Well, that's a wrap for 2023.
This year, we unveiled some amazing projects in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, including our new GTDC program for study abroad in Washington, D.C., a new minor in Health Policy and Economics, and the launch of two new research labs — just to name a few.
Our students excelled, and we celebrated 500+ graduates in the Spring and Fall Commencement ceremonies. We had a blast at homecoming, the Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony, and performances by our artists in residence. We networked and made new connections at SoccerCon, Humanizing STEMM, and the ATL is Global symposiums.
It might sound crazy, but your hard work and enthusiasm for higher education generated more than 200 stories, newsletters, and web pages on the impactful research, awesome alumni, and the busy students, faculty, and staff that kept our halls humming through 2023. Oh, and not to mention all of the Youtube videos and social media posts as well!
But, of all the articles and exciting events this year, these are the ones you clicked the most.
Check out IAC's top 10 stories from 2023!
Making Coding Education More Accessible for Blind and Visually Impaired Youth
There are many fun and exciting ways to engage young people with coding — animation, games, robotics. The only problem? They’re largely visual and not accessible for those who are blind or visually impaired.
A research team led by Brian Magerko, a professor of digital media at Georgia Tech, is working to solve this problem by adapting their innovative coding program EarSketch for blind and visually impaired youth.
It’s Tough Being a Mom in Academia, New Research Confirms
In one of the largest academic studies to date evaluating the impact of parenthood on scholarly productivity, a team of researchers, including School of Public Policy Chair Cassidy R. Sugimoto, has found that many moms in academia continue to take a bigger career hit than their male counterparts.
The findings come despite responses from men and women in academia in which both partners say they are doing roughly equal amounts of work caring for children, says Sugimoto, the School’s Tom and Marie Patton Chair.
AI Ethics and Policy Course Launched at Georgia Tech
Is it possible for an artificial intelligence (AI) system to be neutral or value-free? What does it mean for an algorithm to be just? How will AI affect privacy? Democracy? Inequality and social justice?
If any of these questions pique your interest, the new AI Ethics and Policy course in the School of Public Policy should be on your radar. Associate Professor Justin Biddle teachs the newly developed class, in which he prepares students to think critically about AI's impact on humanity and contribute to AI governance and policy.
Talking With André Brock About Black Twitter’s Fate on X
The online community that has given Black Americans an unmediated, and often powerful, voice in the day’s news and politics for more than a decade has been declared dead in more than one recent headline — a victim of numerous changes by the platform’s new owner, Elon Musk. But don’t count Black Twitter out just yet.
“These other places are trying hard. But I haven’t yet identified anything compelling enough to get me to check it regularly,” says André Brock, associate professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication and an expert on Black Twitter.
Georgia’s Accent is Fading, New Research Shows
Something is happening to Georgia's accent, and School of Modern Languages linguist Lelia Glass has some ideas about what’s going on.
In newly published research, Glass and her University of Georgia colleagues report that the Georgia accent rapidly declined with the Gen X generation and never recovered. Gen X's Millennial and Gen Z kids and grandkids never picked up the twang, according to the data. And while the accent still holds sway in rural reaches of the state, its days are numbered there as well, Glass says.
5 AI Ethics Concerns the Experts Are Debating
Just as social media exploded on the scene in the 2010s, artificial intelligence is having its moment. Decision-making algorithms have gone from science labs and sci-fi movies to everyday use in our homes, recommending movies, summarizing documents, and more. This technology comes with many benefits — but raises many ethical concerns as well.
“These are incredibly consequential decisions that have, in some cases, lifelong impacts on people,” says Justin Biddle, the director of Georgia Tech’s Ethics, Technology, and Human Interaction Center and an associate professor in the School of Public Policy. “So the stakes are very high.”
Delta Air Lines Sponsors US Passports for Georgia Tech Students
Delta Air Lines awarded Georgia Tech and five other prominent educational institutions in Atlanta a $51,000 sponsorship for a multi-university free passport program to help increase access to global education experiences and foster international perspectives among students.
The sponsorship was awarded to the Atlanta Global Research and Education Collaborative as part of Delta’s efforts to expand student access to global educational opportunities. It will fund 50 passports at each partner institution, totaling 300 passports during the 2023-24 academic year.
‘Barbenheimer’ and What We Can Learn From It
The simultaneous releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer in U.S. theaters generated an enormous buzz among movie fans enchanted by the seemingly dichotomous nature of the releases, film critics eager to dig into the art of both movies, and cultural critics interested in the baggage and promise inherent in both films.
We asked some of our experts to weigh in on the blockbuster event of the summer.
Lab-Grown Meat Was FDA Approved. Now What?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first lab-grown meat in the United States as safe for consumers. But what exactly is lab-grown meat, and how will it change the way we eat? Is this the end of factory farming as we know it, or a pipe dream that will take decades to come to fruition?
Bill Winders, a professor in the School of History and Sociology, is an expert on the global meat industry. He shares what we can expect from the lab-grown meat industry in coming years, the challenges it faces in scaling up, and some alternative options for sustainable consumption we can turn to in the meantime.
What is Black Feminist Theory?
Black feminist theory challenges assumptions and norms at the intersection of sexism and racism, says Sherie Randolph, an associate professor in the School of History and Sociology and a co-founder of the Black Feminist Think Tank.
Black women created it and practice it as a means to free not only Black people but everyone, Randolph adds. Watch her two-minute lecture on the topic.