: She still holds her high school’s 100-meter hurdle record.
$altText Mahdi Al-Husseini, PP 18, BME 18, MS CS 20

Mahdi Al-Husseini, PP 18, BME 18, MS CS 20

Aeromedical Evacuations Officer | U.S. Army

Al-Husseini develops technology and policy that ensures aviation safety in both military and civilian circles. As an active-duty medical evacuations helicopter pilot and a platoon leader, he’s responsible for more than $90 million in aircraft and associated equipment. He also designs and develops various technologies to support aviation safety, including the invention of a reaction wheel-based control system to stabilize spinning, oscillation, and swaying helicopter-hoisted loads (SALUS). This device was selected as one of the Army xTechSearch 3.0 finalists and was acquired by Vita Inclinata. Al-Husseini has also invented a flight maneuver training system that uses computer vision and artificial intelligence tools to reduce the incidence of aircraft accidents (AURA Training Systems). Al-Husseini is on a mission, both in and out of uniform, to ensure the safety of aviators and those they support.

“Iron sharpens iron, and my peers at Georgia Tech were certainly of a higher caliber. I remain in touch with many of my former classmates; their success is inspirational,” Al-Husseini says.

Fun fact: He’s a registered patent agent and an FCC-licensed amateur radio operator (KH6AV).
$altText Malory Atkinson, BC 08

Malory Atkinson, BC 08

Cofounder & Managing Partner | Shear Structural

Atkinson co-founded Georgia’s only all-women-owned and managed structural engineering firm in 2017. Shear Structural is also one of the few women-owned firms in its industry. Their mission is to be a strong force, evolving the profession by positively impacting the community and influencing the built environment for the next generation. Atkinson also currently sits on the board of SPIKE Studio, a nonprofit dedicated to mentoring, educating, and developing creative abilities in youth to promote greater diversity in the architecture, engineering, and constructing professions. She helped oversee the nonprofit’s programming transition to a virtual platform as well as oversaw a full name and branding change. She also sits on the board of ULI Atlanta and volunteered on their first Diversity and Inclusion sub-committee to address inequities in real estate in Atlanta. Atkinson co-founded Georgia Tech’s first-ever lifetime endowment fellowship supporting women studying structural engineering.

Fun fact: Atkinson has a vintage glassware side hustle called ATLVNTG. And, she and her husband own a boutique bottle shop called Elemental Spirits Co., in their Atlanta, Poncey-Highland neighborhood.
$altText Arindam Basu, MS Math 09, PhD ECE 10

Arindam Basu, MS Math 09, PhD ECE 10

Professor | City U

Basu’s work in implantable machine learning for brain-machine interfaces (BMI) offers hope to the nearly 5.4 million persons living with paralysis. While the technology is still nascent, Basu’s research group at City University of Hong Kong and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore works on different aspects of neuromorphic circuits and systems that can be applied to brain-machine interfaces and Internet of Things (IoT). He helped pioneer the concept of integrating machine learning to BMI implants to reduce wireless data transmission rates, and thus, reduce the risk of infection that can be caused by needing to implant wires. Recently, his team has developed sensors that can mimic human pain receptors that can learn from harmful stimuli when to trigger a pain withdrawal reflex even when the sensor is damaged.

Advice for new Yellow Jackets: “Do not be afraid to explore new grounds—Tech is a melting pot of talented faculty and students, so you should try to maximize your learning experience in all possible ways. Most importantly, do not stick to the boundaries of your discipline—the most amazing discoveries and inventions await you the moment you can make connections between concepts across disciplines.” – Basu

Fun fact: Basu—always the curious researcher—wanted to figure out how humans learn to smile when we are happy. He tried an experiment on his baby by correlating happy moments with a frown instead…but had to stop after his wife said she’d ban him from being with his daughter!
$altText James Belanger, EAS  07, PhD EAS 12

James Belanger, EAS  07, PhD EAS 12

Senior Meteorological Scientist | The Weather Company, IBM

When it comes to extreme weather events, having accurate forecasts is a matter of life or death. As an atmospheric scientist, Belanger’s work has influenced the type and quality of weather and climate forecast information consumed by millions of people around the world. After graduating in 2012, he joined a Tech VentureLab startup to implement his research on improving probabilistic tropical cyclone forecasts using numerical weather prediction models and machine learning. That research has been applied worldwide and continues to be used today to support more effective emergency management decisions. For the last five years, he’s served as senior scientist with The Weather Company, an IBM business and the largest provider of weather forecasts worldwide.

“My education experience was challenging and global in nature, taking me to study abroad programs in France and conferences across Europe and India, and opening my aperture to both the suffering and the opportunity that lies ahead,” Belanger says.

Fun fact: Belanger is married to Laura Belanger, also a Tech graduate, and she works at the U.S. National Weather Service in Atlanta. The couple has named their children after meteorological events that changed U.S. history. Their son, Andrew, can be traced to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and their daughter, Katherine, to Hurricane Katrina from 2005.
$altText Arjun Bir, CE 18 

Arjun Bir, CE 18 

Building Envelope Engineer | Raymond Engineering

Bir designed the Oasis E.coli test, a low-cost, water quality test that can be used by anyone without any prior training. He founded a company in Bangalore, India, to manufacture and distribute these tests worldwide. This work received the 2018 MIT Water Innovation Prize. In collaboration with Georgia Tech, UNICEF, and Johns Hopkins University, Bir planned and executed studies to test whether giving people the ability to test their own water would lead to improved behaviors around water and sanitation. The results showed unprecedented improvements in water quality in 589 households in Kanpur, India. Bir also studied the accuracy of low-cost E.coli tests to the U.S. EPA-accepted standards. As part of this effort, he established a microbiology lab in Bangalore, India. In addition, Bir runs India Forward, a nonprofit that provides scholarships and mentorship to students in need.

“Through Georgia Tech, I have met people who inspire me; I have made friends who are dear to me and have gained access to resources that enable the work that matters most to me,” Bir says.

Fun fact: Bir doesn’t just study water, he also paints with it. He studied watercolor painting in high school.
$altText Ambika Bumb, BME 05

Ambika Bumb, BME 05

President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology | White House

In December 2019, Bumb joined the U.S. Department of State as Health Science Technology Advisor to the Office of the Secretary of State. She immediately began working on the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Her team led the Global Repatriation Task Force that brought home more than 100,000 Americans who were stranded across the world when countries were closing and commercial flights were no longer available. Seven months into her tenure, her team was awarded the Distinguished Honor Award, given for exceptionally outstanding service or achievements of marked national or international significance. Bumb has served as Board member of the International Biomedical Research Alliance, Strategic Advisor to the Energy Sciences Area of Berkeley Lab and CEO of the biotech company Bikanta. At Georgia Tech, she was recognized with the Helen Grenga Outstanding Woman Engineer and E. Jo Baker President’s Scholar Awards. The NIH has also recognized her research with the Orloff Technical Advance Award as a “platform” technology with implications that will broadly advance medicine.

Her research has led to 16 patents and the spinout of her biotech company. Recently, she transitioned to the position of Deputy Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology with a broad mandate to advise President Joe Biden.

“My initial exposure at Georgia Tech to developing nanotechnology led me to Oxford to do a PhD and then the NIH for two post-docs, all related to nanomedicine. I launched a biotech startup Bikanta from that academic research and for five years enjoyed the nimbleness and innovation that a startup allows for,” says Bumb.

Fun fact: Despite various fears, Bumb has macheted her way through jungles in Rwanda to see silver-backed gorillas in the wild, gone swimming with dolphins in the open ocean, and gone spelunking in deep caves climbing a waterfall to get out.
$altText Lyndsey Deaton, Arch 07

Lyndsey Deaton, Arch 07

Founder & Senior Architect and Planner/Assoc. Director | International Development Collaborative/UO Urban Design Lab

Cities are about negotiating—for energy, for space, for rights. Deaton’s work looks at how to make this negotiation more sustainable for all stakeholders using the tools of an architect. She’s negotiated federal resource-efficient design standards and negotiated built space for clients. Currently, her work involves negotiating rights for kids to play in communities that have been displaced and resettled by development. Deaton led a 20-person team working with seven disposed communities in Manila, Philippines, and Hyderabad, India. They found that dispossessed communities typically lack accessible and safe spaces for kids to play. This research was internationally recognized with the 2021 Environmental Design Research Association’s Great Places Research Award. Deaton also volunteers as an architect with SquareOne Villages, a nonprofit that creates self-managed communities of low-cost, tiny homes for people in need of housing. With five other architects, she developed site plans for Emerald Village—Eugene, Oregon’s first tiny house community, which accommodates 22 permanent dwellings. In 2017 she sharpened her spatial negotiation skills by successfully designing and constructing the ReachOut House - a complete home in just 160 square feet!

“In deciding between universities, I attended an event hosted by the Heart of Texas GT Alumni Association and asked the alums what set Tech apart from other schools? One alum memorably responded, "Tech will teach you to teach yourself." It was the reason I went to Tech, and I think it is a primary reason I have been successful in my career," says Deaton.

Fun fact: Her career in spatial justice started in second grade with an assignment to write a letter to the President. Armed with a pencil and 3-lined craft paper, she described to President Clinton the negative effects of assigned seats during lunch. As a result, the principal worked with the PTA to revise the seating rules.
$altText Sam Elia,  EE 13, MS  ECE 14

Sam Elia,  EE 13, MS  ECE 14

Assistant Vice President, Software and Systems | StreamLabs Water

Sam began his career while a student at Georgia Tech as the first employee of a startup in Tech Square’s ATDC incubator. With the growing cost and scarcity of water in the U.S., there was a need in apartment and condominium complexes for a low-cost and easy to install device that could measure water flow inside a pipe. As a result, Sam helped develop the StreamLabs SmartHome Water Monitor, the world’s first Wi-Fi enabled, ultrasonic water monitor that anyone can use in their homes without any knowledge of plumbing. StreamLabs was acquired in 2016 by Reliance Worldwide Corporation, where Sam helped grow the company’s IoT software group from the ground up. The team developed a second product, the StreamLabs Control, which includes an automatic shut-off valve and is now available at many home improvement stores across the country. With refined leak detection algorithms, home-specific machine learning, and integrations with other major smart home devices, these devices have helped people reduce water usage by up to 25% and have detected thousands of leaks, saving homeowners from serious water damage.

Advice for new Yellow Jackets: “Whether interning or co-oping, I would recommend trying to diversify your experience as much as you can. My Georgia Tech education was much more than my degree; it was the network, the opportunities, and the culture.”

Fun fact: Sam focuses on a new hobby twice a year. His most recent interests include snowboarding and videography, but they have been as obscure as urban hydroponic gardening and kite surfing.
$altText Ashley Elleby, IE 08

Ashley Elleby, IE 08

Head of Growth-Devices & Services, Google Ads, Brand & Trust | Google

Recognizing a void in the fashion industry for tall women, Elleby started Alyssa Vermell Apparel in 2011, a fashion company to help tall women who struggle to find affordable clothes that fit. Later, she invested in and served as Vice President of marketing for a new restaurant concept in Brooklyn, N.Y. In 2018, Elleby joined Google to build a new marketing function that would drive revenue growth for Google Search and Chrome through digital advertising and grassroots marketing tactics. Within the first year, she drove record product installs and ads revenue. Google expanded her role to include all of Google Ads, hardware devices, and subscription services as well as its Privacy & Security division. Now as a head of Growth Marketing, she leads a global team that leverages data science and predictive algorithms to better understand consumer behavior. In 2020, Elleby helped pivot Google apps and products to be more inclusive and helpful to the Black community. She also helped create the company’s first digital Juneteenth celebration, partnering with artists like LeVar Burton and Loveis Wise.

“Georgia Tech was the first educational institution that challenged me,” Elleby says. “It required me to not only focus on my studies, but it pushed me to make a decision early on about the kind of person I wanted to be.”

Fun fact: Elleby is a real estate investor. She “house-hacked” her building, putting the money she saved on rent toward a down payment on another multi-family building.
$altText Ashby Foltz, Mgt 11

Ashby Foltz, Mgt 11

Cofounder | Charityvest

At Charityvest, Foltz and his Tech cofounders, believe giving is good and that’s it’s hardwired in humans just like breathing fresh air or being in community with others. He met his cofounders while at Tech, and they created Charityvest to make it simple for anyone to be generous. Users can make tax-deductible contributions to their account and recommend grants to over 1.4 million charities in the U.S. over time. Donors receive one consolidated tax receipt with zero fees, so charities receive 100% of the funds donated. The company also allows donors to give public and private stock, employee equity, and cryptocurrency.

“Georgia Tech's orientation toward 'Progress and Service' has proven to be a guiding value for my own life and career,” Foltz says.

Fun fact: Foltz is obsessed with golf course architecture and history.
$altText Barry Givens, ME 08

Barry Givens, ME 08

Managing Partner | Collab Capital Managing Director | Techstars

Givens has built a successful career as a technology entrepreneur and investor. And he’s done it while building an ecosystem for the next generation of Black technology founders. At his startup Monsieur, he developed an automated bartending machine that’s used in movie theaters, arenas, and hotels around the country. After five years, he exited the business in 2017, licensing his IP to a larger beverage manufacturing company. He became the managing director for the Techstars Social Impact Accelerator in Atlanta, investing in 20 companies over the past two years. At the same time, he joined forces with two other Black entrepreneurs to launch a $50 million venture fund specifically for Black founders. Collab Capital is the first of its kind, and Givens hopes it will serve as the foundation for Atlanta becoming the go-to place for Black entrepreneurs to launch innovative businesses.

“My education gave me the tools to design and build the prototype for my startup Monsieur in my garage with no investment needed. But the most important thing I took away from my GT experience is the confidence that I could do and/or learn anything,” Givens says.

Fun fact: He didn’t really start eating vegetables until he was 25.
$altText Jyoti Gupta,  PhD  ChE 09

Jyoti Gupta,  PhD  ChE 09

President & CEO | Volk Optical

Volk Optical is a leading global eye-health company and a subsidiary of Halma, Plc, a U.K.-based company. Gupta is accountable for all aspects of Volk’s global business, including setting strategic direction, driving growth, digital transformation, and cultural evolution. In working with Halma, Gupta has been part of the Gift of Sight campaign that assisted doctors perform over 700 sight-saving surgeries over the course of five days in Ghana. Gupta has served as a board member of Bio-Chem Fluidics, another subsidiary of Halma, and currently serves as a board member of Labsphere, a global photonics company. Prior to Volk, Gupta spent six years at a drug delivery startup, where her most recent role was vice president and general manager.

“The constant feedback from my PhD advisor, Dr. Mark Prausnitz, helped me get a head start in developing my executive communication skills and hone my executive presence. In addition to my engineering courses, I was able to take several courses at the Business School, which gave me clarity in the career I want to pursue and helped prepare me for it,” Gupta says.

Fun fact: Gupta has lived in five countries: Kuwait, India, the U.K., the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. Her family was in Kuwait when Iraq invaded. She and her family fled the country in 1990, staying in a refugee camp followed by travel through Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt to the United Kingdom. She came to the U.S. in 1999 for her undergraduate education.
$altText Thomas “Bo” Hatchett, Bio 13

Thomas “Bo” Hatchett, Bio 13

Georgia State Senator – District 50 | Georgia State Senate

Hatchett was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 2020, becoming the youngest state senator in Georgia. He represents District 50, which includes eight counties in the northeastern corner of Georgia. Hatchett also serves as the governor’s floor leader. Since passing the bar in 2017, Hatchett, a civil trial attorney with Cathy & Strain, LLC, has worked on a number of catastrophic injury cases seeking justice for families. While at Georgia Tech, Hatchett served as captain of the school’s swim team during his last two years. As a litigator, representative, and real-estate business owner, Hatchett strives to always live by the Institute’s motto of “Progress and Service.”

“My education extended way beyond the classroom, and the professors, coaches, and staff members at Georgia Tech helped mold me into the person I am today,” Hatchett says.

Fun fact: Hatchett is a huge fan of the show Jeopardy. When he was younger, he would watch the show with his dad, and when he got to Tech, he and his roommates rarely missed an episode.
$altText Sean Henry, BA 19

Sean Henry, BA 19

Cofounder & CEO | Stord

Henry’s entrepreneurial career started when he was just 7 years old, and he opened an eBay account to sell his Christmas presents online. In high school, he started importing and reselling automotive parts and began working at Huehoco in Lean Management and Supply Chain Optimization. Through this experience, he realized that the same supply chain issues that a small e-commerce seller experiences persist at a massive scale in global supply chains. When he was a first-year student in the Scheller College of Business, he met Jacob Boudreau, and together, they founded the cloud supply chain company Stord. Stord empowers brands to build sophisticated, agile, and integrated logistics networks at a fraction of the cost and in less time than it would take to build themselves.Since its creation, the company has grown to more than 250 employees, backed by more than $125 million in capital.

“The faculty, the community, the alumni, and my peers fully enabled us to get to where we are today,” Henry says. “Not only was our first angel investor, Chris Klaus, a connection I made through Georgia Tech, but multiple employees, customers, and follow-on investors were fostered through the Georgia Tech ecosystem.”

Fun fact: Henry is a triplet. “I have two incredible sisters my age as well as an older brother and sister who are twins,” he says.
$altText Sarabrynn Hudgins, IA 09

Sarabrynn Hudgins, IA 09

Foreign Service Officer (Diplomat) | U.S. Department of State

In 2017, Hudgins joined the Foreign Service at 29 years old, several years younger than the average incoming diplomat. At the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, she worked as a consular officer, often helping people on the worst days of their lives when they reached out to the embassy after being a victim of a crime or falling seriously ill abroad. She visited jails to make sure that incarcerated Americans received fair treatment under the law and were not tortured. She helped hospital patients reach family members in the U.S., navigated foreign legal systems to help grieving families repatriate the remains of their loved ones, and helped destitute Americans access emergency funding to return home. In her current role as an economic officer at the U.S Embassy in Cairo, she has helped U.S. companies achieve major contracts and coordinated training programs for women entrepreneurs in a country where approximately 15% of women work. Hudgins is also widely published as an expert on security and human rights issues in the Middle East, Turkey, and Central Asia.

“Students from other schools might read some of the same books, study the same theories, and apply to the same jobs, but Tech grads often have an edge. We don’t just do rote memorization; we learn the 'why.' We don’t just answer the questions asked of us; we figure out if they’re the right questions. And we don’t just solve problems; we spot inefficiencies and weaknesses before they can become problems,” says Hudgins.

Fun fact: Hudgins recently joined the “CaiRollers,” the first roller derby team in Egypt, and the only roller derby team on the African continent outside of South Africa.
$altText Swapnil Jagtap, MS AE 18

Swapnil Jagtap, MS AE 18

President’s PhD Scholar | Imperial College London

Jagtap’s research focuses on reinventing and revolutionizing the aviation and energy industry by designing zero-emissions aircraft. As a President’s PhD Scholar at the Imperial College London, he designed a 300-passenger intercontinental liquid-hydrogen aircraft with a design range of 14,000 km. The design improves the aircraft’s energy efficiency by over 50% and produces less noise than a Boeing-777. The aircraft produces zero emissions of carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, soot, carbon monoxide, organic carbon, sulfur oxides, and particulate matter. Jagtap has authored 16 high-impact publications (eight solo-authored) and has been granted one U.S. patent as a solo inventor. In 2020, he was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list of innovators, visionaries, and disruptors for his contributions toward reducing aviation’s carbon impact.

“At Georgia Tech, I solved open-ended problems, both in coursework and research. I think solving such problems broadened my perspective and thought process,” Jagtap says.

Fun fact: If he were not an engineer and researcher, Jagtap would be a filmmaker. One of his YouTube videos has more than 1.5 million views.

Assembled by Jennifer Herseim Published in Vol. 97, No. 3 Fall, July 15, 2021
$altText Arkadeep  Kumar,  MS ME 14, PhD  ME 18

Arkadeep  Kumar,  MS ME 14, PhD  ME 18

Technologist R&D Engineer | Applied Materials Inc.

Kumar’s research involves next generation semiconductor nano-manufacturing, pushing the limits of materials engineering, and enabling technologies for AI and big-data economy. Kumar is passionate about making manufacturing more energy-efficient and cost-effective to make it more sustainable for the planet and reduce its impact on the environment. Under a ITRI-Rosenfeld Postdoctoral Fellowship, he conducted research at the Lawrence Berkeley National lab on the nexus of water and energy, looking at urgent societal problems in water treatment and clean energy. Combining his expertise from his PhD on solar cells and postdoc fellowship, he joined Applied Materials to solve the critical challenges in semiconductor manufacturing. In response to the PPE shortages at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kumar initiated a collaboration with Tech alumni and current students across multiple time zones to develop an open-source face shield design and train artisans in India to fabricate the face shields. In 2021, Kumar was recognized for his achievements and leadership in manufacturing engineering by the Society of Manufacturing Engineer’s Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award.

“I found a great network of friends and support [at Georgia Tech]. I co-founded the Asha for Education Georgia Tech student chapter during my time at GT, which has continued as a philanthropic organization,” Kumar says.

Fun fact: Kumar’s first name “Arkadeep” means the light from the sun—the literal translation in the Bengali language (his mother-tongue) means the sun’s light in dawn, which brings light from the darkness. Kumar’s PhD research at Tech was on solar cells as clean energy.
$altText Garrett Langley, EE 09

Garrett Langley, EE 09

CEO & Founder | Flock Safety

Langley is a technology entrepreneur with a vision to eliminate crime while respecting privacy. Since founding Flock Safety in 2017, he’s seen up to 65% reduction in crime in communities across the country that adopted Flock Safety’s unique combination of technology (to capture evidence) and business model (to foster stronger police and community engagement.) Flock Safety has raised over $230M in venture capital and employees more than 300 people. Before Flock Safety, Langley launched Clutch, a monthly car subscription service, and Experience, a mobile technology company focused on helping fans have fun at live events. Experience was acquired by Cox Enterprises. Langley is also dedicated to giving back to his alma mater, serving on the Georgia Tech Alumni Association's Board of Trustees, the Athletic Association’s Board of Trustees, and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Board.

“At 18, I joined my first startup, as an inexperienced but motivated teenager. Why did I get the job? Georgia Tech. The company was led by a team of GT grads and they happily took a chance on a fellow Yellow Jacket. Ever since then, I take the same approach and work with as many Yellow Jackets as possible. It’s our secret weapon, hiring incredibly smart, hardworking engineers from Georgia Tech,” says Langley.

Fun fact: Langley’s favorite form of stress release is baking.
$altText Vanessa Larco, CS 08

Vanessa Larco, CS 08

Partner | New Enterprise Associates

Since graduating from Georgia Tech, Larco has worked as a product manager on innovative products, including Microsoft’s Surface v1.5, Xbox Kinect V1, Playdom/Social Gaming v1, Twilio, and Box. After nearly 10 years as a product leader, she joined a top investment firm as a venture capitalist. She’s currently one of only two Latinas in the venture capital industry who holds a partner position at a mid- to large-size fund (more than $500 million). She has since joined numerous boards including EvidentID, Cleo, Rocket.Chat, Mejuri, and Robinhood (observer). At several companies throughout her career, Larco has established an Associate Product Mangament program to mentor and train new product leaders. She recently became a founding member of LatinxVC, a program to help Latinos and Latinas break into venture capital.

“My true passion and drive within software engineering developed at Georgia Tech. It was so impactful in shaping me that I still keep in touch with many of my professors,” Larco says.

Fun fact: Larco rescued a horse as a child, and he went with her everywhere for the next 22 years, including to Georgia Tech, to Microsoft for her summer internship, then back to Tech for her senior year. When she graduated, Microsoft even paid to ship her horse to Seattle as part of her signing bonus package.
$altText Kristen Marhaver, Bio 04 

Kristen Marhaver, Bio 04 

Associate Scientist | CARMABI Foundation

Marhaver is a scuba diver, underwater photographer, and a world-renowned expert in coral breeding. In her research lab in Curaçao, she invented new methods for coral breeding, baby coral propagation, and coral gene banking to help scientists and reef restoration teams around the world. Her TED talks sharing her methods and innovations have garnered over 2 million views. She worked as an undergraduate researcher in Georgia Tech’s School of Biology for several years, including multiple years studying corals, coral ecology, and coral reef fishes with Drs. Snell, Jones, and Hay. After graduating, she landed a competitive PhD position at Scripps. Since then, her work has been featured by the Smithsonian, The Atlantic, Scientific American, and TED. Marhaver was the first person in the world to raise baby pillar corals, a nearly extinct Caribbean coral species that is listed as endangered.

This required diving for hours in the dark over multiple years to decode the timing and carefully collect eggs and sperm to achieve fertilization using specialized methods. Three other teams have now successfully bred juvenile pillar corals with her methods. In addition, Marhaver, her father, Carl Marhaver, and her stepmother, Robin Ferst Marhaver, have sponsored a first-year biology researcher each year in the FastTrack Research Program.

“Georgia Tech gave me rocket boosters for my career. As a scientist, I lean on my GT training every single day,” Marhaver says.

Fun fact: Marhaver used to run the 100-meter hurdles.
$altText Jimmy Mitchell, CE 05

Jimmy Mitchell, CE 05

Sustainability Engineer | Skanska

Mitchell is a project team leader for the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, one of the world’s most sustainable buildings. In 2021, the Kendeda Building achieved full certification on the Living Building Challenge. Sustainability was instilled in Mitchell early on as an undergraduate student at Tech, and it's been a guiding principle in his career in construction. He was an early adopter of the LEED program by the U.S. Green Building Council and led a LEED Gold effort for Skanska’s Atlanta office from 2007 to 2008. In 2008, he spent six months in California, working on a healthcare project that fully incorporated 3D modeling, reducing time and waste through planning. In 2010, his focus shifted to the Atlanta Mission men’s shelter, where he used sustainability to the organization’s benefit by creating the Atlanta Mission Urban Garden and a utility-saving laundry-water-recycling system. In 2011, he joined a group of industry leaders to form the Lifecycle Building Center, which focuses on environmental stewardship and creating a sustainable lifecycle for the built environment. He is past chair of the Lifecycle Building Center and continues to serve as a board member.

“Georgia Tech people inspire me. I think I’m always trying to live up to their achievements. As a student, I was inspired by students, faculty, and industry, and that continues today,” Mitchell says.

Fun fact: While at Tech, Mitchell won a Burdell’s Best Award for most creative philanthropy. His fundraiser involved a cow at Burger Bowl and raised money for the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children.
$altText Jenny (Lentz) Moore, AE 05

Jenny (Lentz) Moore, AE 05

Training Operations Manager/Lead F-35 Instructor Pilot | Lockheed Martin

In 2017, Moore became the first female F-35 civilian instructor pilot. In 2019, she was given the opportunity to establish the United States Marine Corps F-35 training at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. She is currently the youngest and only female F-35 site lead and lead instructor pilot among all F-35 training facilities in the world. The F-35 is a stealth, multi-role fighter jet that provides air-combat strike capability, as well as electronic warfare, intelligence, and reconnaissance. As an F-35 training site lead, Moore is responsible for all aspects of F-35 pilot training, from bringing in and maintaining full mission simulators, to academic lectures, pilot instruction, and future training development. Moore’s military service included deploying as a Navy F/A-18 pilot on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. En route, ISIS began a wide-reaching terror campaign, and the aircraft carrier was rerouted to the Persian Gulf where Moore and her squadron spent the entirety of the deployment flying combat missions in Iraq and Syria against ISIS.

“The knowledge I gained at Georgia Tech goes beyond the prestige of the degree I earned (all of us that went through it know we had to earn it). It taught me how to learn, how to push, how to adapt. These are skills that can be applied to any profession, any challenge,” Moore says.

Fun fact: Moore says she eats a fairly healthy diet, but she can crush an entire jar of Nutella if it’s in the house.
$altText Melissa Nord,  EAS  13

Melissa Nord,  EAS  13

Meteorologist | 11 Alive

In December 2020, Nord become 11 Alive’s weekend morning meteorologist in Atlanta. Previously, she was a meteorologist and co-anchor at WUSA 9 for several years. Nord’s ability to forecast and present the weather in a relatable yet stimulating way has earned her national recognition. She won the 2018 Associated Press and Emmy Award for Best Meteorologist/Weather Anchor in the Washington D.C. and Chesapeake Bay region, excelling above veterans in the field. Her mission is to change how people consume weather forecasts by bringing the science to life in a relatable format. Nord is also a passionate STEM advocate, volunteering with community organizations to bring STEM activities to children.

“Georgia Tech allowed me to ‘embrace the nerd’—and I follow this motto in my career, being nicknamed ‘Nord the Nerd’,” she says.

Fun fact: Nord has a German Shepherd-Lab mix named Buzz! On social media @MelissaNordWx, you can see photos of Buzz, her cat Emma, and “Weather Baby,” a future Yellow Jacket that she and her husband (also a Tech grad) welcomed into the world last fall.
$altText Precious  Urenna  Onyewuchi,  MS  ECE 08, PhD  ECE 12 

Precious  Urenna  Onyewuchi,  MS  ECE 08, PhD  ECE 12 

Consultant | Anneru Solutions Incorporated

Onyewuchi’s influence in the U.S. and across the African continent shows the global impact of Georgia Tech alumni. She served as the chair of the IEEE Power Africa Steering Committee for multiple years, establishing a technical conference aimed at solving Africa’s electricity access issues and reducing poverty. The conference brings together a strong network of engineers to contribute solutions to Africa’s electricity problems. Under her leadership, Onyewuchi helped bring the conference to multiple African nations, and she established the Women in Power session as a key part of the conference. The session empowers hundreds of middle and high school girls to join STEM, power, and energy fields.

Advice for new Yellow Jackets: “Take time to find out who you are and never forget it. Write it on a tablet in your home and your heart. Even if you venture away, it will bring you back home.”

Fun fact: In many ways, I prefer rural life to city life. I always have. As a child, my favorite time of the year was Christmas when my siblings and I got to travel to the village to spend time with immediate and extended family, especially our grandparents. Now living in Texas, where I was born, I feel so at home driving through regions with horses in fields. I find that the simple life gives me a lot of joy and peace.
$altText Lauren Priddy,  PhD  BioE  15 

Lauren Priddy,  PhD  BioE  15 

Assistant Professor | Mississippi State University

Priddy’s research involves designing and fabricating biomaterials for improved bone healing and for treating potentially fatal bone infections that could lead to the loss of limbs. Her lab evaluates the efficacy of biomaterials using models of bone injury and disease. Her lab has developed an implant-based model of composite femoral and soft tissue infection in rats. Researchers can use this model to evaluate biomaterials and antimicrobial therapeutics to combat bacterial sources of bone infections. In 2021, Priddy received MSU’s Donald Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award and was inducted into the school’s Bagley College of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Teachers. In addition to her passion for teaching and mentoring research trainees, Priddy co-founded Biolgnite, Inc. in 2015 with four fellow Tech grads. The Atlanta-based nonprofit seeks to spark interest in biomedical science, technology, engineering and mathematics (bioSTEM) through engaging curricula designed for middle school students.

“The collegial, collaborative environment in Bob Guldberg’s lab and at the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience [at Georgia Tech] provided me with constructive, critical feedback that made me a better researcher and leader,” Priddy says.

Fun fact: Priddy fell in love with running while in grad school. Her first race was the Pi Mile in 2013. From then on, she was hooked. She ran the Triple Peach in 2014, and the Peachtree Road Race each year after while she lived in Atlanta.
$altText Carly Queen, ME 09, MS CE 16, M CRP 16

Carly Queen, ME 09, MS CE 16, M CRP 16

Sustainable Transportation Specialist | AECOM

Queen leads AECOM’s Multimodal Transportation Safety Team in Georgia. In this role, she directs transportation planning and engineering efforts focused on reducing pedestrian and cyclist crashes, injuries, and fatalities across the state. Queen’s community service spans more than a decade and includes numerous leadership roles on nonprofits. While a student at Tech, she served as the founding president of Students Organizing for Sustainability. In graduate school, she was vice president of outreach and communications for the Women’s Transportation Seminar and Institute of Transportation Engineers. She received an Outstanding Service Award from Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning. She has continued serving in leadership roles post-graduation, including serving on the Generation Green Board of the Georgia Conservancy, Young Professionals in Transportation Atlanta, and Groundwork Atlanta, where she’s in her fifth year as president of the Board of Directors.

Under her leadership, Groundwork Atlanta launched AgLanta Grows-a-Lot, a program converting vacant lots to farms and gardens in Atlanta’s low food-access areas and a Proctor Creek Trash Traps pilot project, testing technologies for preventing litter in creeks from reaching larger water bodies. The project was the winner of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s 2020 River Sustainability Award.

“My Georgia Tech classmates and fellow alumni connected me to an internship opportunity where I have since launched my career,” Queen says.

Fun fact: At the time, Queen was the only woman in the Georgia Tech Off Road club and drove in the SAE Mini Baja East Competition during her sophomore year at Georgia Tech.
$altText Seth Radman, ME 17

Seth Radman, ME 17

Head of Product Strategy | Ultimate Guitar

While at Georgia Tech, Radman founded the company Crescendo, an interactive music trainer like Guitar Hero, but for real instruments. The Crescendo app gained more than 1 million users in its first two years and was featured as Apple’s App of the Day in over 100 countries. Last year, Crescendo was acquired by Ultimate Guitar, the world’s largest online guitar community, making Radman's company the first exit from Tech’s CREATE-X program. Now, with more than 300 million users, Crescendo has helped musicians of all ages boost their confidence and improve faster using technology. In addition to Crescendo and other startups, Radman has been instrumental in building and growing the startup ecosystem in Atlanta. He serves as a startup coach through the CREATE-X Startup Launch program, and he is an advisor for more than 100 companies founded by Georgia Tech students and alumni.

“While building my startups, I’ve experienced countless failures and had to keep pushing to find a solution to the obstacles in my way. Like my classmate and friend Nick Selby said, ‘This is Georgia Tech. We can do that.’ My Georgia Tech education helped me become a more confident and resilient person. I would not be who I am today without it, guaranteed,” Radman says.

Fun fact: In addition to being an avid rock climber, Radman plays saxophone in a blues funk rock band called The Vinyl Suns.
$altText Kendall Rankin, IE 17

Kendall Rankin, IE 17

Program Manager, Venture | All Raise

During her time at Tech, Rankin founded The Diamond Campaign (TDC), a nonprofit whose mission is to empower Black women to embrace their unique cut (body image), color (personal brand), carat (self-worth), and clarity (vision for the future). Rankin led a team at TDC that has impacted more than 1,500 Black women and girls across the United States. In 2018, she expanded the nonprofit from Atlanta to Chicago. McKinsey & Company selected TDC as 1 of 40 nonprofits across the globe to receive a financial contribution as part of their $5 million commitment to empowering Black communities. In addition to her work through TDC, Rankin recently joined All Raise, a startup nonprofit with a two-part mission to significantly increase the amount of venture capital funding going to female founders from 11% to 23% by 2030 and to double the percentage of female decision-makers at U.S. tech venture firms with more than $25 million assets under management by 2028. She was hired to help expand All Raise's presence in the Midwest region, as well as build and scale the nonprofit’s programs.

“We each have a specific purpose in this world, and being a student or recent graduate of Georgia Tech sets us up so well to begin uncovering what that may be,” Rankin says.

Fun fact: One of Rankin’s ultimate travel goals is to cross the Drake Passage and make it to Antarctica.
$altText Cory Sago, PhD BME 19

Cory Sago, PhD BME 19

Senior Director, Head of LNP Discovery | Beam Therapeutics

While at Georgia Tech for his doctorate, Sago developed several technologies that improve how gene therapies can be developed. With this technology, he co-founded Guide Therapeutics in 2019, where he served in multiple roles, including chief technology officer. In early 2021, Guide Therapeutics was acquired by Beam Therapeutics for $440 million. Since then, the company has grown rapidly to a team of over 30 members, a majority of who are in their Atlanta headquarters. Their research is aimed at developing potentially curative gene therapies for diseases like sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis.

“As scientists and engineers, many of us are wired to try to understand the facts of our world (the “what”). I’d encourage GT students and new graduates to also consciously pursue the “why” behind the world,” Sago says.

Fun fact: Sago, a fitness nerd at heart, competes in powerlifting. He’s been lifting since his freshman year of high school.
$altText Oleg  Sargu,  MS  Econ 11

Oleg  Sargu,  MS  Econ 11

Director of Engineering Center | Technical University of Moldova

In the Eastern European nation of Moldova, academia and private business are often separate worlds. Sargu is working to bridge that gap to help businesses benefit from academic research and academia to better correlate programs to the real needs of the private sector. His work on the HiDuk project at the Technical University of Moldova is among the latest projects to do just that. HiDuk is Moldova’s first electric utility vehicle and was developed as a result of a strong partnership with Shado EV, a Singapore-based engineering center, and the Technical University of Moldova. Another of Sargu’s projects at the Engineering Center aims to re-launch the agri-tech industry in Moldova with an electric tractor made specifically for closed areas and greenhouses.

“My Georgia Tech education forged my personality and abilities. Georgia Tech teaches you how to rule this world, there are no boundaries that cannot be reached or explored,” Sargu says.
$altText Dhawal  Shah,  MS  CS 10

Dhawal  Shah,  MS  CS 10

CEO | Class Central

Online learning gained renewed importance during the Covid-19 pandemic when it became necessary to find ways for learning and instruction to continue at a distance. Shah's company Class Central has helped more than 40 million learners worldwide find their next online course, almost half of these during 2020. The website, which Shah characterizes as a "Tripadvisor for online education" is a catalog of over 40,000 online courses and MOOCs, including from 1,000 universities worldwide. Shah built and launched the site in 2011 not long after graduating from Georgia Tech. Shah's expertise has landed him in several major news outlets, including the New York Times, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune.

“I am really proud that my alma mater has since also become a leader in this space by offering OMSCS, GT’s online master’s degree in computer science, for a mind-blowing price of $7K,” Shah says.

Fun fact: He won a development competition in college. His team built an augmented reality app called MoVue. They were accepted into Tech’s startup incubator ATDC, which sparked Shah’s ambition to become an entrepreneur.
$altText Kenneth Smith, MS AE 18

Kenneth Smith, MS AE 18

Loads and Dynamics Engineer | Barrios Technology (NASA Johnson Contractor)

Smith is currently working on the development of the new Gateway Space Station, which will be the “Gateway” to returning humans to the moon. Specifically, he’s looking at how plume during attitude control maneuvers impacts the efficiency of the mission’s desired outcome. Previously, he worked at NASA Langley Research Center, focusing on commercial crew and the development of a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems capable of carrying crews to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station. His primary focus was on the development and analysis of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Smith, while working with NASA’s Transonic Dynamics Tunnel, was the dynamics lead of a project researching the susceptibility of commercial launch vehicles to a phenomenon known as wind-induced oscillations. As launch vehicles become heavier and more symmetrical, the risk of this catastrophic event increases.

Kenneth’s research focused on both understanding the phenomenon and mitigating risk. His research led to him being named as a Forbes’ 30 under 30. In addition, in 2019, he was one of 18 professionals from the U.S., U.K., and Germany—and the only engineer—selected to live, work, and study in Moscow as an Alfa Fellow.

“While I was in grad school, I was on two different panels at the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi, returning to Atlanta the day before graduation. Georgia Tech opened a lot of doors for me, and for that, I am extremely grateful,” Smith says.

Fun fact: For the last 11 years, Smith has traveled the world, performing outreach education as “Ksmooth the Engineering Dude.”
$altText Varun Yarabarla, BME 16

Varun Yarabarla, BME 16

Development Lead | VentLife

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Yarabarla, a researcher and future physician, used his engineering and medical backgrounds, combined with his experience as an entrepreneur and volunteer, to become a founding member of the nonprofit VentLife. The organization seeks to help healthcare-deprived areas across the world gain the necessary equipment to care for their patients not just during the pandemic but for years to come. The organization is developing a low-cost, efficient mechanical ventilator while also helping fund other global ventilator initiatives. In 2020, Yarabarla was named to Georgia Trends’ 40 Under 40 and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Atlanta (YNPN) 30 Under 30 lists for his work with VentLife. Yarabarla is a former Fulbright Scholar and was also nominated for the National Gold Humanism Honors Society by his peers in medical school.

“I was honestly a little disappointed that I would be leaving engineering behind when I chose to pursue medical school. However, when there is a will, people can always find a way; in medical school, I still used my engineering-based computer coding skill to land a position in a distinguished neurology lab,” Yarabarla says.

Fun fact: Yarabarla grew up playing competitive tennis and played on two intercollegiate teams (Georgia Tech Club Tennis and Swiss Institute of Technology Men's Team). However, recently his favorite hobbies are photography and drone cinematography.
$altText Miheer Walavalkar,  MS  ECE 07 

Miheer Walavalkar,  MS  ECE 07 

CEO and Cofounder | LiveLike

Walavalkar started his entrepreneurial journey in 2012 when he started an education technology company in India before moving to Paris to take over a French sports technology startup. Now, he is co-founder and CEO of LiveLike, a premier online engagement platform. Started with a focus on live sports, LiveLike has since expanded into music, education, and news, partnering with the world’s top sports and media companies to transform passive audiences into engaged communities.

LiveLike has been used to engage fans in the biggest live events, including NCAA March Madness, the NBA Playoffs, El Clásico, the Daytona 500, and the U.S. Presidential debates many others. Most recently, the Company was selected as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.

Previously, Walavalkar led YouFoot Sports, a U.K.-based tech startup that worked with soccer federations and teams around the world. In 2018, he was named to the 40 Under 40 class in the Sports Business Journal, and in 2019, he was included in the Leaders in Sports’ Under 40 class.

“My work has taken me to all corners of the globe, and the exposure to the international student community at Georgia Tech has been a key reason I feel comfortable working among different nationalities and cultures,” Walavalkar says.

Fun fact: Walavalkar was a gold medalist in table tennis in India from ages 10 to 15. At Georgia Tech, he teamed up with three other international students to found the Georgia Tech Table Tennis Club. They went undefeated in the state during their first year.
$altText Michole  Washington,  AM  16

Michole  Washington,  AM  16

Mathematics Education Doctoral Candidate | University of Michigan

Washington’s “abolitionist approach” to STEM education started the year she graduated from Georgia Tech. In 2016, she was the ninth Black woman in history to earn a bachelor’s in Applied Mathematics from the Institute. That fact signaled to her that there were deeply rooted, systemic issues in the education system, including racism, sexism, and imperialism; this makes it hard for Black and Brown students to feel seen, challenged, or excited about learning STEM concepts. She’s committed to shifting the narrative of what STEM education is and who can do it. As a doctoral candidate in mathematics education at the University of Michigan, she studies different aspects of informal STEM environments like extracurriculars designed for students who are underestimated because of their race or economic status. As a resident researcher intern at NASA, she conducts research and develops tools focused on evidence-based, effective practices aimed at sparking and sustaining underestimated K-12 girls’ interest in STEM. She is also CEO and founder of STEMulation, an educational games and media production company that promotes STEM learning through the lens of social justice theory and practice.

“Even though most of my current success is about critiquing mathematics education and the culture around it, my formal mathematics training at GT has set a sturdy foundation for my messaging,” Washington says. “By that, I mean my undergraduate experiences as a math major at GT gave me a first-hand perspective to understand when a student is not comfortable within a STEM space, and secondly, the motivation to want to do something about it.”

Fun fact: Washington has an Amtrak rewards card because she loves riding cross-country trains.
$altText Mike  Weiler, BME 10, MS ME 12, PhD  BioE  15 

Mike  Weiler, BME 10, MS ME 12, PhD  BioE  15 

Cofounder and CEO | LymphaTech

Weiler cofounded LymphaTech, a Georgia Tech spinout company focused on improving the standard care of lymphedema, a swelling disease that is commonly a result of cancer therapy but can also be caused by mosquito-transmitted parasites. During his seven years as CEO, Weiler has been the primary inventor on nine patents to develop technology to automate and digitize measurements for lymphedema evaluation and treatment. LymphaTech’s software enables custom-fitted medical compression garments to enhance treatment for the disease. Weiler has led the company to sign partnerships with the two largest medical compression manufacturers to use the technology as a platform for sizing, fitting, and ordering custom medical compression garments for patients. In partnership with the Gates Foundation, the technology has also been included as an evaluation tool for the Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis.

“During grad school at Georgia Tech, I was a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, a graduate of the NSF Innovation Corps, and a TI:GER Fellow. The TI:GER program was particularly instrumental in my career, as it provided an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of business model generation and customer discovery applied to my dissertation research. The final business plan that we created in the TI:GER program is very similar to the business plan that LymphaTech still follows today,” Weiler says.

Fun fact: Weiler and his wife, who also has her bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD from Georgia Tech, have six degrees from the Institute between them. They also attended the same middle and high schools.
$altText Dane Witbeck, MSE 09

Dane Witbeck, MSE 09

CEO & Cofounder | Pinwheel

Witbeck is an inventor, entrepreneur, and angel investor. He’s currently CEO and cofounder of Pinwheel, a mobile operating system built to foster healthy lifelong smartphone habits in kids. The company has grown to 25 employees over its first 18 months and is now in the hands of thousands of kids who are growing up learning to leverage their phones as tools, not as addictive tools for tech companies at kids’ expense. Previously, Witbeck built the startup Meshify, which constructed sensors and software to reduce the risk of property damage due to water intrusion and frozen pipes. The business was acquired by MunichRE in 2016. Since then, Witbeck has invested in 24 startups to help the next generation of entrepreneurs achieve their visions for a better, more efficient world.

“Every hell week, every final cram, every concept I couldn't get and had to find help to overcome prepared me and refined me to believe...I can do hard things. My degree from Georgia Tech gave me grit,” Witbeck says.

Fun fact: Despite his quiet hobby of raising bonsai trees, Witbeck also has ridden a motorcycle to 175 mph. “It was terrifying,” he says.
$altText Shaun Zhang, MSE 10

Shaun Zhang, MSE 10

Attorney | Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP

Zhang is a litigator and patent attorney at the nationally recognized law firm Goldman Ismail, where he counsels leading companies in the high-tech, biomedical, and industrial fields in matters involving complex technologies. He’s been recognized as a Rising Star by both Super Lawyers and IP Stars and a Promising Professional by the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers. Before his current role, he served as in-house IP counsel to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (formerly HP). As an attorney, he has made pro bono and community service an integral part of his identity. He was a team lead for HP’s Street Law program, which aimed to create pipelines to the legal profession for young people from underserved high schools. For the last several years, Zhang has mentored with Chicago Scholars, an organization that helps high school seniors from under-resourced neighborhoods through the college application process and beyond. In recognition of his achievements and dedication to community service, the Chicago Scholars Foundation named him to their 35 Under 35 list in 2019.

Zhang serves on numerous boards, including the Asian American Bar Association Law Foundation, the Junior Board for the Alzheimer’s Association, and recently as the president of the Chicago Council for the American Writers Museum. He attended law school at Georgetown, where he served as student body president and received the Dean’s Certificate for exceptional service to Georgetown.

“My philanthropic and service efforts can be traced back to my years at Tech, where I organized service projects through my fraternity,” says Zhang, who served as an SGA delegate at Tech and vice president of Sigma Pi.

Fun fact: Zhang graduated from Georgia Tech at age 18 and Georgetown Law at age 21. In seventh grade, he began taking college courses, and when he finished middle school, he chose to go directly to college. “That choice was one of the most impactful decisions of my life, and, for better or worse, forever made me the likely youngest person in the room,” Zhang says.
$altText Y. Shrike Zhang, PhD BME 13

Y. Shrike Zhang, PhD BME 13

Assistant Professor | Harvard Medical School Associate Bioengineer | Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Zhang’s research focuses on biofabrication put toward applications in generating structurally and functionally relevant tissues and their models. He has contributed hundreds of peer-reviewed publications in this area of research. In the laboratory, he endeavors to push the limits of 3D bioprinting to promote the capacity to engineer living systems at unprecedented ease and precision. He and his lab team are already recognized as leaders in the field. Zhang has delivered numerous international and national conference keynotes and lectures on bioprinting. In addition to his research, Zhang is a dedicated educator. During his tenure at Harvard Medical School, he has mentored or co-mentored more than 210 trainees at all levels from high school students to postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars.

“The engineering education at GT is excellent and transdisciplinary,” Zhang says.

Fun fact: Zhang is an avid birder. He was a pioneering birder in mainland China and has published in the journal of the American Birding Association.