GRADUATES HONORED AT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING ALUMNI AWARDS
Five ECE graduates were honored at the 2024 College of Engineering Alumni Awards Induction Ceremony on April 20. The ceremony honors numerous graduates across the College’s eight schools each year. Three ECE graduates, Rodney Adkins (EE 1981, MS EE 1983, Hon. Ph.D. 2013), Gary May (EE 1985, Hon. Ph.D. 2021), and Aleksander Slzam (EE 1974, MS EE 1980), were inducted into the College’s Hall of Fame, its highest honor. Nick Otto (EE 2005) received the Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni Award, and Joel Stenson (EE 1997) was honored with the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. The ceremony is a testament to the College’s commitment to excellence and the remarkable achievements of its alumni.
40 UNDER 40 CLASS OF 2024
Announcing the Georgia Tech Alumni Association 2024 Class of 40 Under 40! Six ECE graduates, representing 15% of the total, were recognized for their diverse backgrounds in entrepreneurship, research, academia, and beyond. These alumni are not just leading now; they are poised to drive innovation and make lasting contributions well into the future.
This year’s 40 Under 40 honorees from ECE are Jonathan Blake Brannon (EE 06, MS ECE 07), Joseph Boettcher (EE 17, MS CS 21), Austin Foote (EE 13, MS ECE 14), Azra Ismail (CmpE 17, PhD HCC 23), Min-Gu Kim (PhD ECE 19), and Malik Russel (CmpE 17).
FROM ONE ENGINEER TO ANOTHER
At the Spring 2024 Commencement — almost 60 years after Ronald Yancey, EE 1965, became the first Black student to graduate from Georgia Tech — Deanna Yancey, his granddaughter, earned a master’s in electrical and computer engineering. Not only was the elder Yancey in attendance, but he also presented the diploma to his granddaughter onstage at McCamish Pavilion.
“We are extremely proud that Deanna took the initiative to select her field, to quietly and quickly apply, arrange her curriculum, and follow through with the completion of her matriculation,” Ronald Yancey said. “Deanna’s graduate degree is truly an impressive achievement.”
From a granddaughter’s perspective, “It signifies the passing of a baton from one engineer to another. But more importantly, the struggle that he saw is not the struggle that’s going on now.”
