The new endowed role reflects the Carrekers’ commitment to advancing ECE’s mission and recognizes Davenport’s leadership in research and education.
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Mark Davenport has been named the inaugural Jim and Helen Carreker Professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).
Davenport, who joined the ECE faculty in 2012, currently serves as ECE’s associate chair for graduate affairs, helping guide one of the country’s largest and highest‑ranked engineering graduate programs.
He is a leading researcher in fields of signal processing, high-dimensional statistics, and machine learning, focusing broadly on methodologies for extracting information from complex data.
Davenport has received numerous professional honors, including the NSF CAREER Award, AFOSR Young Investigator Award, Sloan Research Fellowship, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Rice University and previously served as an NSF Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University before coming to Georgia Tech.
The professorship is supported by Jim (EE ’69) and Helen Carreker, longtime friends and benefactors of Georgia Tech.
Jim Carreker began his career in telecommunications before founding Aspect Telecommunications in 1985, growing it into a major provider of call‑center systems and leading the company through a successful IPO in 1990.
The Carrekers have remained closely connected to Georgia Tech, serving on advisory boards and providing philanthropic support, including funds to endow ECE positions and programs. Their family’s ties to Tech span generations, with both their daughter and son‑in‑law also holding Georgia Tech degrees.
In 2025, ECE launched the Carreker Distinguished Lecture Series, honoring the Carrekers’ vision for expanding intellectual exchange and strengthening the School’s engagement with influential voices across academia, industry, and the global innovation community. The inaugural lecture featured Mark Papermaster, chief technology officer and executive vice president at AMD.
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