The NSF AI4OPT Management Team has been honored with the 2025 Georgia Tech Excellence Award, recognizing outstanding staff contributions that elevate the university.

Established in October 2021 with support from the National Science Foundation, AI4OPT has become one of the nation’s top-performing NSF AI Institutes. The management team has been central to this rapid ascent—building a large-scale research program across six universities and supporting more than 80 PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members. Their efforts have positioned Georgia Tech as a global leader in artificial intelligence for engineering.

Driving Innovation Across Industry

The team’s impact extends across research, education and industry engagement. In just over three years, the team has:

• Secured multimillion-dollar funding, including a $2.79 million award to expand AI collaboration with Clark Atlanta University.
• Established over 18 industry partnerships, including Intel, Google, Best Buy, Kinaxis, Southern Company and Union Pacific.
• Delivered educational initiatives that have reached thousands of students, educators and professionals around the world.
• Supported more than 40 projects at Georgia Tech alone.

Key programs include the Seth Bonder Summer Camps, developed with CEISMC and other partners, which have introduced more than 1,000 high school students to AI and data science. The team also built a national Faculty Training Program with Clark Atlanta University, helping colleges and universities launch new AI curricula and research initiatives. This work has generated new grant proposals and partnerships with schools across the country.

In collaboration with the nonprofit HerWILL, the team helped broaden access to AI education globally. Their second datathon in 2024 drew more than 800 participants from the United States, Syria, Bangladesh, Egypt, India and Lebanon.

Elevating Georgia Tech’s National Profile

To support AI4OPT’s research and outreach, the management team has built robust infrastructure, organized high-profile events, and promoted Georgia Tech’s AI expertise to federal leaders and the public. In 2024 alone, the team engaged with U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, chair of the Congressional AI Caucus; Arati Prabhakar, science advisor to the President; and former National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.

AI4OPT has also hosted the Summit for AI Institutes Leadership (SAIL), exhibited at INFORMS and AI Expo Day in Atlanta, and organized its flagship annual TechFest, which features leading voices from industry and academia.

Members of the management team have been invited to share their insights on institute leadership and workforce development with other NSF AI Institutes and at major AI conferences—further cementing Georgia Tech’s role as a national and global thought leader in AI for engineering.

Recognition for Excellence in Leadership

Georgia Tech’s Excellence Award recognizes individuals and teams that demonstrate outstanding leadership, collaboration and service. The AI4OPT Management Team exemplifies these qualities, translating a bold vision into an operational model that delivers measurable impact for students, researchers, industry partners and society.