Moderator

Kristina Clement is the Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Center for Student Engagement. She holds a B.A. in History and Political Science, a M.S. in College Student Personnel, and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies. Her research interests include student leadership and activism. She enjoys helping students find their place on campus and develop their leadership potential throughout their collegiate journey.

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While numerous studies have been conducted demonstrating that campus involvement positively influences academic success for undergraduate students, much less emphasis has been placed on the role of campus involvement for graduate students. Emerging studies have demonstrated involvement may be just as beneficial for graduate students. Specifically, opportunities for socialization to the academic community have been linked to graduate student sense of belongingness. Departmental involvement via mentoring relationships, participation in graduate student organizations, and professional development opportunities have all been linked to graduate student socialization. Given this emerging research, how can Georgia Tech intentionally create opportunities for connection and foster a sense of belonging for graduate students? In this strategy session, we will explore factors influencing graduate student belonging and brainstorm how support structures can be created or enhanced to meet the needs of graduate students.

Moderator

Stephen Ruffin serves as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and interim executive director of Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE). As a unit in the College of Lifetime Learning, GTPE offers professional development courses, certificate programs, and online master’s degrees in a variety of formats to meet the needs of working professionals and industry partners in STEM and business fields worldwide. Dr. Ruffin is a professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech.

Panelist

Dr. Stephen Harmon serves as the Executive Director of the Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U), Associate Dean of Research in Lifetime Learning, as a Professor in the Georgia Tech College of Design, and as Managing Director of GT Atrium, LLC. He leads the invention, prototyping, validation, and implementation efforts associated with educational innovation and with strategic planning for the future of higher education. He is a past president of the Association of Educational Communication.

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College of Lifetime Learning Overview and latest trends in graduate education.

Moderator

James Black is a senior academic professional and serves as the director of student and academic affairs in the Office of Graduate Education. In his role as director, he supports a team that manages student services and success programs for Tech's more than 7,000 on-campus master's and doctoral students. These services and programs include Institute-level orientation and onboarding, graduate student hiring, fellowships administration, and thesis and dissertation processing.

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Panelist

Amber Amari is the Assistant Dean for Graduate Enrollment Management and Student Success, a role that allows her to do what she loves most: develop and implement innovative, data-driven strategies for advancing the student success mission of Georgia State University’s Graduate School.

Amber has been a higher education administrator for more than 20 years and has dedicated the entirety of her career to graduate program leadership and student support at Georgia State University. She has expertise in strategic enrollment management, curricular redesign to support graduate student persistence, retention program development and team cultivation/management.

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Panelist

Dr. Andrew Eichel is the Senior Director of Academic Administration. He joins the Office of the Provost after serving for 2 years as a Senior Managing Strategy Consultant for Georgia Tech Strategic Consulting, where he supported institutional priorities by providing strategic advising and subject matter expertise, especially related to institutional growth objectives and student success. In the Senior Director role, Andrew provides operational support to Georgia Tech’s entire academic enterprise by directing complex administrative projects, leading planning efforts in support of the academic mission, representing the Office of the Provost on campus committees, and collaborating with colleagues to close process gaps and increase operational efficiencies.

Panelist

Accomplished university administrator with deep expertise managing academic and student success programs at the undergraduate and graduate level. Broad experience in orientation and onboarding, academic advisement and student success programming, recruitment and retention, strategic leadership, project management, program design, implementation, and assessment. Passionate about high performance within a university system to advance institutional goals and university reputation. Highly focused, collaborative, and empathetic leader able to work across units to achieve student success and department objectives.

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Panelist

Tiffany is a Senior Strategy Consultant who has been with Georgia Tech Strategic Consulting since 2017. Her expertise includes project, program, and portfolio management; data collection and analysis; benchmarking; and, decision support. Her previous work experience is primarily in the non-profit and government sectors. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California and a MPA from the University of Colorado Denver.

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Panelist

Professor Adam Steinberg, Pratt & Whitney Chair and Associate Chair for Graduate Programs in Aerospace Engineering focuses on aerospace propulsion and energy conversion research. His lab collaborates with government and industry, using laser-based techniques to study thermal, fluid, and chemical processes in propulsion systems. Key interests include light/matter interactions, turbulence, combustion, gas turbine engines, chemical rockets, electric propulsion, high-speed flows, and data analysis.

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Georgia Tech is gearing up to develop an academic advising platform that can be utilized across all of our graduate academic programs and provide guidance/shared resources for those who support the academic success of our MS and PhD students. This session will begin with a short presentation from Larry Jacobs, the executive sponsor for developing an advisement platform for undergraduate advising offices at Georgia Tech. He will be starting a similar initiative for creating a graduate advisement platform, and this session will help guide him in this process.

Moderator

Gaeun (Gwenn) Seo, Ph.D., is Director of Graduate Career Development at Georgia Tech Career Center, where she leads a team supporting online and campus Master’s and PhD students in exploring careers within and beyond academia. An experienced career educator and researcher, she advocates for diverse paths for all graduate students. Previously, Gwenn held roles at Princeton, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, and UIUC, and actively shares her work in journals and practitioner outlets.

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Panelist

Dr. Morag Burke is the Director of International Instructor Training & ESL Specialist in the School of Mathematics. In this role, she teaches communication for teaching, and academic presentation skills to graduate students and postdoctorates. She also teaches job search skills. She develops and facilitates many student support events and activities. She earned her PhD in Adult Education, MS in International Development Education, and her BA in Cultural Anthropology. She is certified in TESOL.

Panelist

Experienced higher education professional, currently Graduate Internship Program and Operations Manager at Georgia Tech. Formerly, as Experiential Learning Coordinator, significantly improved program efficiency and student support. Holds dual B.A. degrees in Applied Sociology and Anthropology, and Psychology from Valdosta State University. She is currently working on a Master's in Public Administration.

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Panelist

Jitesh Jain is a Ph.D. student in Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech, advised by Professor Humphrey Shi. His research focuses on developing visual reasoning systems, particularly on efficiency and representation learning. His past research has been published at top-tier conferences like CVPR, ECCV, and NeurIPS. Currently, he is a Research Intern at Microsoft Research, Redmond, under Dr. Jianwei Yang's mentorship. Jitesh completed his B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Roorkee in 2023.

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Panelist

Olajide Olugbade is a 3rd year Ph.D. student of Science and Technology Policy in the School of Public Policy. His research focus includes the global dynamics of AI policymaking, ethics and governance of emerging technologies, politics of innovation, and innovation ecosystems. Jide’s participation in internship programs at Enterprise Innovation Institute and RAND Corporation have significantly influenced his PhD research and career prospects and he is very confident about life after grad school.

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Panelist

Professor Adam Steinberg, Pratt & Whitney Chair and Associate Chair for Graduate Programs in Aerospace Engineering focuses on aerospace propulsion and energy conversion research. His lab collaborates with government and industry, using laser-based techniques to study thermal, fluid, and chemical processes in propulsion systems. Key interests include light/matter interactions, turbulence, combustion, gas turbine engines, chemical rockets, electric propulsion, high-speed flows, and data analysis.

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PhD internships are often perceived as a distraction from research, but this panel challenges that assumption. The session featuring both PhD students and faculty members explores how internships can complement research efforts, enhance skill development, and improve career prospects. PhD students will share their experiences on how internships provided practical applications of their academic work, deepened their research perspectives, and broadened their career opportunities. Faculty members will discuss their role in supporting students, offering strategies to balance internship opportunities with academic milestones. The session will also highlight Georgia Tech’s Graduate Internship Program, which offers structured internship opportunities for PhD students at Georgia Tech. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how internships can be integrated into doctoral training without compromising research productivity, ultimately benefiting both academic and career trajectories.

Moderator

John M. Stein, Associate Vice President for Student Life and Brandt-Fritz Dean of Students Chair joined the Division of Student Life at Georgia Tech in July 2002. In his role as AVP/Dean of Students, he provides leadership and direction for strategic planning, assessment, and visioning for a comprehensive division of approximately 90 staff and 10 departments.

Panelist

Panelist

Vidal Annan currently serves as Senior Director in the Center for Mental Health Care & Resources at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In his role, Dr. Annan leads a team of professional counselors and case managers to meet the mental health and wellness needs of the Georgia Tech campus community.

Dr. Annan received his PhD in Experimental Psychology from Rutgers University in 2000 and respecialized in Clinical Psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2008.

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Panelist

Stacey Doremus is the Assistant Director for Leadership Education and Development Programs (LEAD) and Systems at Georgia Institute of Technology. She works collaboratively with students, faculty and staff, as well as other universities to support the development and enrichment of student leadership skills through LEAD’s program initiatives. She also assists with organizing the workshop for Tokyo Tech’s Global Leadership Training Program at Georgia Tech. Prior to pursuing her passion for encouraging student leadership growth and development, Stacey held a variety of positions within the corporate world focusing on marketing and innovative product design and development. She currently has a professional affiliation with the International Leadership Association.

Panelist

Dr. Harrington has 31 years of experience in higher education — 21 of them at Georgia Tech. Her professional experience includes student services, student affairs, human resources, facility operations, financial management, program delivery, and executive administration.

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This symposium focuses on the array of support services offered by various academic and non-academic departments to foster the success and well-being of graduate students. As graduate education demands rigorous academic engagement, this symposium will explore the holistic support framework necessary for students to thrive. Presentations will highlight innovative programs, resources, and partnerships that enhance academic progress, mental health, professional development, and work-life balance. Discussions will center on tailored support strategies, interdisciplinary collaboration, and evidence-based practices to address unique challenges faced by graduate students, ultimately fostering a more inclusive and supportive graduate student experience. Staff from various departments will participate: Center for Mental Health Care & Resources, LEAD, Wellness Empowerment Center, and Arts, Belonging and Community.

Moderator

Kiera Tran is a Ph.D. student studying geophysical glaciology in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. She began her journey at Georgia Tech in her junior year of college. It was at Tech where Tran discovered her passion for earth sciences and the desire to make an impact on global issues. She has been involved in Grad SGA for the past two years and is currently the President of Grad SGA.

Moderator

Amitej is a second-year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering and a part of the joint MD/PhD program with Emory University. Amitej completed his undergrad at Georgia Tech with a BS in Computer Science and a BS in Biochemistry.

Panelist

Mehdia was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan where she also attended medical school. Her passion for interdisciplinary science motivated her to explore various kinds of research early on as a medical student. Her first exposure towards using microfluidics for addressing medical qualms was in 2019 at the Meta Acoustic Lab where she focused on using acoustofluidics as a potential treatment for osteoarthritis. Given her medical background and experience with Health tech, Mehdia is a big proponent of translational research which can be bootstrapped to address clinical needs. Mehdia looks to baking, reading, writing, trying out new coffee brews, petting cats and hiking for fun.

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Panelist

Kayla Uleah Evans is a second year PhD student in Human Centered Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, advised by Dr. Betsy DiSalvo. Kayla’s research investigates the nature and implications of power dynamics in Computing.

Over the past year, this work has focused on the ontology of power in the context of online social mobility platforms: for example, she has supported PhD Candidate Lara Schenk’s research on the job acquisition process for mid-skill data workers by complexifying how we conceptualize user “affordances” on LinkedIn.

This coming year, her work explores how AI experts and non-experts (un)intentionally anthropomorphize and assign moral agency to AI.

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Panelist

Boluwatife is a graduate student at the School of Public Policy, specializing in telecommunications policy and urban economic development. She earned her bachelor's in urban planning from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MPhil in Planning, Growth and Regeneration from the University of Cambridge. With a strong background and years of experience in urban planning, policy, and consulting, she has developed valuable problem-solving skills in varied settings and seeks to contribute creative solutions to policymaking. Her focus areas include economic development, smart cities, and digital transformation. As a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP), she contributes to qualitative research assessing the impact of workplace assistive technologies on individuals with disabilities and facilitates stakeholder engagement to identify effective workplace accommodations.

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Panelist

Iason received his Electrical Engineering Diploma from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. He is currently a graduate student in Robotics at the Aerospace Engineering department with a research focus on Computer Vision for Spacecraft applications. During his undergrad Iason claimed various leadership positions in Electrical Engineering 
student organisations, such as EESTEC, IEEE, ASAT.

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Represent student perspectives and provide insights into the lived experiences of Georgia Tech graduate students. Convey the major challenges facing graduate students using specific examples from individual experiences.

Moderator

Jana Stone is assistant vice provost for professional development and director of Postdoctoral Services within the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education at Georgia Tech. Stone manages a team that includes graduate career advising, the Graduate Internship Program, and Postdoctoral Services. She also oversaw the creation of the Office of Faculty Professional Development in 2020-2021. Stone has been at Georgia Tech since 2013, when she was hired to establish the Office.

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Panelist

Ph.D. in Astronomy, University of Cambridge 2002
M.Sc. in Astrophysics, University of Toronto 1999
B.Sc. in Honours Physics & Astronomy, University of Victoria 1998

Research focuses on high-energy astrophysics; accretion disks; galaxy and black hole evolution.

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Panelist

Stefan France is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Professor France earned his B.S. in Chemistry (2000) from Duke University and a M.A. (2003) and Ph.D. (2005) in Organic Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University. His research group focuses on experimental methodology development, natural product synthesis, and medicinal chemistry. Owing to Prof. France's avid interest in undergraduate research, his research group has mentored and trained more than 60 undergraduates (both Georgia Tech and non-Georgia Tech students). Professor France has been the recipient of several awards for his research, mentorship, and teaching including: the 2018 Georgia Tech-Georgia Power Professor of Excellence; the 2015 Georgia Tech Senior Faculty Outstanding Undergraduate Mentor Award; the 2014 Georgia Tech Faculty Award for Academic Outreach; the 2014 Georgia Tech Hesberg Teaching Award; the 2013 Georgia Tech Sigma Xi Young Faculty Award; the 2012 National Organization for the Professional Advancement for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award; and the 2011 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. He heads the Chemistry FAST Program, a NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site, and also serves as Chair of the NSF Chemistry REU Leadership Group.

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Panelist

Martha Grover is Professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech, and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies. She holds a joint appointment with Savannah River National Laboratory, is the ADVANCE Professor for the College of the Engineering and holds the Thomas A. Fanning Chair in Equity-Centered Engineering. Her research program is dedicated to understanding and engineering the self-assembly of molecules to create larger scale structures and complex functionality.

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Panelist

Prior to joining MSE in July 2003 Professor Singh was a faculty member in Corrosion and Materials Engineering Group at The Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST) since 1996.  While in IPST Dr. Singh worked on fundamental as well as applied research projects related to the corrosion problems in the pulp and paper industry.  From 1990 to 1996, he was a Senior Research Associate at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, working on various materials and corrosion related research projects, including damage accumulation in metal matrix composites (MMCs), Environmental sensitive fracture of Al-alloys MMCs, and High temperature oxidation of Nb/Nb5Si3 composites. He received the Alcan International's Fellowship in 1988-90 to work on "Effects of Low Melting Point Impurities on Slow Crack Growth in Al Alloys,"  He has published over 50 papers in reputed scientific journals and conference proceedings. He is active member of NACE, TMS, TAPPI and has co-organized a number of international symposiums.

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Research has shown that mentoring relationships are critical for graduate students’ academic performance, sense of professional belonging, and persistence. Georgia Tech’s Graduate Student Experience Survey has suggested that while most students are satisfied with the mentoring they receive, experiences do vary. To work towards creating a more inclusive and sustainable culture of mentorship, Georgia Tech is a part of a national consortium of universities working together to implement evidence-based practices and policies. As a part of this initiative, six of Georgia Tech’s graduate programs have enacted programs to enhance graduate student mentoring and well-being. These range from “Mentoring Minutes” during faculty meetings, to training sessions with early career faculty, to graduate student peer mentoring programs, and more. Panelists will discuss the impact of their programs and how they could be replicated in other disciplines. The session will then move to a discussion of how the Georgia Tech community can work together to catalyze a mentorship ecosystem across campus.

Moderator

Experts in the campus community including VOICE advocates, sexual violence prevention professionals and peer educators will discuss the aspects of building healthy relationships including dating, mentorship, and friendships in graduate school.

Moderator

Laurence J. Jacobs is Senior Vice Provost Education and Learning at Georgia Tech, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. He previously was Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering. His research focuses on the development of quantitative methodologies for the nondestructive evaluation of structural materials. Dr. Jacobs’ publications have more than 11,000 citations and an h-index of 56 (google scholar).

Panelist

Matthieu R. Bloch is a Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering. Matthieu R. Bloch is a Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received the Ph.D. degree in Engineering Science from the Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France, in 2006, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008.

Panelist

Elizabeth Cherry is the Associate Chair for Academic Affairs in the School of Computational Science and Engineering, and the Director of the interdisciplinary Computational Science and Engineering graduate programs.

David has been a member of the faculty of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech since 1991. He served as director of the graduate program in the School for 12 years, promoting curriculum reform and a significant growth in its size. He now oversees academic programs for the College. He has served as PI on multiple Department of Education Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need grants that have provided support for hundreds of PhD students.

Dr. Shatakshee Dhongde is a Professor of Economics at Georgia Tech. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside. Her research focuses on the economics of poverty. Dr. Dhongde is the recipient of Dean George C. Griffin Faculty of the Year Award, Mary S. and Richard B. Inman, Jr. Faculty Excellence Award, and Ivan Allen Jr. Legacy Award. Since 2021, she serves as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech.

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Panelist

As Associate Dean, Javier has oversight of programs and initiatives for the College in the areas of academic affairs and outreach. In this role, Javier oversees the development and continuous improvement of academic offerings in the College through assessment and accreditation. Javier also oversees the College’s recruitment activities such as the pre-college summer program. His research centers on Uncrewed Aerial System applications and robotics in the built environment.

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Panelist

Stephen Ruffin serves as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and interim executive director of Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE). As a unit in the College of Lifetime Learning, GTPE offers professional development courses, certificate programs, and online master’s degrees in a variety of formats to meet the needs of working professionals and industry partners in STEM and business fields worldwide. Dr. Ruffin is a professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech.

The associate deans from each of the six academic colleges will discuss challenges and opportunities in graduate education from their college's perspective.

Moderator

An applied linguist and an interculturalist with three decades of teaching and teacher-training experience, Sarah Kegley supports international graduate teaching assistants in the Georgia Tech classroom, lab, office hour assignments, and beyond. Sarah believes in engaging the proficiencies that international graduate students bring to the Georgia Tech campus, and designs processes that incorporate their academic prowess, cultural fluency, and social well-being into the Tech experience.

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Co-presenter

Ximena is a 6th year Joint Ph.D. in the School of Public Policy. Her research focuses on innovative development for human resource management in public administration, particularly focused on telework and its effects on job attitudes. Her interest as a Graduate Teaching Fellow is to building for the future, and identifying new key alliances to make CTL's ITA program a success.

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As soon as they step foot on campus, international graduate students are engaged to participate in both research and teaching spaces at GT!

They are important contributors to the teaching mission of the institute, serving as teaching assistants for labs and recitations as well as providing classroom support by holding office hours and grading. In addition, they begin working within research groups which generally are culturally, socially, and linguistically diverse.

While student training and orientations, often in the form of online modules, are abundant, is there a gap between the orientation of the graduate student and that of the faculty or staff? Is there an opportunity for faculty and staff to more fully participate in the international student’s process of incorporation into the department or lab? 

An international student is, by default, living through a transformational experience. Faculty and staff often lack a more global understanding of international graduate student needs, due to departmental structures and hierarchy, cultural competency, student cultural competency, linguistic variety, and differing educational and/or professional backgrounds. Who is better suited to strategizing about narrowing that gap than international graduate students themselves? We can use reflection as a tool for processing and learning from their experiences, specifically in the academic setting.

Come hear from international graduate students about their experiences and recommendations for faculty and staff working toward proactively inclusive intercultural innovation in research and teaching spaces.