georgia tech theses and dissertations

Welcome to the ETD Submission System

Welcome to Georgia Tech's system for submitting your graduate thesis or dissertation. Undergraduate Research Option Theses are submitted here as well.

Once you have passed the final defense and satisfied the requirements of the committee, you are ready to submit your manuscript to the Thesis Office for review. This submission process is fully electronic, and is made through an online application developed and maintained by the Texas Digital Library, in conjunction with the Texas A&M, MIT, and UIUC.

To get started with your submission, click the link below. You will be asked to authenticate using your GT Account:

Your help can make things better...

Your feedback is very important to us; it allows us to continue to improve the system. Please feel free to notify us directly at [email protected] if you have any suggestions to increase the usability or effectiveness of this application. You can talk to the your Thesis Office regarding any issues that may arise during the submission process.

Please contact the Thesis Office if you have any questions.

Vireo 3.0.4 © 2024 Texas Digital Library . All Rights Reserved.

Thesis and Dissertation Policy

POLICY ON THE ADVISEMENT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AND THE APPOINTMENT OF THESIS ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Doctoral Theses

There are two committees that function to advise, approve, and conduct the final doctoral oral examination of the thesis and the student's knowledge of the field in which it lies.

The first committee is called the Thesis Advisory Committee or the Thesis Reading Committee and consists of at least three people, one of whom is the Thesis Advisor. This committee approves the research topic, provides advice and guidance during the research, and is charged with approving the thesis when the research is completed and presented as the doctoral thesis. When the Thesis Advisory Committee considers the thesis to be satisfactory, a recommendation is made to the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education for the appointment of the second committee, which is called the Final Doctoral Examination Committee, and it consists of at least five individuals.

The Thesis Advisory Committee consists of at least three members satisfying the following: (1) the thesis advisor shall be a member of the Graduate Thesis Faculty (which is defined below). If the thesis advisor is an Adjunct Faculty or part-time faculty member, then there must be a co-advisor who is a full-time member of the Graduate Thesis Faculty. (2) the majority of committee members shall be members of the Graduate Thesis Faculty. The Committee is approved by the Graduate Curriculum Committee or its equivalent in the academic program, recommended by the School Chair or the faculty director of graduate studies in the program, and appointed by the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education.

The Final Doctoral Examination Committee consists of at least five persons including at least three members of the Graduate Thesis Faculty. This committee always contains the Thesis Advisory Committee members and others as appropriate, who are recommended by the school or college to the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education for approval. The thesis advisor will serve as the chair of the Final Doctoral Examination Committee. At least one member of the Final Doctoral Examination Committee must be external to the unit in which the student is enrolled. A committee member is eligible to be the “external” member if they have a terminal degree and either 1) are a faculty member from a unit that is distinct from the unit in which the student is enrolled, or 2) are not employed by Georgia Tech and are active in research related to the topic of the dissertation.

It is recognized that some Schools and Colleges may wish to appoint a Thesis Advisory Committee that consists of five or more persons, and to recommend this committee to serve as the Final Doctoral Examination Committee. Where the constraints outlined above are met for both committees, this is permissible.

Master's Theses

For Master's Thesis advisement, the Thesis Advisory Committee consists of at least three members, the majority of whom must be members of the Graduate Thesis Faculty. The thesis advisor who serves as the Chair of the Thesis Advisory Committee must be a member of the Graduate Thesis Faculty. If the thesis advisor is an Adjunct Faculty or part-time faculty, then there must be a co-advisor who is a full-time member of the Graduate Thesis Faculty. The committee is recommended by the School Chair or the faculty director of graduate studies in the program and appointed by the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education.

Graduate Thesis Faculty

The Graduate Thesis Faculty of an academic program consist of the tenure-track faculty in the program plus any additional faculty (emeritus, academic, research and adjunct) who have been approved to serve as primary thesis advisors by the Graduate Curriculum Committee or equivalent governing faculty committee of that academic program based on the following primary qualifications and any additional criteria established by that academic program faculty:

• Active in research or scholarly work
• Experience or training in teaching or mentoring graduate students
• Terminal degree

In the case of interdisciplinary programs, the governing faculty committee for that program may choose to include both the Graduate Thesis Faculty of a student’s home school and the Graduate Thesis Faculty of the academic program when determining the membership of thesis committees.

The Office of Graduate Education will maintain the list of non-tenure track faculty approved to be Graduate Thesis Faculty, as provided to them by the academic units. The Office of Faculty Affairs maintains the list of tenure-track faculty; together these two lists comprise the Graduate Thesis Faculty. This Graduate Thesis Faculty designation is meant for the purposes of this policy only and is not a faculty rank. The designation alone does not carry with it any employment implications or rights as outlined by Georgia Tech Faculty governance. 

Note On Joint Degrees and Departments

For joint (inter-institutional) departments or degree programs, committees should have at least one faculty member from each institution, and a majority should be joint program faculty. Joint program faculty will have undergone a nomination and appointment process in the joint program to qualify for the right to advise students in the joint program.

POLICY ON PUBLICATION OF THESES

A policy of the Georgia Institute of Technology is that Doctoral and Master's Theses are openly published. Extraordinary delays are not to be allowed to protect the proprietary interests of sponsors.

It is anticipated that all Ph.D. theses and a significant fraction of master's theses be published in the open, refereed literature.

In all cases, doctoral research should meet the "Guidelines for Ph.D. Dissertation Research", and in no situation should these be compromised to allow for concealing important research results because of security classification or a sponsor's proprietary interest.

Students may routinely elect to have publication of their theses withheld for a period of one year, if recommended by the student's thesis advisor. Requests for extensions beyond one year must be justified and approved by the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education.

A Georgia Tech doctoral dissertation in its final form may not be used or have been used to meet the requirements for a separate degree at another institution.

GUIDELINES FOR PH.D. DISSERTATION RESEARCH

• The research should provide a useful educational experience for the student emphasizing creativity, independent action and learning, research methodology, and scholarly approach.
• The research must be relevant to the field in which the student is pursuing a degree.
• The contributions to knowledge must be original and as such, should represent a substantial addition to the fundamental knowledge of the field or a new and better interpretation of facts already known. The research must demonstrate creativity. Dissertations based on well-known principles, techniques, and models applied to situations only somewhat different from previous applications are not acceptable.
• The dissertation should contain clear statements about (a) the relevance and importance of the problem and (b) the significance, originality, and generality of the research results. The relationship of the research to the literature of the field should be described.
• The research should possess the major characteristics of the scientific method, namely objectivity and reproducibility. Assumptions should be clearly stated in both experimental and theoretical research.
• The dissertation should reflect a level of competence indicative of significant achievement beyond the master's level. Thus, the research is expected to draw directly upon advanced learning in the student's major field and demonstrate mastery of that knowledge.
• The dissertation must demonstrate understanding of the theory and methodology related to its main thrust. Further the dissertation should reflect knowledge of the application area.
• The research should result in at least one paper or creative work that is publishable through an external peer review process for the public.
• The dissertation should demonstrate a high degree of proficiency in written communication of research results. It should conform to the Institute's requirements as outlined in the Office of Graduate Studies and Research "Manual for the Preparation of Graduate Dissertations and Thesis".

This site uses cookies. Review the Privacy & Legal Notice . Email questions to [email protected]

Print Options

Send Page to Printer

Print this page.

Download Page (PDF)

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Student Research

As an undergraduate or graduate student at one of the foremost institutions in the nation, there are many reasons to delve into research. Research sparks critical thinking and creativity and hones the ability to post the right question, solve for the right answer, and dispel the messy, complex, and abstract thoughts of a lab notebook into an elegant argument. Research is the innate pursuit of progress and service and the catalyst of innovation. We work to enhance it.

Georgia Tech undergraduate students have many opportunities to participate in research with faculty across campus. The best way for you to begin your career in research is to review faculty web pages and working papers see who is doing research that you find exciting. Read more about getting started in undergraduate research .

Undergraduate students should also look for information on the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program website.  Graduate students should speak to their faculty advisor for information on the thesis, dissertation, or independent research and view the Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations website.

Georgia Tech Library

The Georgia Tech Library offers many resources for both undergraduate and graduate students. The School of Economics has a subject librarian who is available to offer advice on ways to research topics and give assistance with verification of bibliographic citations. He can also provide library orientations and give assistance in developing research assignments. Please visit the Georgia Tech Library website for further information.

Georgia Tech Library Digital Repository

All Georgia Tech theses and dissertations are available electronically through the Georgia Tech institutional repository. Theses and dissertations published 2004 to the present are openly accessible.  You can search for School of Economics papers in the repository or submit a paper or dissertation to the repository .

ECON 3161:  Econometric Analysis

Students enrolled in ECON 3161: Econometric Analysis are required to write a research paper using the knowledge learned in the course. If you would like to review past papers produced by our students, please see the Econometric Analysis Series page in the Georgia Tech Library Digital Repository dedicated to the course.

Policy Library

Publication of theses.

Electronic submission of theses and dissertations has been mandatory since spring 2004. All degree candidates must submit their final work electronically. Georgia Institute of Technology policy states that Doctoral and Master's Theses must be openly published and Georgia Tech is granted a non-exclusive license to distribute and preserve the materials for educational purposes. Students must submit the SMARTech Repository Agreement from when submitting all theses and dissertations. Upon the request of the student and with the consent of the student's advisor, an ETD can routinely be withheld from circulation for one year. Research arrangements that would preclude publication for an extended time or permanently for reasons of national security or a sponsor's proprietary interest, however, are not appropriate for dissertations or theses. It is anticipated that all doctoral work and a significant amount of master's research will be published in the open, refereed literature.

Electronic Thesis/Dissertation Submission

All theses and dissertations must be submitted electronically via the GT Library-Graduate Studies joint ETD web site at http://thesis.gatech.edu/ .

For more information about how you submit your thesis electronically, visit http://www.grad.gatech.edu/theses-dissertations-electronic-submission .

For general information about Theses and Dissertations, visit http://www.gradadmiss.gatech.edu/theses-dissertations

• Printer-friendly version

Skip to content

Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

Search form.

• You are here:

Dissertation and Graduation

Graduation forms and procedures.

In the beginning of the semester in which you wish to graduate you need to apply to graduate on line by filling out the  Online Application for Graduation  (be sure to click the "Graduate" tab to get the correct information). For the precise deadline see the  Official School Calendar .

Details of all the required forms and deadlines for submitting your thesis can be found on Georgia Tech's Office of Graduate Studies'  Theses and Dissertations webpage . In particular, you need to turn in the following. 1.   Doctoral Minor Form .  For "School/Program Graduate Coordinator" put the graduate chair Xingxing Yu. 2.   Admission to PhD Candidacy Form . For "School Chair" put the graduate chair Xingxing Yu, and for "Graduate Coordinator" put Chris Jankowski.  This form should be completed well before your dissertation defense.  3. After your defense, you need to have completed your Thesis Approval Form .  For "School Chair OR Graduate Coordinator" put the graduate chair Xingxing Yu. 4. In addition, there is the SMARTech Repository Agreement Form and the Dissertation Abstract to be submitted.

See the GT document checklist  for full details.

In general students need to be registered for the semester in which they wish to graduate; however, if they have already satisfied all degree requirements, then they may be exempted from registration by filing out the  Enrollment Waiver Form . For more details and further info see  Requirements for the Doctoral Degree  described in the  GT Catalogue .

Defense of the Dissertation

The final official event in the PhD program is the defense of the thesis, which is also known as the final oral exam. Please refer to Georgia Tech's  Office of Graduate Studies  for official rules. In the School of Math defense takes place in the student's last semester, two weeks or more before the dissertation is due (in final form!) in the Graduate Office, and it should be preceded by several officially registered events: Comprehensive Exams, Approval of Minor, and Admission to Candidacy.

The Dissertation Committee and the defense should be approved by the School's  Director of Graduate Studies  (DGS) two weeks in advance and then submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies.  At this time, a copy of the dissertation is placed on public display in the faculty lounge, and the time and place of the defense are announced to the public. The Dissertation Committee consists typically of five members including the dissertation advisor and at least one academic member from outside the School of Mathematics. The Committee is selected by the advisor in consultation with DGS.

The student takes responsibility for announcing the dissertation defense by going to our seminar page , clicking "Add Seminar" and then selecting "Dissertation Defense" as the appropriate seminar series and completing the page.  The student must also handle the room reservations, deliver copies of the dissertation, etc. The student and/or his/her advisor, must make a copy of the thesis available to all members of the Dissertation Committee at least two weeks before the defense date, or as otherwise agreed with the Committee's members.

The final defense is a public event, and after a presentation of the dissertation everyone is invited to ask questions of the candidate. The public is then dismissed and the Committee continues to ask probing questions. Eventually the candidate leaves the room and the Committee deliberates, then announces the decision. The Committee reports the result of the defense to the DGS and to the Vice Provost. The dissertation is archived electronically.

Forms to Bring to the Defense

The student will need to request that the committee complete the Thesis Approval Form upon a successful defense. Furthermore the student should bring to the exam a copy of the  Dissertation Defense Survey   (here is the new Dissertation Defense Survey beginning in Fall 2023 ) for each committee member. The student's advisor will collect these forms at the conclusion of the exam and hand them to DGS. Committee members who participate in the exam via remote video conferencing may fill out the form online and email it to DGS.

Exit Survey

As new PhD recipients of the School of Math, you are asked to please fill out our  PhD Exit Survey  and send it to the graduate director. The replies to these questions will be tabulated anonymously for internal evaluation of our PhD programs, while the individual identity of the respondents will be held in confidence by the Graduate Director.

George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Master's thesis process.

The Graduate Committee meets once a month to review and approve academic student matters; therefore, please plan accordingly. 

Process Initiation

Step 1. Identify an advisor, a thesis topic, and your thesis reading committee

• You are encouraged to talk to various faculty members regarding possible thesis topics and to begin this process immediately upon embarking on a degree program. Composition of your reading committee should be decided in conjunction with your advisor.
• The committee consists of at least three members . The advisor or one of the co-advisors must be a tenure-track (academic) Woodruff School faculty member, or a Woodruff School research faculty member with an earned doctorate. Two members of the M.S. Thesis Reading Committee must be tenure-track (academic faculty with primary or joint appointments in the Woodruff School). All committee members must have an earned doctorate or equivalent professional experience.

Step 2. Submit the Request for Approval of Master's Thesis Topic Form

• Complete the Request for Approval of Master's Thesis Topic form in the ME Graduate Handbook. Please go to the following link and follow the online instructions:

         Request for Approval

• Once the form is submitted, your faculty advisor will receive an automated email requesting a short justification for the composition of your reading committee. 

Please Note: If a proposed member is not a Georgia Tech faculty member, a CV of that proposed member must also accompany the request. Please email the CV to your Staff Academic Advisor in the Office of Student Services.

Step 3. Receive approval from the Woodruff School Graduate Committee and then obtain signatures of remaining committee members

• After the Woodruff School Graduate Committee approves your master's thesis reading committee and your Request for Approval of Master's Thesis Topic, you will receive an email from the Office of Student Services.
• Please log into eSignature.gatech.edu to create an account with DocuSign. Once logged into DocuSign, complete the Request for Approval of Master’s Thesis Topic electronic form.

Please be sure to list Dr. Andrei Fedorov as the School Chair and your Staff Academic Advisor as the Graduate Coordinator. An email will send automatically requesting the required signatures. Everyone will receive a final, signed copy of the form.

Change in Thesis Title or Abstract

If there are any changes in your Thesis Title or Abstract, please complete a revised Request for Approval of Master's Thesis Topic   form via DocuSign. Indicate on the form that this is only a change in title, abstract, or both. You and your advisor must sign the form. Changes to a master's thesis title or abstract are handled administratively and need not go to the Woodruff School Graduate Committee for approval.

Change in Thesis Reading Committee

If there are any changes to your Master's Thesis Reading Committee, it must be submitted to the Office of Student Services on a revised Request for Approval of Master's Thesis Topic form. Please follow the above instructions in steps 2 and 3 in order to have the new reading committee member(s) approved. If the person is not a Georgia Tech faculty member, please email the CV to your Staff Academic Advisor in the Office of Student Services. 

Writing the Master's Thesis

The purpose of the master's thesis is to further your educational development by requiring you to plan, conduct, and report an organized and systematic study of importance. In keeping with the Woodruff School’s policy of educating both practicing and research engineers, a thesis might range from a design project to a fundamental research investigation. Although you may propose a thesis topic and seek an advisor, the usual procedure is for you to work on a problem suggested by a faculty member. If you are employed on a sponsored research project, the thesis will usually be derived from this work.

Suggested Content of the Thesis

A master's thesis should present information in four steps:

• Describe a problem or question
• Motivate the problem or question
• Provide a solution to that problem or an answer to the question
• Discuss or validate the solution or answer.

The first two of these steps provide introductory information that generally fills one or two chapters of the final document. The information provided in the third and fourth steps is governed by the scope of the project and by the kind of documentation that is deemed appropriate to the project. An experimental project, for example, is likely to require different kinds of evidence than might a redesign project. Such differences in the standards for evidence will directly impact the length of the final thesis, and they will impact the kinds of illustrations that are selected for inclusion in the final document.

Next is a list of the most common format headings for a master's thesis. Under each heading, we list the kinds of information typically presented under that heading. These information listings are necessarily schematic. Since thesis documents will vary according to project scope and evidentiary standards, you should view the listings as a point of departure from which to begin your own work.

On one sheet of paper, list the problem(s) addressed by the project and the solutions that are reported in the thesis.

Introduction

Describe the need or question that is addressed in the project. Also, explain the benefits of addressing the need or answering the question, and explain briefly what solution you have developed.

Describe the background of the need or question, addressing some combination of the following:

• A review of published literature
• A survey of existing products or patents
• A survey of industrial efforts to address the problem or need

Explain your strategy for addressing the problem, including theory and comparative benchmarks, as required. Describe the specific steps you have taken to address the problem, such as experimentation, computer modeling or simulation, and design and evaluation.

Results and Discussion

Present, explain, and evaluate the results obtained on each component of the project.

Summarize your conclusions and outline the questions raised or left open by your project.

Presentation

Step 1. Provide the completed written thesis to your committee members

• Master's students who are preparing a thesis must give an oral presentation of their work. This presentation is not a formal defense. Rather, approval of the thesis is based upon the written document. The presentation may be scheduled only after the student’s thesis advisor has reviewed the completed written document and considers the thesis to be satisfactory.

Step 2. Schedule the M.S. Thesis Oral Presentation and submit the Thesis Presentation Announcement to the Office of Student Services

• Poll the members of your reading committee to establish a date and time for the presentation. Reserve a room for your oral presentation.  Submit your announcement at the following link:

         Submit your announcement

• This step must be completed at least two weeks (14 days) before the presentation. The announcement will be posted to the Woodruff School calendar.

Step 3. Submit Final Forms

• The Thesis/Proposal/Dissertation Assessment form is now available in Qualtrics . Each committee member must complete the Qualtrics form at the conclusion of the presentation. The form will be routed to the Office of Student Services for further processing.
• After your presentation, complete the Certificate of MS Thesis Approval form via DocuSign. Please list Dr. Andrei Fedorov as the Graduate Coordinator/Staff Administrator. Your committee will sign off on your form via the email request. Please email a copy of the completed signed form to your Staff Academic Advisor once you receive it back.
• The committee chair will submit the forms to the Office of Student Services. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE

You must be registered during the semester in which the final presentation occurs, unless an Enrollment Waiver is requested and approved.

Enrollment Waiver

Submitting the Master's Thesis

Format Check

You are urged to have your thesis format checked before making the final copies for your committee. To make an appointment to have the format of your thesis checked, please call the Graduate Thesis Office (Savant Building, Room 318) at 404-894-3092, or e-mail [email protected] .

There are deadlines for the initial format check that is one week before the final submission deadline. There is a recommended deadline, but initial format checks will not be done in the week leading up to the thesis deadline; only final submissions will be checked that week.

• The specific requirements for the format, publication, and distribution of the thesis are explained here:

         Theses & Dissertations Resources

Electronic Submission of Theses and Dissertations

Paper copies should be given to your advisor and the members of your reading committee, unless the members request a different format.

• Please submit your theses electronically to the Graduate Studies office:

         Electronic Submission

Enter the requested information about yourself and your thesis/dissertation and upload your thesis or dissertation in PDF format. Once you submit the documents electronically, an e-mail notice will be sent to your committee members.

The Thesis Approval Page will be the second page in your thesis/dissertation, but it will not show any signatures. List the committee members who approved your thesis or dissertation, but remove the signature lines and be certain you type in the date, which is the date that the final draft of your thesis/dissertation was approved.

The Graduate Office will check your electronic document and let you know about any corrections you must make. Make the corrections and resubmit the corrected file. If the Graduate Office has all the related documents, your thesis/dissertation will be approved and they will notify the Registrar's Office that you are eligible to graduate. Once you have graduated, your thesis/dissertation will be released for electronic circulation.

• < Back to MS Degree Program

Suggested knowledgebase articles:

Knowledgebase existing student faqs theses & dissertations, articles in this category, are bound copies of the thesis required for the final submission of the thesis.

Georgia Institute of Technology only accepts electronic copies of theses and dissertations. They should be uploaded on the ETD (Electronic Thesis and Dissertation) website.

Do you proofread for grammar and spelling mistakes?

No, the Graduate Thesis office only checks to see if the format which is outlined in the thesis manual is strictly adhered to. The Language Institute and the Communication Center at Georgia Tech both ...

Do you provide bound copies of the thesis/dissertation?

It is your responsibility to provide paper copies if your advisor or department would like one.  The Office of Graduate Education suggests Staples, FedEx Office Print & Ship and PhDBookBinding.com...

Does Georgia Tech retain any rights to my thesis and dissertation once it is uploaded via the ETD website?

Georgia Institute of Technology does not retain any rights to your thesis or dissertation and does not own the copyright to any work that you submit via the ETD website. Our ETD/SmarTech system is a d...

How will I know when I have met all qualifications for graduation?

The Registrar's Office is responsible for clearing you to graduate. They will update your records on DegreeWorks as soon as all requirements have been fulfilled and cleared. You should monitor this at...

I turned in my thesis/dissertation last week, but the web still says, “lacks thesis.” Is something wrong?

Depending on when during the semester you submit your thesis or dissertation to the Graduate Education Office, DegreeWorks may show a status of "Lacks Thesis" for several weeks.  Once your thesis or d...

If a committee member is unable to sign my certificate of approval in a timely manner, how can I get their signature?

All documents must be signed using DocuSign.  If one of your committee members is unable to sign your Certificate of Approval you can assign someone else to sign on their behalf.  Paper or fax signatu...

Is the Certificate of Approval form the only form required for completion of my thesis requirements?

No.  All required forms can be found here.A Thesis Checklist providing greater detail can be found on the Theses and Diss

My thesis was approved. Will you issue a letter of completion?

The Registrar’s Office is the only office allowed to issue a Letter of Completion. This is issued once you have satisfied all requirements for graduation including your thesis.  Please visit https://r...

When will I see my Admission to Candidacy noted in my records?

If you submit your Admission to Candidacy via Docusign, the Office of Graduate Education makes every effort to process it within in 48 hours. See the Theses and Dissertations page for more information...

When should I submit my Online Application to Graduate (OAG)?

Your Online Application for Graduation (OAG) must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar by the close of registration for the term in which you are applying to graduate. Deadlines vary by term; p...

How do I submit an Online Application to Graduate (OAG))?

The Online Application to Graduate is handled by the Registrar's Office. For information on completing this process, please visit their website.

How do I reactivate my Online Application to Graduate (OAG)?

The Online Application to Graduate (OAG) is handled by the Registrar's Office. For information on completing this process, please visit their website.

Will I have to pay an additional fee when I reactivate my Online Application to Graduate (OAG)?

There is no fee associated with reactivating your Online Application to Graduate (OAG), which is handled by the Registrar's Office. For information on completing this process, please visit their websi...

Title: Study of demand models and price optimization performance

Associated Organization(s)

Collections, supplementary to, permanent link, date issued, resource type, resource subtype, rights statement.

• University Libraries

Q. Georgia Tech Theses and Dissertations (available through SMARTech)

• 4 Audio Books
• 3 Citations
• 6 Collection Development
• 3 Data Management Services
• 328 Databases
• 9 Discover Search
• 7 Dissertations & Theses
• 7 EBSCOhost
• 5 GIL-Find (Catalog)
• 14 Library Accounts
• 31 Library Information & Services
• 4 New York Times
• 48 Newspapers & Magazines
• 6 Off-Campus Access
• 7 Scholarly Communications
• 22 Search Strategies

Answered By: eTeam Support Last Updated: Sep 22, 2023     Views: 90

Georgia Tech Theses and Dissertations is a collection of Original work by students of the Georgia Institute of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy or a Master of Science. Included in the database are Georgia Tech documents available from 2003-present and Institute of Paper Science and Technology documents available from 1931-2004. Some documents are available online; the record for an individual document is always viewable, and will indicate the availability of the document. In addition to the search field, the database can be browsed by title, author, subject, and date. RSS and e-mail subscriptions are available for notification of new additions. For more information about Georgia Tech Theses and Dissertations, see here .

Friendly URL : https://georgiasouthern.libguides.com/db_67870792

Instructions for creating permalinks (for Folio, syllabuses, etc.)

Maximum Concurrent Users: Unlimited

For more information,  Ask Us!

• Share on Facebook

Was this helpful? Yes 1 No 0

Comments (0)

Can't find the answer?

Contact your  Library Liaison

Libraries  Contact Us  page

• Audio Books (4)
• Citations (3)
• Collection Development (6)
• Data Management Services (3)
• Databases (328)
• Discover Search (9)
• Dissertations & Theses (7)
• eBooks (15)
• EBSCOhost (7)
• GALILEO (4)
• GIL-Find (Catalog) (5)
• Library Accounts (14)
• Library Information & Services (31)
• New York Times (4)
• Newspapers & Magazines (48)
• Off-Campus Access (6)
• Printing (2)
• Scholarly Communications (7)
• Search Strategies (22)

REAR Lab: Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research

Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

On-campus users at Georgia Tech may access full-text versions of most theses and dissertations by following the links below. If you would like accessible versions of these documents, please email rearlab@ null gatech.edu .

Misch, J. (2020) Mechanical performance characterization of manual wheelchairs using robotic wheelchair operator with intermittent torque-based propulsion. Dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Ryan, C. (2020) Designing an ergonomic infant-to-toddler rocker based on anthropometric data. Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Obrien, John. (2019) System design of an activity tracker to encourage behavioral change among those at risk of pressure ulcers. Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Pardue, E. (2019) Using anthropometric measurements to design ergonomic infant and toddler gear. Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Lin, J. (2016) The influence of wheelchair mechanical parameters and human physical fitness on propulsion effort.  Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Cheng, P. (2015) A smartphone application that informs weight shifting behavior to promote healthy tissue.  Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Husack, M. (2015) Aiding Lower-Limb amputees in traversing uneven terrain through Product Design. Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Calle,T., Andres, E. (2014) Development of a control system to determine influence of rolling resistance in manual wheelchair dynamics and mechanical efficiency. Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Wendland, D. (2013) The Acute effects of physical activity on the stiffness of the plantar skin of people with and without diabetes. Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technoloy, Atlanta, GA.

Choi, Y. (2010). The impact of input during the design of an assistive technology product (Abstract) . Dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Eicholtz, M. (2010). Design and analysis of an inertial properties measurement device for manual wheelchairs . Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Sonenblum, S. E. (2009). Biomechanical responses to seated full body tilt and their relationship to clinical application (Abstract) . Dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Bui, T. (2007). Upper Extremity Robotic Therapy for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury . Master’s Project, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.

Pipkin, L. (2007). The Effect of Model Design, Cushion Construction, and Thin Pressure Mats on Pressure Measurement . Master’s Project, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.

Meruani, Azeem. (2006) Tweel TM Technology Tires for Wheelchairs and Instrumentation for Measuring Everyday Wheeled Mobility (Abstract) . Master’s Thesis. Georgia Institute of Technology. If you are logged in to the Georgia Tech network, you can download the full-text version of Tweel TM Technology Tires for Wheelchairs .

Cope, C. D. (2006). Development of a concept wheelchair for the elderly . Master’s Project, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.

Kitchen, James Patrick. Design of Wheelchair Seating Systems for Users with High-Tone Extensor Thrust (Abstract) . Master’s Thesis. Georgia Institute of Technology. 2006. If you are logged in to the Georgia Tech network, you can download the full text of Design of Wheelchair Seating Systems .

Patrangenaru, Vlad Petru. Development of Dynamic Seating System for High-Tone Extensor Thrust (Abstract) . Master’s Thesis. Georgia Institute of Technology. 2006. If you are logged in to the Georgia Tech network, you can download the full text of Development of Dynamic Seating

Prabhakara, Sandeep. Acoustic Imaging of Bruises . Master’s Thesis. Georgia Institute of Technology. 2006. Abstract / Full Thesis

Meruani, Azeem. Tweel TM Technology Tires for Wheelchairs and Instrumentation for Measuring Everyday Wheeled Mobility . Master’s Thesis. Georgia Institute of Technology. 2006. Abstract / Full Thesis

Linking to Library Resources

• Database Friendly URLs
• Journals & Holdings
• Accounting Research Manager 2.0
• ACM Digital Library
• ACS Publications
• African American Biographical Database
• AgEcon Search
• American Race Relations: Global Perspectives, 1941-1996
• Ancestry Library Edition
• AnthroSource
• ArchiveGrid
• Artstor @ JSTOR
• Artstor Digital Library
• ASCE Library (American Society of Civil Engineers)
• ASM Handbooks Online
• ASTM Standards in Building Codes (at MADCAD.com)
• Bepress Digital Commons
• Berg Fashion Library
• Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) | Répertoire international de la littérature de l'art (RILA)
• Biomed Central
• Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
• Cambridge Core
• CAS SciFinderⁿ (formerly SciFinder Scholar)
• Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)
• Census Data (U.S. Census Bureau)
• Choice Reviews
• Chronicle of Higher Education
• Civil Engineering Database (CEDB)
• Civil Rights Digital Library
• Cochrane Library
• Congress.gov
• C-SPAN Video Library
• Credo Reference
• CQ Researcher (Plus Archive)
• Digital Commons
• Digital Library of Georgia
• Digital Theatre+
• Discover @ Georgia Southern
• Discover @ Georgia Southern (New User Interface Beta)
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
• DSM Library
• Duke University Press Journals
• Ebook Central
• EBSCOhost Databases
• EBSCO Open Dissertations
• EDGAR (SEC Filings and Forms)
• EDSITEment! (National Endowment for the Humanities)
• Educator Resources from the National Archives
• Emerald Insight
• ERIC (at www.eric.ed.gov)
• ERIC (education) (at OCLC)
• Espacenet (European Patent Office)
• European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750
• Explora Databases
• Fashion Snoops
• Films On Demand
• FRASER (Federal Reserve Archive)
• FRED (Federal Reserve Board Economic Data)
• Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)
• Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints (formerly Opposing Viewpoints in Context)
• Gale Literary Index
• Gale Literature Criticism (formerly Contemporary Literary Criticism)
• Georgia - Attorney General's Office
• Georgia Census Data
• Georgia Code
• Georgia Data (Carl Vinson Institute of Government)
• Georgia Department of Archives & History
• Georgia Department of Education
• Georgia General Assembly (Legislative Services)
• Georgia Government Publications
• Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive
• Georgia Knowledge Repository (GKR)
• Georgia Legislative Documents
• Georgia Official and Statistical Register: "Georgia's Blue Book"
• Georgia State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Link to a Resource

Link to a result list.

• GeorgiaDATA (Carl Vinson Institute of Government)
• Georgia.gov
• GIL-Find (Catalog)
• Google Scholar
• govinfo (GPO's Federal Digital System)
• Grant Forward (formerly IRIS)
• HathiTrust Digital Library
• History Cooperative
• IGI Global Book & Reference Collection
• Immigrations, Migrations and Refugees: Global Perspectives, 1941-1996
• IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library (International Music Score Library Project)
• Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
• Journal of Commerce (formerly JOC.com)
• Journal Citation Reports (JCR)
• Knovel Transportation Engineering Collection
• LearningExpress Library
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• Library of Congress Teacher Resources
• Magill's Literary Annual
• Math: Wolfram Functions Site
• Merck Manual Databases
• Mergent Intellect (formerly Hoover's Online)
• National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Virtual Library
• National Science Digital Library
• Naxos Music Library
• New Georgia Encyclopedia
• New York Times Online
• Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals
• NoveList K-8 Plus & NoveList Plus
• O*NET OnLine
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Oxford Databases
• Oxford English Dictionary
• Oxford University Press Books or Journals
• Patent Public Search (USPTO)
• PBS LearningMedia
• Physical Review Online Archive (PROLA)
• Project Muse
• ProQuest Databases
• ProQuest Research Companion
• PubMed (with MEDLINE)
• PubMed Central (PMC)
• S&P CIP NetAdvantage
• SAE Mobilus
• SAGE Journals
• SAGE Research Methods Video
• Salem Press
• ScienceDirect
• SelectedWorks Profiles
• SIRS Discoverer
• Social Explorer
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
• Statistics: CAUSEWeb
• Swank Digital Campus
• Tax Code, Regulations, and Official Guidance (IRS)
• Taylor & Francis Online
• Technical Report Archive & Image Library (TRAIL)
• The Times Digital Archive, 1785-2014
• Thesaurus Linguae Graecae
• ThomasNet (Thomas Register)
• Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (USPTO)
• U.S. Congressional Serial Set (formerly ProQuest Congressional)
• U.S. Copyright Office (Library of Congress)
• UGA Dissertations & Theses Database
• UlrichsWeb: Global Serials Directory
• University of Chicago Press Journals
• University of Michigan Press Ebook Collection
• USA.gov (The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal)
• Value Line Investment Survey (Standard Edition)
• Visible Body
• VitalLaw (formerly Cheetah)
• Web of Science
• Westlaw Campus Research
• Wiley Online Library
• Women's Studies Manuscript Collections from the Schlesinger Library: Voting Rights, National Politics, and Reproductive Rights
• World Digital Library (WDL)
• World Protest and Reform Movements: Global Perspectives, 1945-1996
• World Shakespeare Bibliography
• WorldCat (at OCLC FirstSearch)
• WorldCat (at worldcat.org)
• WorldCat Dissertations and Theses
• Yahoo Finance
• ABI/INFORM Collection (ProQuest)
• Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost)
• Accounting, Tax & Banking Collection (ProQuest)
• ACM Digital Library (Association for Computing Machinery)
• ACS Publications (American Chemical Society)
• Advanced Placement Source (EBSCOhost)
• Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Database (ProQuest)
• AGRICOLA (EBSCOhost)
• Agricultural & Environmental Science Collection (ProQuest)
• Agriculture Science Database (ProQuest)
• Alt HealthWatch (EBSCOhost)
• American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 1
• American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 2
• American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 3
• American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 4
• American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 5
• American National Biography (Oxford)
• Arts & Humanities Database (ProQuest)
• ASCE Library
• Asian & European Business Collection (ProQuest)
• ASTM Standards in Building Codes (MADCAD.com)
• ATLA Historical Monographs Collection: Series 1 (EBSCOhost)
• ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials (EBSCOhost)
• Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC)
• Atlanta Constitution, 1868-1984 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
• Australia & New Zealand Database (ProQuest)
• Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) | Répertoire international de la littérature de l'art (RILA)
• Biological Science Database (ProQuest)
• BioMed Central
• Book Collection: Nonfiction (EBSCOhost)
• Bulloch County Newspapers
• Business and Economy (U.S. Census Bureau)
• Business Market Research Collection (ProQuest)
• Business Source Complete (EBSCOhost)
• Business Source Complete (Business Searching Interface)
• Canadian Business and Current Affairs Complete (CBCA) (ProQuest)
• Canadian Newsstream (ProQuest)
• Career & Technical Education Database (ProQuest)
• Checkpoint (formerly RIA Checkpoint)
• Child Development & Adolescent Studies (EBSCOhost)
• Children's Core Collection (EBSCOhost)
• CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost)
• Civil Rights and Social Justice
• Communication & Mass Media Complete (EBSCOhost)
• Computer Science Database (ProQuest)
• Computer Source (EBSCOhost)
• Consumer Health Complete (EBSCOhost)
• Consumer Health Database (ProQuest)
• Continental Europe Database (ProQuest)
• Coronavirus Research Database (ProQuest)
• Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text (EBSCOhost)
• Criminal Justice Database (ProQuest)
• Digital Commons@Georgia Southern
• Dissertations and Theses A&I (ProQuest)
• Dissertations and Theses Global (ProQuest)
• Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database (ProQuest)
• East & South Asia Database (ProQuest)
• East Europe, Central Europe Database (ProQuest)
• eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost)
• Ebook Central (ProQuest)
• eBook Community College Collection (EBSCOhost)
• eBook High School Collection (EBSCOhost)
• eBook K-8 Collection (EBSCOhost)
• eBook Public Library Collection (EBSCOhost)
• eBooks on EBSCOhost (EBSCOhost)
• EBSCO Databases
• EBSCOhost Espanol (EBSCOhost)
• EconLit with Full Text (EBSCOhost)
• Economic Census (U.S. Census Bureau)
• Education Database (ProQuest)
• EEBO: Early English Books Online (ProQuest)
• Engineering Database (ProQuest)
• Engineering Source (EBSCOhost)
• Environment Complete (EBSCOhost)
• Environmental Science Database (ProQuest)
• ERIC (EBSCOhost)
• Ethnic Diversity Source (EBSCOhost)
• European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750 (EBSCOhost)
• Explora for Elementary
• Explora for High School
• Explora for Middle School
• Explora for Public Libraries
• Exploring Race in Society
• Films on Demand
• Fuente Académica Premier (EBSCOhost)
• Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (EBSCOhost)
• Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Index (EBSCOhost)
• GeoRef (ProQuest)
• Georgia - Attorney General's Office
• Georgia Official and Statistical Register: "Georgia's Blue Book"
• Georgia Southern University Electronic Theses & Dissertations (at Digital Commons @ Georgia Southern)
• Georgia Tech Theses and Dissertations (available through SMARTech)
• georgia.gov
• Global Breaking Newswires (ProQuest)
• Global Newsstream (ProQuest)
• govinfo (GPO's Federal Digital System)
• GreenFILE (EBSCOhost)
• Gun Regulation and Legislation in America
• Health & Medical Collection (ProQuest)
• Health Source: Consumer Edition
• Health Source: Nursing / Academic Edition (EBSCOhost)
• Healthcare Administration Database (ProQuest)
• Historical Abstracts with Full Text (EBSCOhost)
• History Reference Source
• History Reference Source (EBSCOhost)
• Hospitality & Tourism Complete (EBSCOhost)
• IEEE Xplore Digital Library
• IGI Global Book & Reference Collection
• Images (EBSCOhost)
• India Database (ProQuest)
• Information Science & Technology Abstracts (ISTA) (EBSCOhost)
• International Bibliography of Theater & Dance with Full Text (IBTD) (EBSCOhost)
• International Newsstream (ProQuest)
• IOP Science
• Latin America & Iberia Database (ProQuest)
• Legal Information Reference Center
• Legal Source (EBSCOhost)
• LGBTQ+ Rights
• Libby (see instructions for OverDrive)
• Library Science Database (ProQuest)
• Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text (LISTA) (EBSCOhost)
• Linguistics Database (ProQuest)
• Literary Reference Source Plus (EBSCOhost)
• Literature Online Premium (LION) (ProQuest Platform)
• Los Angeles Times (ProQuest Newspapers)
• Magill's Literary Annual
• MAS Complete (EBSCOhost)
• MasterFILE Complete (EBSCOhost)
• Materials Science Database (ProQuest)
• MedicLatina (EBSCOhost)
• MEDLINE with Full Text (EBSCOhost)
• Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print (EBSCOhost)
• Merck Manual (Consumer Version)
• Merck Manual (Professional Version)
• Mergent Intellect (formerly Hoover's Online)
• Middle East & Africa Database (ProQuest)
• Middle Search Plus (EBSCOhost)
• Military Database (ProQuest)
• MLA Directory of Periodicals (EBSCOhost)
• MLA International Bibliography (EBSCOhost)
• New York Times (ProQuest Newspapers)
• New York Times Online (full access for Georgia Southern students, faculty, and staff)
• News & Newspapers (ProQuest)
• Newspaper Source Plus (EBSCOhost)
• Newswires (EBSCOhost)
• NoveList K-8 Plus
• NoveList Plus
• Nursing & Allied Health Database (ProQuest)
• Open Society Justice Initiative
• Oxford Art Online (formerly Grove Art Online)
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)
• Oxford Music Online
• Oxford University Press Books
• Oxford University Press Journals
• Peace Research Abstracts (EBSCOhost)
• Philospher's Index (EBSCOhost)
• Points of View Reference Source (EBSCOhost)
• Political Science Database (ProQuest)
• Primary Search (EBSCOhost)
• Professional Development Collection (EBSCOhost)
• ProQuest Central (ProQuest)
• ProQuest One Literature
• PsycARTICLES (EBSCOhost)
• Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCOhost)
• Psychology Database (ProQuest)
• PsycINFO (EBSCOhost)
• PsycTESTS (EBSCOhost)
• Public Health Database (ProQuest)
• Publicly Available Content Database (ProQuest)
• Race Relations Abstracts (EBSCOhost)
• Regional Business News (EBSCOhost)
• Religion & Philosophy Collection (EBSCOhost)
• Religion Database (ProQuest)
• Research Library (ProQuest)
• RILM Abstracts of Music Literature with Full Text (EBSCOhost)
• S&P CIP NetAdvantage
• SAGE Research Methods Video: Practical Research and Academic Skills
• Science and Technology Collection (EBSCOhost)
• Science Database (ProQuest)
• Science Reference Source
• Science Reference Source (EBSCOhost)
• Serials Directory
• Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
• Social Science Database (ProQuest)
• SocINDEX with Full Text (EBSCOhost)
• Sociological Collection (EBSCOhost)
• Sociology Database (ProQuest)
• SPORTDiscus with Full Text (EBSCOhost)
• Taylor & Francis Online
• Teacher Reference Center (EBSCOhost)
• Telecommunications Database (ProQuest)
• TOPICsearch (EBSCOhost)
• Turkey Database (ProQuest)
• U.S. Newsstream (ProQuest)
• UGA Dissertations & Theses Database
• UK & Ireland Database (ProQuest)
• University of Michigan Press eBook Collection
• USA.gov (The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal)
• Violence & Abuse Abstracts (EBSCOhost)
• Vocational & Career Collection (EBSCOhost)
• Wall Street Journal (ProQuest Newspapers)
• Washington Post (ProQuest Newspapers)
• Women's Studies Manuscript Collections from the Schlesinger Library:  Voting Rights, National Politics, and Reproductive Rights

To create a shareable link to a specific resource in  Georgia Tech Theses and Dissertations (available through SMARTech) , open the database using the link on the Libraries'  A-Z Database List , locate the resource, then:

1. From the detailed record for the specific resource, copy the  URL  that appears in the  Permanent Link  section of the page.

Share this link with Georgia Southern students, faculty, and staff. This link should work on or off campus.

For more information,  Ask Us!

Georgia Tech Theses and Dissertations (available through SMARTech)  does not support linking to a result list.

• << Previous: Georgia State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
• Next: GeorgiaDATA (Carl Vinson Institute of Government) >>
• Last Updated: Apr 24, 2024 10:27 AM
• URL: https://georgiasouthern.libguides.com/links

Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering

College of engineering, master's thesis proposal: brendan mindiak.

Master's Thesis Proposal

Brendan Mindiak

(Advisor: Prof. Ahuja and Prof. Whorton)

"Improving the Efficiency and Accuracy of Landing Site Error Calculations for Re-Entry Vehicles"

Monday, April 29

Montgomery Knight 325

Upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, a re-entry body is subjected to a series of largely unpredictable conditions. These may include: entry trajectory, entry mass, vehicle drag, sensor error, atmospheric and weather conditions, unexpected perturbations, and any other unforeseen circumstance. These conditions make the modeling and tracking of the re-entry body’s trajectory a highly uncertain process. The cumulative effect of this uncertainty produces an area of possible landing locations, which often takes on the shape of an ellipse. It is often desirable to reduce the size of the landing ellipse or change the ellipse’s location so that the potential landing sites are restricted to a smaller or unpopulated area, increasing the mission safety and the recoverability of the spacecraft. To change the size or location of a landing ellipse, either the re-entry conditions can be altered or a flight control system, such as the system utilized by the space shuttle, can be implemented.

The current process of analyzing landing site error for re-entry missions is highly inefficient. Landing site error is most often determined by stochastically modeling the re-entry trajectory hundreds or thousands of times to observe the statistical distribution of landing sites, known as a Monte-Carlo simulation. In order to achieve an acceptable landing site and error, a Monte-Carlo simulation is performed, then a re-entry condition is changed based on engineering intuition and the process is repeated until the landing conditions satisfy the mission requirements. Attempts to improve the efficiency of this process focus on reducing the computational cost of the Monte-Carlo simulation, either by making edge-case assumptions for the dynamics or by using optimization techniques which struggle to achieve convergence on a solution.

The current study seeks to improve both the efficiency and accuracy of uncertainty modeling. By combining the accuracy of Monte-Carlo simulations with the efficiency of a reference table, a re-entry body’s landing ellipse location and size can be readily determined using only basic information about the atmospheric re-entry conditions and without the need to produce a full trajectory simulation. In this study, the re-entry conditions that define a landing ellipse are reduced to: the velocity magnitude, the flight path angle, the ballistic coefficient, the heading angle, and the latitude of re-entry. This table will be produced for both uncontrolled bodies and bodies with a propulsive flight control system.

The results produced from these five re-entry conditions represent the first method of determining landing site uncertainty that does not require any modeling of the system dynamics. Overall, the current study can be used to explore a wide range of trajectories to fully understand the envelope of hyper-sonic flight conditions and how they apply to different re-entry vehicles, even being able to scale down to extremely small sizes.

· Prof. Krish Ahuja – GTRI and School of Aerospace Engineering (advisor)

· Prof. Mark Whorton – GTRI and School of Aerospace Engineering (co-advisor)

· Prof. John Dec – School of Aerospace Engineering

2024 Thesis Award Winners

April 25, 2024

Congratulations to our 2024 Thesis Award Winners! Following last week’s energetic lobby pin-ups, the fifth-year students and faculty nominated 12 final projects to be reviewed by an esteemed jury including Steven Harper, Lauren Kogod, Erika Malanoski, and Frank Weiner. The jury was impressed by the range of work and the quality of architectural research and representation. Ultimately, four students were invited to present their thesis projects to the jury, faculty, and fellow students. Thoughtful deliberation and conversation determined the following awards sponsored by the Hanbury Prize, Hanbury Architecture + Design: Excellence in Architecture Undergraduate Thesis, First Place: Sakshi Pitre’s “On Dialogue between Utopia and Pragmatism: Rethinking contextual sentience, identity, culture and social equity in the Global South as a counter to the homogenous post-modern urban fabric” Excellence in Architecture Undergraduate Thesis, Second Place: Clayton Greer’s “The Norfolk Performing Arts Center: Redefining the Urban Waterfront Typology” Excellence in Architecture Undergraduate Thesis, Third Place: Nathan Brannon’s “Redefining the Margins of American Belonging: An Exploration in Flexible Dwelling for Asylum Seekers” Excellence in Architecture Undergraduate Thesis Research Award: Sara Mohamed’s, “A Documentation on Sudanese Domestic Architecture”. The other eight finalists were Alonzo Colon, Diana Fernandez-Borunda, Gray Kutrieb, Isabel Parkins, Jennie Wells, Nathan Swords, Sophia Chaudhry, and Tucker Rossi. Congratulations to all of our thesis students on a strong year. We are proud of your collective contribution to contemporary architectural discourse. Thank you to our jury for the time and care they took to review the work, and to Hanbury Architecture + Design for supporting our students through the Hanbury Prize.

• Architecture
• College of Architecture, Arts, and Design
• School of Architecture

Wall Street finds a back door into the AI stock boom as energy demand soars: utilities

Investors looking for a unique way into the stock market’s artificial intelligence boom are finding an intriguing bank shot in what’s traditionally the most boring corner of the equities universe: utilities.

AI is the buzzword these days, with everyone from chipmakers to computer equipment manufacturers to car companies trying to paint themselves in its hopeful colors. It’s also driving the latest stock market rally, as investors saw this past week.

On Thursday, Meta Platforms Inc. shares had their worst performance since October 2022 after the company said it would spend far more than expected on  developing AI . Then on Friday, Google parent Alphabet Inc. soared past  $2 trillion in market valuation  while Microsoft Corp.’s stock also gained after the firms  showed progress on AI  in their quarterly results.

But here’s the thing about AI technology: It requires an enormous amount of energy to develop and run. And that’s where utilities come in.

“Power demand from data centers has already been humongous, then came the AI hype and the need for power skyrocketed,” said Manju Naglapur, senior vice president and general manager for cloud, applications and infrastructure solutions at Unisys Corp. “With all the money spent on data centers, the power consumption will increase massively.”

The S&P 500 Index’s utilities sector fell 10% in 2023, its worst year since 2008, making it the weakest group in the equities benchmark, which soared 24% overall. That wasn’t exactly a shock considering the companies tend to do poorly during periods of persistently high interest rates.

The stocks have recovered somewhat in 2024, rising 4.4% as cost controls offset higher refinancing expenses and record capital spending. But the biggest change in sentiment for utilities is the hope for surging demand from the new power-sucking data centers required for AI’s expansion.

Biggest Driver

“The AI narrative is capturing the biggest amount of investor interest,” said Ryan Levine, who heads utilities coverage at Citigroup Inc. “It has the potential to be the biggest driver of the industry.”

Across the US, utilities are preparing for historic increases in electricity demand led by data centers and AI. Even outside Data Center Alley in Northern Virginia, where Dominion Energy Inc. temporarily paused new data center connections in 2022 due to grid constraints, the companies are planning new power plants and transmission lines. 

Artificial intelligence is poised to help drive a  900% jump in power demand  from data centers in the Chicago area, which will potentially require as much electricity as around four nuclear power plants can produce, Exelon Corp. Chief Executive Officer Calvin Butler said recently. Southern Co. predicts its electricity sales will rise to 6% annual growth with about 80% coming from data centers. 

This explains why Goldman Sachs Group Inc. set up two investment baskets — Power Up America and Data Center Equipment — for clients seeking alternative ways to play the coming AI explosion. While the bank doesn’t disclose the stocks in its baskets, it’s picking companies based on four categories: unregulated and regulated utilities, smart-grid infrastructure and power-generating raw materials. 

“We consider these themes, along with Goldman’s Broad AI basket, to be the most popular in the next few years,” Faris Mourad, the firm’s vice president of US custom baskets, said in a phone interview.

So far this year, the Power Up basket has soared almost 28% and the Data Center Equipment basket is up more than 18%. Those are some lofty numbers considering the usually high-flying S&P 500 tech sector has gained just 8.3% in 2024, and communication services, which includes social media firms, is the best performing group in the index with a 17% rise. 

Meanwhile, Mourad expects Power Up America basket’s 2024 year-end earnings to be 21% higher than what was originally forecast in January 2023. And he sees more gains ahead.

Expanding Sources

Energy availability is a key consideration when data center operators decide where to build. Typically, they go to a local utility to discuss how much power they need, and then the utility seeks approval to build a new plant or buy electricity from third parties. For example, Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of utility holding company Southern, recently won approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission to expand its capacity by 1.4 gigawatts to meet demand from data centers and other businesses.

“We’re recommending buying Southern Co. on this thesis,” Citigroup’s Levine said. 

Access to renewable power sources also is an advantage. Aaron Dunn, co-head of value equity and portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, likes NextEra Energy Inc. because it builds renewable generation for its own utility unit and develops renewables for others. 

“We believe renewables and storage are a key enabler to help meet this increased demand” NextEra CEO John Ketchum said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. “The U.S. renewables and storage market opportunity has the potential to be 3x bigger over the next seven years compared to the last seven.”

With data center developers looking for inexpensive locations, Dunn expects the Midwest to become a hub of activity since land is cheaper than in other parts of the country. “That also benefits a company like CMS Energy Corp., which operates out of Michigan,” he said. 

Indeed, CMS said on its earnings call Thursday that it signed a contract for a new 230-megawatt data center and has other companies looking to build in Michigan.

Of course, all of this demand can only benefit utilities if they can produce the electricity to meet it. Many energy experts are concerned that the US power grid isn’t prepared to handle the wave coming its way. And that has some investors turning to the companies that will be brought in to strengthen the grid so utilities can adapt to the new high-energy environment.

“This is going to be a real challenge for traditional utilities,” said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Associates, which owns stocks like Eaton Corp. and Hubbell Inc. “The real beneficiaries of this data center electricity usage are those that will benefit from money spent to upgrade the grid.”

Latest in Tech

• 0 minutes ago

Grab’s COO thinks there’s ‘tremendous upside’ in fast-growing Southeast Asia after the startup recently reported its first-ever profitable quarter

Billionaire investor Ron Baron gets a first-hand demonstration of Tesla’s self-driving tech: ‘I want to see Steve Jobs’ house’

Apple renews talks to integrate OpenAI’s technology into the next iPhone operating system

Top tech CFO says AI is no ‘blip or hype,’ it’s tech’s historic moment—and his numbers back that up

An emergency slide ripped off a Boeing-made jet during a Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles

Most popular.

‘Americans just work harder’ than Europeans, says CEO of Norway’s $1.6 trillion oil fund, because they have a higher ‘general level of ambition’

Amazon should be forced to disclose how Jeff Bezos and others were instructed to use the Signal disappearing-message app, FTC says

Jamie Dimon says America needs to ‘take a deep breath’ before facing off with China, because the U.S. is actually in a ‘very good position’ to negotiate

Tesla’s Elon Musk speeds past Mark Zuckerberg on the billionaires list after Meta stock plummets on its cash-sucking AI plans

Betting that Trump’s Truth Social will flop has been very profitable for a hardy band of mostly amateur Wall Street investors

Troubled Philadelphia-based bank implodes in first failure of the year