{"464701":{"#nid":"464701","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Petit Institute at 20","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe story of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience always has been more about flesh and blood than bricks and mortar. That theme rang clear when the institute hosted a 20\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E anniversary gala Tuesday night, Oct. 27. But there was another theme as well: No one could have predicted the chain reaction that resulted from the human chemistry of 20 years ago, when a group of engineers and scientists came together to form a unique research institute. Along the way, they also started a movement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThe secret to our success is, it started as a grassroots effort \u2013 we liked each other and wanted to interact. It wasn\u2019t imposed upon us by some academic structure,\u201d Sheldon May told a packed Suddath Room and an overflow crowd in the Petit Institute atrium, Tuesday when the institute hosted a 20\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E anniversary celebration.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThere are so many other things on the Georgia Tech campus now that have to do with interactions among scientists and engineers, but I think we broke a lot of barriers,\u201d May continued. \u201cSometimes there is a moment in time and you don\u2019t realize what the implications of that moment are.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ETuesday\u2019s event drew 300 guests, including Petit Institute founding members, like May; Georgia Tech administrators, like President Bud Peterson and President Emeritus Wayne Clough, Executive Vice President of Research Steve Cross, as well as Deans Gary May (College of Engineering) and Paul Goldbart (College of Sciences); institute faculty members, staff, spouses and children, members of the institute\u2019s Executive Advisory Board, and the man whose generosity has been the catalyst for growth and success, Parker H. \u201cPete\u201d Petit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThey came to celebrate 20 years of interdisciplinary research, to recognize the founders, the leaders and teams, but also to eat and socialize, scientists and engineers like in the old days, but this time catered and with a live band. There were designated speakers: Petit Institute Executive Director Bob Guldberg, Peterson, Petit, founding director Bob Nerem, May and Loren Williams.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe gala was a fitting exclamation point for the Petit Institute on Tuesday, which began with the annual meeting of the advisory board in the Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBy 4:30 p.m., as members of the board were finishing their tours of new labs in the EBB, guests started arriving at the Petit Institute, and soon after, the presentations began with opening statements from Guldberg, who started by pointing out some of the essential current numbers: 172 faculty members, 17 research centers, more than $58 million in research funding last year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe can go on and on about the numbers, but clearly more important than the numbers are the people that make up this collaborative community,\u201d said Guldberg, who introduced Peterson.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe Georgia Tech president applauded the work of his predecessors, Pat Crecine and Clough, \u201cwho had so much to do with the creation and success of the Petit Institute.\u201d He recognized Don Giddens, who led the initial task force that resulted in creation of the interdisciplinary bioresearch institute, and founding director Nerem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe word \u201cteam\u201d kept coming up throughout the evening, but if there was a star of the celebration, it was probably Nerem, who got a bighearted introduction from Petit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cUnselfish leadership makes wonderful things happen,\u201d said Petit, alluding to Nerem. \u201cBob Nerem\u2019s unselfish leadership brought us to where we are and I don\u2019t think any of us could have envisioned what has played out here.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ENerem lavished praise on fellow Petit Institute founders and early faculty members, leaders and supporters, like Giddens, May, Guldberg, Jim Powers, Bud Suddath, Bill Todd, Ray Vito, Roger Wartell, Loren Williams and Ajit Yoganathan, most of whom were in the audience.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cIt does take a team,\u201d Nerem said later in the evening. \u201cUltimately, people in leadership positions have to serve the goals of the organization, but also the people in the organization. The bottom line is, and you\u2019ve heard me say this before, that just like life in general, research is a people business.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ENerem also recognized the contributions of the presidents, the philanthropists, the foundations, and the unique, integral partnership with Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAnd then Nerem, a pioneering bioengineer, closed with a quote from a pioneering rocket scientist, which seemed like a fitting example of cross-disciplinary appreciation, and earned him the only standing ovation of the evening.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cI think, in a way, it tells the story of what we\u2019re all about in this building,\u201d he said, then quoted, \u201c \u2018It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/petitinstitute20th.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EPetit Institute 20th Anniversary Video\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/petitinstitute20th.gatech.edu\/how-it-all-began\u0022\u003EPetit Institute History\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Presidents, founders, leaders, and faculty celebrate anniversary of interdisciplinary research institute"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EPresidents, founders, leaders, and faculty celebrate anniversary of interdisciplinary research institute\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Presidents, founders, leaders, and faculty celebrate anniversary of interdisciplinary research institute"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2015-10-30 12:06:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:51","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"464631":{"id":"464631","type":"image","title":"Power trio","body":null,"created":"1449256395","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:13:15","changed":"1475895211","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:31","alt":"Power trio","file":{"fid":"205677","name":"trio.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/trio.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/trio.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2478186,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/trio.jpg?itok=8F2SCW6S"}},"464651":{"id":"464651","type":"image","title":"Guldberg talks","body":null,"created":"1449256395","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:13:15","changed":"1475895211","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:31","alt":"Guldberg talks","file":{"fid":"205679","name":"guldberg.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/guldberg.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/guldberg.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":72800,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/guldberg.jpg?itok=JJTEiQi-"}},"464641":{"id":"464641","type":"image","title":"Bob Nerem reflects","body":null,"created":"1449256395","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:13:15","changed":"1475895211","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:31","alt":"Bob Nerem reflects","file":{"fid":"205678","name":"bob_n.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bob_n.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bob_n.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2339336,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bob_n.jpg?itok=wym2PtMr"}},"464691":{"id":"464691","type":"image","title":"Shelly May","body":null,"created":"1449256395","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:13:15","changed":"1475895211","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:31","alt":"Shelly May","file":{"fid":"205681","name":"shelly2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shelly2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shelly2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1781380,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shelly2.jpg?itok=0pyOUlv4"}},"464661":{"id":"464661","type":"image","title":"Pete Petit","body":null,"created":"1449256395","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:13:15","changed":"1475895211","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:31","alt":"Pete Petit","file":{"fid":"205680","name":"pete_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pete_0_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pete_0_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3029545,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/pete_0_1.jpg?itok=cWxKSFKD"}}},"media_ids":["464631","464651","464641","464691","464661"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}