{"73775":{"#nid":"73775","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GTRI Names Director of Electro-Optical Systems Lab","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe February 2001 photograph shows Gisele Bennett posed in front of a P-3 Orion antisubmarine aircraft with four undergraduate students who were then part of a Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) - U.S. Navy project to reduce maintenance costs in the aging aircraft.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat two of the four students shown in the photo are now full-time GTRI researchers says a lot about Bennett\u0027s leadership, mentoring skills and connections to Georgia Tech academic departments.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDirector of GTRI\u0027s Logistics and Maintenance Applied Research Center (LandMARC) and a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bennett recently became the first director of the Institute\u0027s new Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory (EOSL).  An electrical engineer by training, she brings to the job an appreciation for GTRI\u0027s existing customers and a vision for developing new research areas where the lab can apply its expertise.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022EOSL has core research technologies that have high potential for growth,\u0022 said Bennett.  \u0022We are going to continue to be the research resource for our existing customers in areas such as optical sensing and systems design, and for our future customers in such areas as medical imaging and optical communication.  We\u0027ll continue to grow our work with the Department of Defense, and we\u0027ll have new customers at the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and industry.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThough the lab\u0027s focus on electro-optical systems may seem narrow, the field includes a broad range of disciplines and a set of applications that continues to grow. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETraditionally a physics-based discipline, electro-optics now includes electrical engineering and chemistry - and such high-visibility applications as nanotechnology and solid-state lighting.  Within EOSL, research areas include remote sensing; modeling and analysis; integrated sensing systems that include optical, RF and acoustic sensors; optical device technology; LIDAR system design and measurement; microelectronics; nanotechnology; solid state lighting; performance support systems; sensor data collection and analysis - and even education through the Department of Defense SENSIAC program.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENew research areas, including optical communication and medical imaging, will build on the expertise developed for Department of Defense programs over the years.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027ve got significant programs in multi-spectral imaging and hyper-spectral imaging, and we\u0027ve got some of the leading experts in modeling atmospheric turbulence and electro-optical systems,\u0022 Bennett noted.  \u0022Medical imaging can involve optical systems for looking into the human body where there is a lot of scattering of the signal.  Our expertise in atmospheric scattering and modeling can be applied to this kind of imaging.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlready, there are projects in such areas as bruise detection and locating blood vessels.  There are collaborations with Grady Memorial Hospital, and proposals for research with Emory University, Piedmont Hospital and the American Heart Association.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBennett, who holds a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, is a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.  She teaches courses there in optics and design while supervising Ph.D. students.  That\u0027s been helpful for her publishing, research collaboration, and recruiting graduate students who become GTRI engineers.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022That reach-back to the academic side is very important because students learn about applications and real problems from us, while we are recruiting our future engineers,\u0022 she said.  \u0022Just about everybody in my former group was a student of mine at one time or another.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond choosing the best Georgia Tech graduates, the academic collaboration also brings new ideas and new energy to her research.  She currently has projects with eight of Georgia Tech\u0027s academic schools.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The collaboration with the academic side is very important, and probably half of my current work has collaborative components with the academic side,\u0022 Bennett noted.  \u0022Both sides can benefit from the different skill sets and the different interests in the types of problems we like to work on.  It has worked out well for us.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs director for EOSL, she\u0027d like to bring Georgia Tech\u0027s optics groups closer together so that the outside world will see a single unified research team.  That collaborative approach also applies to GTRI labs, where she\u0027d like to explore more joint projects.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Collectively, we are stronger together than we are as individual labs,\u0022 Bennett said.  \u0022We need to be one GTRI in all we do.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond teaching, her leadership was recently recognized by Georgia Tech Provost Jean-Lou Chameau, who included her in the first group of ten fellows in the new Georgia Tech Academic Leadership Program.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2000, Bennett founded LandMARC as a multidisciplinary center which now has more than $12 million in direct research.  The center focuses on condition based maintenance; RF and optical tagging, tracking and visibility, and performance support technology.  The work led to two national awards for the Electronic Performance Support System and RFID utilization.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe is a member of the IEEE, Optical Society of America (OSA), SPIE International Society for Optical Engineering and International Society for Logistics (SOLE).  On campus, Bennett has provided leadership for numerous organizations and activities, serving as acting chair of the Institute Promotion Review Committee, chair of the Conflict of Interest Policy Review, chair of the Faculty Status and Grievance Committee, chair of the Intellectual Property Committee and vice chair of the Executive Board.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBefore moving to Georgia Tech, she studied or held positions at the University of Central Florida, the University of California at San Diego, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.  She believes that experience gives her a different perspective on how organizations can work.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond work, she enjoys flying, traveling around the world, motorcycle riding and collecting fountain pens - with a concern about writing as a \u0022lost art.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGTRI Director Stephen Cross praised Bennett\u0027s vision for EOSL.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The vision she has communicated has created real excitement in that lab,\u0022 he said.  \u0022Gisele is well known in the campus community and has been involved in leadership positions both on campus and at the national level.  We expect great things from EOSL.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:john.toon@edi.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejohn.toon@edi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Kirk Englehardt (404-385-0280); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Jane Sanders (404-894-2214); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jane.sanders@edi.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejane.sanders@edi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETechnical Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: Gisele Bennett (404-894-0155); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:gisele.bennett@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Egisele.bennett@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Gisele Bennett is chosen to lead new GTRI research group"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Gisele Bennett has been named director of the new Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory (EOSL) at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in Atlanta.  The new lab was created to highlight GTRI\u0027s broad expertise and experience in electro-optical systems.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GTRI\u0027s new lab gains Gisele Bennett as director"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2005-10-27 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:34","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2005-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2005-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73776":{"id":"73776","type":"image","title":"Gisele Bennett","body":null,"created":"1449178020","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:00","changed":"1475894678","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:38"}},"media_ids":["73776"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/landmarc.gtri.gatech.edu\/","title":"Logistics and Maintenance Applied Research Center"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/eosl\/index.html","title":"GTRI Electro-Optical Systems Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}