Making Black History
In keeping with the Georgia Tech's mission of developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition, we recognize and celebrate the impact of Tech’s Black students, faculty, staff, and alumni — at the Institute and beyond. This year, read new stories and voices of bold dreams, courage, conviction, and diverse and inclusive action.
Modern-Day Black History Makers — and Mentors
Faculty and staff members across the Institute share personal stories of those who have inspired and nurtured them along their paths to where they stand today.
2021 Black History Month Lecture
Earlier this month, activist, philosopher, scholar, and author Angela Davis delivered the keynote address at Tech's virtual 2021 Black History Month Lecture, sponsored by Georgia Tech IDEI and the African-American Student Union. Watch the recap.
Exploring Black History On and Off Campus
There are several sites right here on Georgia Tech’s campus — and many more nearby — that represent milestones from a continued path toward greater equity and inclusion.
Learn more and get involved in this year’s events and programs!
Our Research: 5 Reads and Recaps
🧬 Addressing the Need for Representation and Diversity — in Genetic Risk Assessments
The largest genome sequencing studies yet for African-Americans with inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease is being conducted by Greg Gibson and his colleague at Emory — but Gibson notes that more genetic risk assessments for underrepresented communities must be done to help deliver more equitable health care access and outcomes.
🐊 Study Finds Alligator Hearts Keep Beating, No Matter What
A new study finds that an alligator heart will not fibrillate when exposed to drastic temperature changes, unlike a rabbit (mammal) heart, which is critically vulnerable to heart trauma under those conditions. The research could help better understand how the heart works and what can cause a deadly arrhythmia – which fundamentally happens when the heart doesn’t pump blood correctly any longer.
🐛 Collective Worm and Robot Blobs Protect Individuals, Swarm Together
Individually, California blackworms live an unremarkable life eating microorganisms in ponds and serving as tropical fish food for aquarium enthusiasts. But together, tens, hundreds, or thousands of the centimeter-long creatures can collaborate to form a 'worm blob,' a shape-shifting living liquid that collectively protects its members from drying out and helps them escape threats such as excessive heat.
💛 We Heart Physics: Flavio Fenton on Cardiac Rhythms, Chaos, and a Mission to End Arrhythmias
He's a physicist, but Flavio Fenton has long been fascinated by the heart — and the electrical signals that keep it pumping. Fenton recounts how he pivoted from particle physics to researching cardiac rhythms, along the way helping to provide innovations in heart sound studies.
🚀 Celebrating the Mars 2020 Perseverance Landing
Last Thursday, a 1,025-kg rover the size of a small car landed on Mars. After a seven-month journey through space, a jetpack hovering a few meters over the surface of Mars lowered the rover on cables and gently dropped it as planned. Faculty, researchers, students, and alumni from the College of Sciences and the College of Engineering were featured in various panels and events in week-of celebration activities, the 2021 ExplOrigins Colloquium, and a Facebook Live event with alumni working at NASA JPL.
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