Georgia Tech Research Podcast

What happens when cutting-edge artificial intelligence meets one of our most essential industries? In the latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast, host Stephanie Richter explores this fascinating intersection with two leading voices in the field. Walker Byrnes, Branch Head for AI, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics at the Georgia Tech Research Institute is joined by Ashley Peterson,...

Indoor farms often lack natural pollinators like birds and bees, forcing growers to hand-pollinate every flower. In this episode, Dr. Shreyas Kousik from Georgia Tech joins us to discuss his work at the intersection of control theory, robot motion planning, and data-driven design—and how these tools are being used to build a robot that can autonomously and safely pollinate indoor crops. 

GTRI Director Mike Gazarik, Ph. D., is the featured guest on the latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast. In his first 90 days as Director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Mike Gazarik, Ph. D., is building the foundation of his tenure on certain core ideas: mission, people, culture, speed, and impact. They form an early blueprint for how he sees GTRI, why he came back, and where...

Smith Sheehy, Vice President of Program Development and a board advisor for the Cybersecurity Association of the Food Industry, discusses the critical role of cybersecurity in the food industry. She emphasizes the importance of securing the digital nervous system of food production, comparing digital threats to biological pathogens. She advocates for integrating cybersecurity into new technologies...

This episode of The Georgia Tech Research podcast features Mary Catherine Foy, Director of Technical Services at Proxy Clean Products, discussing the critical role of water management in poultry houses. Foy emphasizes the importance of clean water for bird health, noting that birds consume twice as much water as feed. She highlights the vulnerability of water lines during the first two weeks of a...

The Georgia Tech Research Institute podcast, hosted by Georgia Tech staffers Fran and Salimah, discusses the Consortium for Helping Improve Research Participation (CHIRP). The podcast aims to increase research participation, particularly among underrepresented groups, including people with disabilities from diverse backgrounds. They highlight the importance of inclusive research, citing historical...

The latest Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast features Dr. Dana Dittoe ( www.linkedin.com/in/danadittoe/ ). This episode showcases a unique cross-university collaboration between the Agricultural Technology Research Program within the Georgia Tech Research Institute and the University of Wyoming. Dr. Dittoe, a Microbiology researcher and As...

The latest Georgia Tech Research Podcast episode for the Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) focuses on the Georgia Tech Diggle Lab ( www.thedigglelab.com ). This episode discusses cross-campus collaboration between GTRI's ATRP and GT's Diggle Lab.  The Lab's director is Dr. Steve Diggle (hence, the name).  The Diggle Lab is based in the Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection (par...

The most recent episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast highlights an ongoing research collaboration between GTRI and Cobb-Vantress, a global leader in poultry breeding and genetics. This highlights GTRI's mission-based efforts to "enhance state of Georgia economic development," as the poultry industry is the state's No. 1 economic engine.

GTRI will soon welcome the next cohort of its STING (Sparking Technology Innovation and Growth) program, a 10-week professional development experience designed to help employees better understand sponsor needs, define meaningful problems, and collaboratively develop solutions with real-world relevance. The upcoming STING 7.0 cohort will begin in Spring 2026. STING first launched in 2020. The progr...

The latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast focuses on a critical but often unseen component of Georgia's agricultural infrastructure: the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network (GPLN). Host Stephanie Richter, a senior research scientist in GTRI's ATAS laboratory, is joined by Dr. Louise Dufour-Zavala, executive director of GPLN, for a conversation on poultry health, disease prevention, em...

The latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast offers listeners a rare, behind-the-scenes look at XPAT through a conversation with the two researchers who led its development: Maxwell Tannenbaum and Dante Dimenichi of GTRI's Aerospace, Transportation, and Advanced Systems Laboratory (ATAS). XPAT, the X-band Polarization-Diverse AESA Testbed, was named GTRI's "Large Investment IRAD of the...

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) podcast celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, Nov. 10, 2025. GTRI employees who are Marines share their experiences, emphasizing the Corps' traditions and values. Key moments include the Birthday Ball, which reinforces Marine identity, and deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, highlighting the camaraderie and challenges faced....

This episode of the Georgia Tech Research podcast discusses PFAs, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, with Dr. Christopher Heist and Jordan Ash. PFAs, known as "forever chemicals," are synthetic compounds with strong carbon-fluorine bonds, making them highly persistent in the environment. They are ubiquitous in products like waterproofing, stain-resistant fabrics, and firefighting foam. The ep...

In the latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast, host Stephanie Richter speaks with Dr. Dimitri Mavris, Distinguished Regents Professor and Executive Director of Georgia Tech's Professional Master's in Applied Systems Engineering (PMASE) program. Now in his 46th year at Georgia Tech, Mavris reflects on his journey from student to professor and on the evolution of systems engineering as...

The most recent episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast features a conversation with Georgia Tech Human Resources (GTHR) leaders about the many benefits and programs available to Georgia Tech and GTRI employees. Host Scott McAtee, assistant director-HR business partner at GTRI, is joined by Kimberly Goler-Stubbs, Yolanda McDaniel, and Michelle Jordan-Dumas, who each oversee different aspects...

The latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast brings together two leaders from the Human Centered Engineering Division (HCED) at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI): Dr. Theresa Kessler, branch head of the Human Performance Branch, and Stuart Michelson, associate division chief. Together, they break down common misconceptions about human factors, explaining how careful attention t...

The latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast turns its focus to the people at the heart of cutting-edge defense and technology research. In this episode, Dr. Theresa Kessler, principal research scientist in the Human Centered Engineering Division (HCED) at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), shares how her team's work bridges the gap between technology and the humans who depend...

GTRI's independent research and development (IRAD) investment aims to develop and advance research that addresses national security and global challenges. The latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast brings listeners into the 2025 IRAD Extravaganza, an annual event where Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) researchers present their boldest ideas and emerging projects. This year, more...

In the most recent episode of the GTRI Tech Connect series, Principal Research Scientist Dr. Jon Duke discusses the groundbreaking Georgia All Payer Claims Database (APCD) project. APCD is a state initiative that centralizes health care claim data to improve access, quality, and cost of care for Georgians. Sponsored by the Georgia Office of Health Strategy and Coordination, the APCD aggregates ove...

In the latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast, GTRI Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) research scientist Stephanie Richter interviews Maeve Mobley and Alyssa Albino, two Georgia Tech students who interned at ATRP. Alyssa, a business major with a concentration in marketing; and Maeve, a literature, media, and communications major, worked to tell ATRP's story in its market...

In a special behind-the-scenes episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast, the usual hosts—Stephanie Richter and Eric Klein—become the guests. Hosted by summer intern Randeep Hora, a high school student with a keen interest in research and storytelling, this retrospective episode offers a candid, entertaining, and insightful look into the podcast's evolution, mission, and dynamic team.

In the latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast, the featured guest is Dr. Greg Badura, a senior research scientist in GTRI's Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory (EOSL). Greg talks about space imagery research and GTRI's evolving role in supporting space domain awareness. He also touches on his career, which spans both Earth observation and orbital object monitoring. The conversation als...

In a special episode of the Georgia Tech Research podcast commissioned by GTRI's SERV @ GTRI employee resource group (ERG), four GTRI professionals who are Army veterans share their personal journeys, reflections on Army history, and insights on how military service has informed their current roles. This episode is in commemoration of the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army.

The GTRI Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) Co-op program is highlighted in the latest episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast. Austen Monteith, a fourth-year chemistry student at Georgia Tech, discusses his work on extending the lifetime of peracetic acid (PAA) in chiller water and GTRI researcher Dr. Jie Xu's nanoparticle project. Kortney Martin, a biology student at Kennesaw S...