{"71987":{"#nid":"71987","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Innovator Heads to United Technologies Corp.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute Deputy Director Dr. David E. Parekh will be leaving Georgia Tech to take a high-level position with United Technologies Corp. in East Hartford, Conn.  Effective September 10, Parekh will become director of the United Technologies Research Center and the company\u0027s vice president for research. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EParekh, 46, has been deputy director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) since 2003.  At GTRI, Parekh has had primary responsibility for research operations, business development, commercialization, and the institute\u0027s internal research portfolio.  He has also served concurrently as associate vice provost for research for the Georgia Institute of Technology and as president of Georgia Tech Ireland (GT Ireland), the university\u0027s nonprofit corporation.  He led the team that created GT Ireland, which was founded in 2006 to conduct basic and applied research programs with multinational corporations and universities in Europe.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHis tenure at GTRI included increasing levels of executive leadership within the institute\u0027s Aerospace, Transportation and Advanced Systems laboratory, where he directed the pursuit of innovative research and advanced technical support for the aerospace, transportation and energy markets. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022David epitomizes creativity and innovation and he is very deserving of this wonderful opportunity, but we are sad to see him go,\u0022 said GTRI Director and Georgia Tech Vice President Dr. Stephen E. Cross.  \u0022His years at Georgia Tech have been filled with many firsts.  He routinely made the impossible possible and motivated the rest of us to do the same.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EParekh founded the first major Georgia Tech research center focused on fuel cells, supervised Ph.D. students who built one of the world\u0027s first fuel cell-powered unmanned aerial vehicles to fly using compressed hydrogen, and launched GT Ireland, the university\u0027s first international research institute, Cross added.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELeadership of the GT Ireland initiative will be assumed by Cross.  The initiative was announced in June 2006 and now includes five employees based in Ireland, projected to grow to 50 full-time employees and researchers.  The international research operation has also gained widespread support from influential Irish government and corporate leaders including Ireland President Mary McAleese, who visited Georgia Tech last April.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Over the past year a tremendous amount of work has been done to establish Georgia Tech Ireland as a vibrant and unique research institute,\u0022 said Parekh.  \u0022I am proud of the strong leadership and research team we have assembled and I have no doubt that the best is yet to come.  The right people and partnerships are in place to ensure a very bright future for GT Ireland.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEarlier in his career, Parekh held several prominent program leadership and principal investigator roles at Boeing Phantom Works and in the McDonnell Douglas Research Laboratories.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs UTRC director, Parekh will be responsible for advancing the corporation\u0027s commitment to growth through technology and innovation.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022David is an outstanding scientist with proven expertise in identifying and guiding research and innovation across a broad range of aerospace and commercial technologies,\u0022 said Dr. J. Michael McQuade, UTC senior vice president, science and technology. \u0022He is well-suited to the unique leadership role at UTRC, which pursues fundamental technologies to enable the growth of UTC\u0027s current and future businesses.  We look forward to the successes David will inspire and direct in filling this vital role for UTC.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EParekh holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and master\u0027s degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering from Stanford University, as well as a bachelor\u0027s degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFounded in 1929, United Technologies Research Center provides advanced technologies, innovative thinking and disciplined research in aerospace propulsion, building infrastructure and services, heating and air conditioning, fire and security systems and power generation.  UTRC is located in East Hartford, Conn.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout Georgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/strong\u003E \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Approximately 1,300 employees perform or support more than $130 million in research yearly for hundreds of clients in industry and government.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor nearly 75 years, GTRI has solved some of the toughest technical problems confronting federal, state, local and international government agencies, industrial firms, academic institutions and private organizations. More than 70 percent of GTRI\u0027s research personnel hold advanced degrees, and all are committed to an independent, unbiased approach to solving problems. GTRI\u0027s close ties to Georgia Tech\u0027s academic faculty provide additional talent and knowledge for meeting today\u0027s most difficult technological and engineering challenges.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGTRI research is conducted in seven laboratories, in field locations around the country and at its international location in Ireland.  Much of GTRI\u0027s research benefits the defense\/security market; however the organization is uniquely positioned to translate those innovations into solutions for other markets such as healthcare, energy and environment and food processing.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"David Parekh Leaves Solid Legacy at Georgia Tech"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Georgia Tech Research Center Deputy Director Dr. David E. Parekh will be leaving Georgia Tech to take a high-level position with United Technologies Corp. in East Hartford, Conn.  Effective September 10, Parekh will become director of the United Technologies Research Center and the company\u0027s vice president for research.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GTRI Deputy Director heads to United Technologies."}],"uid":"27281","created_gmt":"2007-08-16 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:18","author":"Lisa Grovenstein","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2007-08-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2007-08-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"71988":{"id":"71988","type":"image","title":"Dr. David Parekh","body":null,"created":"1449177425","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:17:05","changed":"1475894647","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:07"}},"media_ids":["71988"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"502","name":"GT Ireland"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"2316","name":"Parekh"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003ELisa Grovenstein\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=lgrovenste3\u0022\u003EContact Lisa Grovenstein\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-8835\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lisa.grovenstein@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}