{"609817":{"#nid":"609817","#data":{"type":"news","title":"More Workers Working Might Not Get More Work Done, Ants (and Robots) Show","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor ants and robots operating in confined spaces like tunnels, having more workers does not necessarily mean getting more work done. Just as too many cooks in a kitchen get in each other\u0026rsquo;s way, having too many robots in tunnels creates clogs that can bring the work to a grinding halt.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA study published August 17 in the journal \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E shows that in fire ant colonies, a small number of workers does most of the digging, leaving the other ants to look somewhat less than industrious. For digging nest tunnels, this less busy approach gets the job done without ant traffic jams \u0026ndash; ensuring smooth excavation flow. Researchers found that applying the ant optimization strategy to autonomous robots avoids mechanized clogs and gets the work done with the least amount of energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOptimizing the activity of autonomous underground robots could be useful for tasks such as disaster recovery, mining or even digging underground shelters for future planetary explorers. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation\u0026rsquo;s Physics of Living Systems program, the Army Research Office and the Dunn Family Professorship.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We noticed that if you have 150 ants in a container, only 10 or 15 of them will actually be digging in the tunnels at any given time,\u0026rdquo; said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/user\/daniel-goldman\u0022\u003EDaniel Goldman\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u0026ldquo;We wanted to know why, and to understand how basic laws of physics might be at work. We found a functional, community benefit to this seeming inequality in the work environment. Without it, digging just doesn\u0026rsquo;t get done.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBy monitoring the activities of 30 ants that had been painted to identify each individual, Goldman and colleagues, including former postdoctoral fellow Daria Monaenkova and Ph.D. student Bahnisikha Dutta, discovered that just 30 percent of the ants were doing 70 percent of the work \u0026ndash; an inequality that seems to keep the work humming right along. However, that is apparently not because the busiest ants are the most qualified. When the researchers removed the five hardest working ants from the nest container, they saw no productivity decline as the remaining 25 continued to dig.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHaving a nest is essential to fire ants, and if a colony is displaced \u0026ndash; by a flood, for instance \u0026ndash; the first thing the ants will do upon reaching dry land is start digging. Their tunnels are narrow, barely wide enough for two ants to pass, a design feature hypothesized to give locomotion advantages in the developing vertical tunnels. Still, the ants know how to avoid creating clogs by retreating from tunnels already occupied by other workers \u0026ndash; and sometimes by not doing anything much at all.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo avoid clogs and maximize digging in the absence of a leader, robots built by Goldman\u0026rsquo;s master\u0026rsquo;s degree student Vadim Linevich were programmed to capture aspects of the dawdling and retreating ants. The researchers found that as many as three robots could work effectively in a narrow horizontal tunnel digging 3D printed magnetic plastic balls that simulated sticky soil. If a fourth robot entered the tunnel, however, that produced a clog that stopped the work entirely.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;When we put four robots into a confined environment and tried to get them to dig, they immediately jammed up,\u0026rdquo; said Goldman, who is the Dunn Family Professor in the School of Physics. \u0026ldquo;While observing the ants, we were surprised to see that individuals would sometimes go to the tunnel and if they encountered even a small amount of clog, they\u0026rsquo;d just turn around and retreat. When we put those rules into combinations with the robots, that created a good strategy for digging rapidly with low amounts of energy use per robot.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EExperimentally, the research team tested three potential behaviors for the robots, which they termed \u0026ldquo;eager,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;reversal\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;lazy.\u0026rdquo; Using the eager strategy, all four robots plunged into the work \u0026ndash; and quickly jammed up. In the reversal behavior, robots gave up and turned around when they encountered delays reaching the work site. In the lazy strategy, dawdling was encouraged.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Eager is the best strategy if you only have three robots, but if you add a fourth, that behavior tanks because they get in each other\u0026rsquo;s way,\u0026rdquo; said Goldman. \u0026ldquo;Reversal produces relatively sane and sensible digging. It is not the fastest strategy, but there are no jams. If you look at energy consumed, lazy is the best course.\u0026rdquo; Analysis techniques based on glassy and supercooled fluids, led by former Ph.D. student Jeffrey Aguilar, gave insight into how the different strategies mitigated and prevented clog-forming clusters.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo understand what was going on and experiment with the parameters, Goldman and colleagues \u0026ndash; including Will Savoie, a Georgia Tech Ph.D. student, Research Assistant Hui-Shun Kuan and Professor Meredith Betterton from the Department of Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder \u0026ndash; used computer modeling known as cellular automata that has similarities to the way in which traffic engineers model the movement of cars and trucks on a highway.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;On highways, too few cars don\u0026rsquo;t provide much flow, while too many cars create a jam,\u0026rdquo; Goldman said. \u0026ldquo;There is an intermediate level where things are best, and that is called the fundamental diagram. From our modeling, we learned that the ants are working right at the peak of the diagram. The right mix of unequal work distributions and reversal behaviors has the benefit of keeping them moving at maximum efficiency without jamming.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ability to avoid clumping seems to meet a need that many systems have, Betterton noted. \u0026ldquo;The ants work in a sweet spot where they can dig quickly without too many clogs. We see the same physics in ant digging, simulation models, and digging by robots, which suggests that for groups of animals that need to excavate, avoiding clogs is crucial.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers used robots designed and built for the research, but they were no match for the capabilities of the ants. The ants are flexible and robust, able to squeeze past each other in confines that would cause the inflexible robots to jam. In some cases, the robots in Goldman\u0026rsquo;s lab even damaged each other while jostling into position for digging.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research findings could be useful for space exploration where tunnels might be needed to quickly shield humans from approaching dust storms or other threats. \u0026ldquo;If you were a robot swarm on Mars and needed to dig deeply in a hurry to get away from dust storms, this strategy might help provide shelter without having perfect information about what everybody was doing,\u0026rdquo; Goldman explained.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond the potential robotics applications, the work provides insights into the complex social skills of ants and adds to the understanding of active matter.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Ants that live in complex subterranean environments have to develop sophisticated social rules to avoid the bad things that can happen when you have a lot of individuals in a crowded environment,\u0026rdquo; Goldman said. \u0026ldquo;We are also contributing to understanding the physics of task-oriented active matter, putting more experimental knowledge into phenomenon such as swarms.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to those already mentioned, the research included Michael Goodisman, associate professor in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s School of Biological Sciences.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported by the National Science Foundation through grant numbers PoLS-0957659, PHY-1205878 and DMR-1551095 as well as a grant W911NF-13-1-0347 from the Army Research Office, and the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Army Research Office.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: J. Aguilar, et. al., \u0026ldquo;Collective clog control: optimizing traffic flow in confined biological and robophysical excavation,\u0026rdquo; (Science 2018).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (jtoon@gatech.edu).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor ants and robots operating in confined spaces like tunnels, having more workers does not necessarily mean getting more work done. Just as too many cooks in a kitchen get in each other\u0026rsquo;s way, having too many robots in tunnels creates clogs that can bring the work to a grinding halt.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study shows that ants have a lot to teach robots about working in confined spaces."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2018-08-16 13:29:55","changed_gmt":"2018-08-17 14:32:02","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-08-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-08-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"609802":{"id":"609802","type":"image","title":"Ants digging tunnels","body":null,"created":"1534424710","gmt_created":"2018-08-16 13:05:10","changed":"1534424710","gmt_changed":"2018-08-16 13:05:10","alt":"Ants digging tunnels in simulated soil","file":{"fid":"232231","name":"ants-digging-003.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ants-digging-003.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ants-digging-003.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":323606,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ants-digging-003.jpg?itok=Psb8_Ygw"}},"609805":{"id":"609805","type":"image","title":"Researchers with excavating robots","body":null,"created":"1534424847","gmt_created":"2018-08-16 13:07:27","changed":"1534424847","gmt_changed":"2018-08-16 13:07:27","alt":"Dan Goldman and Bahnisikha Dutta with robots","file":{"fid":"232232","name":"dan-goldman-006.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dan-goldman-006.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dan-goldman-006.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":824218,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dan-goldman-006.jpg?itok=r63iaUd9"}},"609807":{"id":"609807","type":"image","title":"Autonomous robotic digger","body":null,"created":"1534425020","gmt_created":"2018-08-16 13:10:20","changed":"1534425020","gmt_changed":"2018-08-16 13:10:20","alt":"Autonomous robotic digger","file":{"fid":"232234","name":"robot-digger-001.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robot-digger-001.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robot-digger-001.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":615225,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/robot-digger-001.jpg?itok=wTP3MjvQ"}},"609808":{"id":"609808","type":"image","title":"Painting ants","body":null,"created":"1534425133","gmt_created":"2018-08-16 13:12:13","changed":"1534425133","gmt_changed":"2018-08-16 13:12:13","alt":"Ant being painted so it could be tracked","file":{"fid":"232235","name":"ant-painting2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ant-painting2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ant-painting2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":374554,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ant-painting2.jpg?itok=ogB0vnJi"}},"609812":{"id":"609812","type":"image","title":"3D magnetic particles","body":null,"created":"1534425363","gmt_created":"2018-08-16 13:16:03","changed":"1534425363","gmt_changed":"2018-08-16 13:16:03","alt":"Image shows 3D magnetic balls used to simulate soil","file":{"fid":"232238","name":"magnetic-particles-007.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/magnetic-particles-007.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/magnetic-particles-007.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":347338,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/magnetic-particles-007.jpg?itok=kcQXWUGA"}},"609811":{"id":"609811","type":"image","title":"Robot traffic","body":null,"created":"1534425241","gmt_created":"2018-08-16 13:14:01","changed":"1534425241","gmt_changed":"2018-08-16 13:14:01","alt":"Robots moving in confined spaces","file":{"fid":"232236","name":"robot-traffic2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robot-traffic2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robot-traffic2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":549537,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/robot-traffic2.jpg?itok=y3IVmgmY"}}},"media_ids":["609802","609805","609807","609808","609812","609811"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"170450","name":"robophysics"},{"id":"2352","name":"robots"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"20471","name":"Ants"},{"id":"66511","name":"confined spaces"},{"id":"47881","name":"Dan Goldman"},{"id":"7264","name":"autonomous"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"525321":{"#nid":"525321","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Contrarian Dance of DNA","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHave a close-up look at DNA; you\u2019ll see it wiggles in the oddest way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPut more scientifically, a piece of DNA\u2019s movements are often counterintuitive to those of objects in our everyday grasp.\u0026nbsp; Take a rod of rubber, for example. Bend it until its ends meet, and you can count on the elastic tension to snap it back straight when you let go, said biological physicist Harold Kim.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat doesn\u2019t always work that way with a piece of DNA. When you bend it into a loop, the elastic energy more often than not wants to bend the chain further in instead of pushing it back out,\u201d said Kim, an associate professor at the\u0026nbsp;Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the School of Physics, Kim is fine-tuning the observation of how biopolymers behave, in particular DNA at short lengths. He published his latest results on \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/link.aps.org\/doi\/10.1103\/PhysRevE.93.043315\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u201cForce distribution in a semiflexible loop\u201d in the journal Physical Review E\u003C\/a\u003E on April 18, 2016.\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EThe research is funded by National Institutes of Health. Georgia Tech\u2019s James T. Waters coauthored the research paper.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn complex simulations, Kim studied the motions of DNA chains at lengths where they still have springy qualities, in order to understand their mechanochemical properties, or how they work as microscopic objects.\u0026nbsp;In particular, he has illuminated the forces acting upon DNA bound up in short\u0026nbsp;loops.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s a common and important shape that keeps DNA from expressing when it shouldn\u2019t and then possibly messing up cell functioning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKim\u2019s most significant counterintuitive find could improve understanding of how DNA snaps free from the proteins that bind them into those loops. He has observed that looped DNA, though on average very gentle in its motions, is beset by moments of\u0026nbsp;unusually high force.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt would be a little like a\u0026nbsp;chaotic spring drawn up to a loop making pretty even jumbly movements\u0026nbsp;then\u0026nbsp;suddenly whipping out violently,\u201d Kim said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe range of observed forces on DNA loops breaks the bounds of what thermodynamics predicts. Even though the mean of the force distribution does indeed equal the thermodynamic force, the distribution of forces pushes past the anticipated norm, falling broadly outside a Gaussian distribution on both ends.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s a key determination.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt could help scientists in various disciplines predict the lifespans of many DNA loops and understand the frequency and likelihood of their undoing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe forces contributing to those momentary jerks and snaps work on the whole contrary to one another. While that elastic energy works on DNA pieces in its ways, the forces of entropy push hard in their own ways.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EReflective of the universe overall, in Kim\u2019s observations of springy DNA loops, entropy, here too, wins. Entropic forces slightly outdo the elastic forces.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd they, too, defy intuition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo understand how, let\u2019s take a look back at that rubber bar. When a short DNA chain is not looped but only bent, it acts more like the rubber bar. The elastic force dominates and mostly wants to push it back straight, while entropy mostly wants to keep it curvy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen, as the DNA chain lengthens a bit and loops: That relation starkly turns on its head.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe elastic force then pulls inward with vehemence, and the entropic force then pushes the chain outward with even more vigor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe length of a DNA loop appears to contribute strongly to how likely these intermittent extreme forces are to destabilize its bond with the protein holding it shut.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat, incidentally, plays right into many scientists\u2019 current discussions on other biopolymers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of speculation right now that the kinds of force-peaks we observed actually regulate the length of some biopolymers, so, in an interesting way, our observations and methods may help colleagues explore this idea more closely,\u201d Kim said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKim\u2019s group augmented thermodynamic calculations with a novel simulation method, \u201cphase-space sampling.\u201d It not only establishes the positon of molecular components in space but also their momentum at a given time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis took into account the constant bombardment by water molecules, i.e. the \u201cheat bath.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis way, Kim was better able to access the fluctuating forces on looped DNA chains \u2013 and see more closely how they really wriggle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe work is funded by the National Institutes of Health, grant number R01GM112882. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Insitute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30032-0181\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Ben Brumfield (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Ben Brumfield\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHarold Kim studies DNA and other biomolecules to fine-tune observations of their mechanochemical properties, that is, how they act as microscopic objects. At a length and formation often seen in gene non-expression, a short loop of DNA moves in a counterintuitive way with moments of extreme stress, as elastic forces and entropy act upon it.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Short DNA loops play a role in gene non-expression, but how force acts on them defies expectations, creating moments of extreme stress."}],"uid":"31759","created_gmt":"2016-04-15 14:56:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:21","author":"Ben Brumfield","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-04-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-04-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"525291":{"id":"525291","type":"image","title":"DNA double helix black background istock","body":null,"created":"1461074400","gmt_created":"2016-04-19 14:00:00","changed":"1475895296","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:56","alt":"DNA double helix black background istock","file":{"fid":"205487","name":"small.istock_000054497160_medium.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/small.istock_000054497160_medium_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/small.istock_000054497160_medium_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":174896,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/small.istock_000054497160_medium_0.jpg?itok=BLJvinhg"}}},"media_ids":["525291"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1041","name":"dna"},{"id":"12337","name":"DNA Elasticity"},{"id":"171924","name":"entropy"},{"id":"7092","name":"gene expression"},{"id":"15109","name":"harold kim"},{"id":"171925","name":"mechanochemistry"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBen Brumfield\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"521581":{"#nid":"521581","#data":{"type":"news","title":"College of Sciences at TEDxDouglasville 2016","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAbout 30 miles west of Atlanta lies the town of Douglasville. Described variously as \u201ccharming,\u201d having a \u201csmall-town ambiance,\u201d and \u201chistoric,\u201d this town of close to 32,000 people away from the frenzy and busyness of the big city would not be an obvious site for a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ted.com\/participate\/organize-a-local-tedx-event\/before-you-start\/what-is-a-tedx-event\u0022\u003ETEDx event\u003C\/a\u003E. And yet for the second year in a row, TEDxDouglasville is happening, thanks to two Georgia Tech students driven by a deep sense of gratitude to their hometown: Joshua Barnett, a third-year physics major, and Mahdi Al-Husseini, a third-year biomedical engineering and public policy major.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the two undergrads, TEDxDouglasville is a means to give back to a town and community that supported them as they began their undergraduate studies at Georgia Tech. Looking ahead to their graduation from Georgia Tech, Barnett and Al-Husseini regard TEDxDouglasville as a way to stay connected to their community of origin even as they might move farther away in search of their individual futures.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBarnett and Al-Husseini have known each other since their freshman days in Douglas County High School. \u201cBy the time we graduated, we were best friends and bound for Georgia Tech,\u201d Barnett says. Al-Husseini masterminded the creation of TEDxDouglasville, asking Barnett to join soon after the TED license was approved. Barnett did not hesitate to take the role of co-organizer. \u201cBoth of us were deeply affected by a philosophy course we had taken in high school,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd we were convinced by the power of ideas and the impact of how ideas are conveyed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA big surprise of the event last year was how much younger the audience was than the organizers had expected. \u201cA large number of high school students attended,\u201d Barnett says. \u201cThis year we have made tickets more accessible to these students, and we\u2019re even holding the event in a school that many of them attend.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat would be Douglas County High School. When \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ted.com\/tedx\/events\/16480\u0022\u003ETEDxDouglasville 2016\u003C\/a\u003E is held there on April 9, two College of Sciences faculty members will speak:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/brian-hammer\u0022\u003EBrian Hammer\u003C\/a\u003E, from the School of Biology, will talk about cooperation and conflict in the microbial world. \u201cMicrobes are ubiquitous on Earth and interact with one another and their surroundings in diverse associations that maintain the health of our planet and all of its inhabitants,\u201d Hammer says. His research is helping to explain how bacteria cooperate and compete. And he hopes the knowledge \u201cwill allow us to monitor and manipulate these behaviors to prevent and treat human diseases and to mitigate perturbations to global ecological systems.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cra.gatech.edu\/people\/lcadonati6\u0022\u003ELaura Cadonati\u003C\/a\u003E, from the School of Physics, will describe the discovery of gravitational waves. \u201cGravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space and time that are produced by cataclysmic astrophysical events,\u201d Cadonati explains. One hundred years\u0026nbsp; after Albert Einstein predicted their existence,\u0026nbsp; one such wave was \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/gravitational-waves-observed\u0022\u003Edetected\u003C\/a\u003E for the first time on Sept. 14, 2015; the wave came from the merging of two gigantic black holes 1.3 billion years ago. Cadonati will explain how gravitational waves open a new way to probe the universe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEvents like TEDxDouglasville speak to Georgia Tech\u2019s and the College of Sciences\u2019 tradition of educating and nurturing the whole person and not just the engineering or the physics aspects,\u201d says College of Sciences Dean Paul M. Goldbart. \u201cThey also underscore the College\u2019s commitment to sharing with nonscientists everywhere the excitement and promise of our researchers\u2019 breakthrough discoveries.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith an average age of 21, Barnett, Al-Husseini, and the organizing team of TEDxDouglasville are on a steep learning curve to achieve their aspirations for TEDxDouglasville. Following are edited excerpts from a Q\u0026amp;A conducted by e-mail. Responses are from both Barnett and Al-Husseini except where indicated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy is Douglasville a good venue for a TEDx program?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s hard to resist Douglasville\u2019s southern charm, incredible past, beautiful parks, and strength of community. Douglasville is where history meets modernity. This little, big city rests on the fringes of Atlanta, but remains far enough to stay humble.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis event is a way to engage our community. It would give people a chance to meet and converse with individuals with whom they might never interact otherwise. Diverse interactions is important in the development of a wholesome, interconnected community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWho are the people you are trying to reach with TEDxDouglasville? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents, construction workers, teachers, businessmen, janitors, social workers, doctors, lawyers. Anyone with a sense of curiosity. We seek to get people thinking, dreaming, and achieving.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your measure of success for TEDxDouglasville?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExposing our audience to different people and new ideas was one of our goals from the beginning. But we must also consider the impact on the wider community. TEDxDouglasville inspired a new level of civic engagement: It led to a proposal for the Douglas Youth Department and catalyzed the creation of a service organization, Progressive Action Towards the Health of Douglasville, a lasting legacy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt is also great to have scientists from Georgia Tech speak to a general audience, especially to high school students. TEDxDouglasville not only gives the audience a chance to connect with scientists on a tangible, accessible level, but it also helps to steer youth who are considering majoring in the sciences by providing a realistic snapshot of what scientific research looks like on the collegiate level.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGive us a preview of TEDxDouglasville 2016. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOur theme for this year is \u201cLaying the Tracks,\u201d which is rooted in the city\u2019s origins from a railroad track. TEDxDouglasville 2016 will explore the intricacies of pioneering and building in the sciences, arts, education, and business. The event is laying tracks for ideas worth spreading, in hopes of building something extraordinary.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat happens to TEDxDouglasville when you graduate from Georgia Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAl-Husseini: We aim to transform TEDxDouglasville from an annual event into a continuous platform for creative thinking and community outreach. The proceeds from this year\u2019s event will be stored in a scholarship fund dedicated to high school students in Douglas County.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI intend to spend four years on active-duty with the US Army, after a spring 2018 Georgia Tech graduation. Upon completing my service contract, I hope to attend graduate school and eventually return to Douglasville.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBarnett: I hope to take an advisory role for a successor who will come to organize the event. With plans to attend graduate school, I must commit more and more time to research and my courses. Meanwhile, we will explore various options.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Physics major Joshua Barnett helped establish the Douglasville event."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2016-04-04 17:17:55","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:17","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-04-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-04-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"521031":{"id":"521031","type":"image","title":"Best Friends Bring the Power of Ideas to Their Community","body":null,"created":"1459789200","gmt_created":"2016-04-04 17:00:00","changed":"1475895289","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:49","alt":"Best Friends Bring the Power of Ideas to Their Community","file":{"fid":"205320","name":"barnett.alhusseini.capture.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/barnett.alhusseini.capture_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/barnett.alhusseini.capture_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":586779,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/barnett.alhusseini.capture_0.png?itok=jhtcDXwc"}},"512251":{"id":"512251","type":"image","title":"TEDxDouglasville","body":null,"created":"1458923712","gmt_created":"2016-03-25 16:35:12","changed":"1475895275","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:35","alt":"TEDxDouglasville","file":{"fid":"205966","name":"tedxdouglasville.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tedxdouglasville.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tedxdouglasville.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":184566,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tedxdouglasville.jpg?itok=fhXmueH_"}},"223411":{"id":"223411","type":"image","title":"Brian Hammer","body":null,"created":"1449243535","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:38:55","changed":"1475894894","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:14","alt":"Brian Hammer","file":{"fid":"197356","name":"img_0235brian_hammer.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_0235brian_hammer_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_0235brian_hammer_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2839288,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_0235brian_hammer_0.jpg?itok=C_gcohmU"}},"499441":{"id":"499441","type":"image","title":"Laura Cadonati","body":null,"created":"1455332400","gmt_created":"2016-02-13 03:00:00","changed":"1475895258","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:18","alt":"Laura Cadonati","file":{"fid":"204674","name":"head_cadonati_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/head_cadonati_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/head_cadonati_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":25008,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/head_cadonati_0.jpg?itok=WnsqGwVE"}}},"media_ids":["521031","512251","223411","499441"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12952","name":"Brian Hammer"},{"id":"171887","name":"Jason Barnett"},{"id":"120191","name":"Laura Cadonati"},{"id":"170066","name":"Mahdi Al-Husseini"},{"id":"168198","name":"TEDxDouglasville"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"337441":{"#nid":"337441","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Charitable Campaign Nears Conclusion","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe annual State Charitable Contributions Campaign has already raised more than $200,000, and is more than halfway toward its participation goal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ESo far, 666 employees have given $205,113 toward the goal of 1,500 people giving $330,000. The deadline to donate is Friday, Nov. 14.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EMichele Green, an administrative professional for the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, knows the power of the campaign firsthand. After a divorce left her in need of furniture and assistance, she found the Atlanta Step-Up Society, a campaign beneficiary that runs a thrift shop and provides services to veterans, the homeless, and those who are rebuilding their lives. Now that she\u2019s able, Green gives back to the organization.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI give from my heart,\u201d said Green, who has also served as a Charitable Campaign ambassador for 10 years. \u201cYou just never know when you might need assistance.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThose who donate by Nov. 14 will be entered into a drawing for golf for four at the Currahee Club in Toccoa, Georgia. Faculty and staff can give through payroll deduction, check donations, credit\/debit card payment or WebCheck. Giving online through \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/techworks.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ETechWorks\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is confidential, secure, and simple to use.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EFor more information, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/charitable.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Echaritable.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E or email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:charitable@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Echaritable@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe annual State Charitable Contributions Campaign has already raised more than $200,000, and is more than halfway toward its participation goal.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The annual State Charitable Contributions Campaign has already raised more than $200,000, and is more than halfway toward its participation goal."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2014-10-27 15:13:53","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:19","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"337431":{"id":"337431","type":"image","title":"Michele Green and Robert Barber","body":null,"created":"1449245216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:56","changed":"1475895051","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:51","alt":"Michele Green and Robert Barber","file":{"fid":"200553","name":"image_2.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_2_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_2_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1852208,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/image_2_0.jpeg?itok=iPS1x0gG"}}},"media_ids":["337431"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/charitable.gatech.edu\/","title":"2014 Charitable Campaign"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"2094","name":"charitable campaign"},{"id":"4152","name":"whistle"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:pavlik@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGraduate Education and Faculty Affairs\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}