Two SCS Members Receive BBISS Fellowships

Two members of the School of Computer Science (SCS) have received fellowships in the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS). 

Assistant Professor Ashutosh Dhekne has been named as a BBISS Faculty Fellow. Fellows have many roles, including serving as advisors to the BBISS and fostering the culture and community of sustainability researchers, educators, and students at Georgia Tech.

“The United Nations has suggested 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which pertain to people, profits, and the planet, also known as the triple bottom line. My research touches upon several SDGs, including ‘good health and well-being,’ ‘quality education,’ and ‘sustainable cities and communities,’” Dhekne said.

Some of this research includes using wireless distance measurements for social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrating ultra-wideband radios and mobile computing for health, digitizing teachers' writings on whiteboards for low-cost, data-efficient remote education, and interpreting visual body signals to improve safety in urban infrastructure.

In his new role, Dhekne wants to create an environment where the College of Computing community can be more engaged with the rest of campus to overcome some of today’s sustainability challenges.

“As a fellow, I will serve as a conduit to facilitate partnerships and collaborations across campus and bring to the attention of BBISS research and educational activities that relate to the broad mission of the institute. Creating a more direct impact on the institute, I plan to work on a set of sustainability slide decks that could become part of a lecture in many different course offerings in the College of Computing, aiming to integrate key sustainability concepts into various courses.”

Ph.D. student Eric Greenlee is a part of the third class of BBISS Graduate Fellows. The program provides graduate students with enhanced training in sustainability, team science, and leadership in addition to their usual programs of study.

Greenlee is co-advised by SCS Regents’ Professor Ellen Zegura and School of Interactive Computing Associate Professor Josiah Hester. In his research, Greenlee says he is interested in “community-driven environmental sensing.” By simultaneously addressing project stakeholders’ cost, power, and usability concerns, he aspires to make sensor deployments more accessible for partners who promote environmental justice.

Greenlee is working closely with an indigenous Ojibwe community to co-design a sensing platform to improve outcomes for manoomin (wild rice). This culturally important food source has faced decline in recent years. He recently received the Dartmouth College Postgraduate Project Fellowship.

Project Fellowship to strengthen partnerships in Madagascar, as well as the Georgia Institute of Technology President’s Fellowship.

“It’s been awesome getting to know my five other fellows. I’ve loved getting to hear everyone else’s viewpoints on sustainability. It’s cool to meet other people who are interested in similar subjects, but from different perspectives,” Greenlee said.