For several months, there’s been lots of buzz about GTScholar — the electronic system designed to significantly reduce the amount of time faculty and researchers spend each year gathering information for items such as annual activity reports, promotion and tenure packages, CV updates, and grant applications.

When faculty from across campus served as beta testers for the new system last fall, their feedback helped improve the system in ways that ensured it will remain easy to use. In the spring, academic units began providing faculty CVs to be imported into the system by the GTScholar team. To date, 70 faculty profiles have been created, with 100 more in a queue. With every new user, the Institute is one step closer to having a tool that will make life easier for faculty.

“I used an equivalent of GTScholar in my previous position at Imperial College,” said Ross Ethier, professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. “Once it was set up, it was a snap; every month or two, I would get an email with notification of my publications that it had found. The email contained a link I could click on and confirm authorship of the articles, abstracts, or book chapters.”

By creating a centralized data source for faculty CVs, teaching, research, and service activities, GTScholar will support Tech’s Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reaffirmation process.

GTScholar also opens the door to new cross-campus research collaborations.

“GTScholar will provide excellent support to track research trends across thematic areas such as energy or sustainability,” said Mary Hallisey Hunt, senior research associate and director of operations for the Strategic Energy Institute. “Whether identifying strengths to facilitate engage- ment with industry partners or developing new collaborations across colleges, schools, and Interdisciplinary Research Institutes to pursue large interdisciplinary proposals, GTScholar will be a great resource.”