July 7, 2022

Carlos Fernandez, Ph.D. student in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected to join the second class of Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) Graduate Fellows. The BBISS Graduate Fellows Program will provide Fernandez and five other graduate students with enhanced training in sustainability, team science, and leadership in addition to their usual programs of study.

"Carlos has provided vital contributions to our research program at Georgia Tech and I think he will thrive in the BBISS Graduate Fellows Program," said Marta Hatzell, associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. Hatzell serves as an adviser to Fernandez and on the Faculty Advisory Board for the BBISS Graduate Fellows.

Each two-year fellowship is funded by a generous gift from Brook and Shawn Byers and is additionally guided by a Faculty Advisory Board. The students apply their skills and talents, working directly with their peers, faculty, and external partners on long-term, large team, sustainability-relevant projects. They are also afforded opportunities to organize and host seminar series, develop their professional networks, publish papers and draft proposals, and develop additional skills critical to their professional success and future careers leading research teams.

Fernandez holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech. His research is focused on exploring novel electrochemical materials for carbon capture and sequestration. Ultimately, he is aiming to decarbonize, ‘hard-to-decarbonize’ industries related to fuels and fertilizers.

Fernandez has also explored various teaching and outreach opportunities. He participated in activities hosted through the Center for Teaching and Learning and served as a teaching assistant for ME 4056 Systems Laboratory. In addition, he has engaged with the CREATE-X program on campus and is currently in the process of exploring how to transfer his technology and materials from the lab to a marketplace. Finally, Fernandez has served in many leadership positions. He is actively advising an undergraduate researcher and is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) based initiatives.

“Carlos hopes to increase representation in sustainability research. Thus, I believe this gives him a unique lens, which will allow him to add to the BBISS Graduate Fellows Program in new ways,” said Hatzell.

The complete 2022 class of Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems Graduate Fellows are:

• Oliver Chapman - Ph.D. student, School of Public Policy, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
• Meaghan Conville - Ph.D. student, School of City and Regional Planning, College of Design
• Carlos Fernandez - Ph.D. student, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Sarah Roney - Ph.D. student, School of Biological Sciences
• Olianike Olamano - Ph.D. student, School of History and Sociology, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
• Vishal Sharma - Ph.D. student, School of Interactive Computing, College of Computing

The Faculty Advisory Board for the BBISS Graduate Fellows is composed of the faculty who submitted the students' nominations. Nominations for Class III of the BBISS Graduate Fellows program will open in Spring 2023. It is expected that 6 to 8 scholars will be selected for next year’s group.

The Faculty Advisory Board for the second class are:

• Marta Hatzell
• Marilyn Brown
• Elora Raymond
• Kate Pride Brown
• Marc Weissburg
• Neha Kumar

Updates and outcomes will be posted to the BBISS website as the project progresses. Additional information is available at https://research.gatech.edu/sustainability/grad-fellows-program.