Education

• Ph.D., Emory University, 1990
• M.S., Emory University, 1986
• B.A., Washington University, St. Louis, 1979

Dr. Donnell teaches technical and scientific communication at the Woodruff School.    

The Frank K. Webb Chair

Frank K. Webb graduated from Georgia Tech with a BME degree in 1938. During a career in the oil industry, he saw that engineers—and the companies they worked for—saw that communication skills were an important part of a professional’s career and a company’s success. Corporations would invest in their professional providing training seminars and workshops to enhance communication skills. Technical professionals would learn to speak and write clearly for a range of audiences, including colleagues, subordinates, supervisors, executives, and investors. When Mr. Webb learned that the Woodruff School was creating a communication program, he generously offered support, eventually endowing a Chair in communication within the School. 

In keeping with Mr. Webb’s goal of promoting communication skills for all engineering professionals, this program seeks to help all of our students and colleagues to effectively present their ideas to expert and non-expert audiences.  

Courses:

ME 2110—Creative Decisions and Design
ME 3057—Experimental Methods
ME 4056—Systems Laboratory

Workshops and Collaborations:

We work closely with our counterparts in Schools across the Georgia Tech College of Engineering:  

• The Undergraduate Professional Communications Program at the GT School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (UPCP)
• The Charles E. Gearing Program in Engineering Communications at the GT School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
• The Technical Communication Program at Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)
• The Technical Communication Program at the GT School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE)
• The Georgia Tech Language Institute (GTLI).  (Not in the College of Engineering, but a valued partner in the GT community).

We welcome partnerships with other units!

Working with these programs, we jointly provide the following courses and workshops: 

• CETL 8723: Scientific Writing for International Graduate Students (with GTLI )
• Information sessions for graduate school Statements of Purpose and Fellowship applications (grad and undergrad students)
• Workshops and editorial support for graduate school and fellowship applicants (grad and undergrad students)
• Communicating to the Press and the Public (for graduate students and Post-Docs)

Individual support:

For Faculty and Graduate Students:
Review of proposals and manuscripts for clarity and organization

For Graduate Students and Post-Docs:
Review of Academic Job Statements
The Little Red Schoolhouse (a lecture course in clear writing)

For Undergraduate Students:
Review of Statements for graduate admission and for graduate fellowship applications.