Georgia Institute of Technology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly known as Georgia Tech, is a public, coeducational university, part of the University System of Georgia, and located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, with satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia and Metz, France.

Consistently ranked among the top ten public universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report,<ref>"U.S. News Releases 2007 Graduate Rankings", Georgia Institute of Technology News Room, March 31 2006. Retrieved on April 6.</ref> Georgia Tech is best known for its programs in engineering, computing, and the sciences, though it also offers degrees in architecture, liberal arts, and management.

Georgia Tech's campus in Midtown Atlanta was the site of the athletes' village, and a venue for a number of athletic events for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

[edit] History

The idea of Georgia Institute of Technology was introduced in 1865 during the Reconstruction period. Two former Confederate officers, Major John Fletcher Hanson and Nathaniel Edwin Harris, who had become prominent citizens in the town of Macon, Georgia after the war, strongly believed that the South needed to improve its technology to compete with the industrial revolution that was occurring throughout the North. Many Southerners at this time agreed with this idea. However, because the American South of that era was mainly comprised of agricultural workers and few technical developments were occurring, a technology school was needed.<ref>Early History of Georgia Tech</ref><ref name="Hopkins">The Hopkins Administration, 1888-1895</ref>

In 1882, prominent Georgians, authorized by the Georgia state legislature and led by Harris, formed a committee and visited the Northeast to see firsthand how technology schools worked. Using examples from the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (now Worcester Polytechnic Institute) and Boston Tech (now Massachusetts Institute of Technology), the Atlanta technology school began development on the Worcester Free Institute model, which stressed a combination of "theory and practice," the "practice" component including student employment and production of consumer items to generate revenue for the school.^{[citation needed]}

The Georgia School of Technology opened its doors in the fall of 1885 with only two buildings. One building (now Tech Tower, an administrative headquarters) had classrooms to teach students; The second building featured a shop and had a foundry, forge, boiler room and engine room. It was designed specifically for students to work and produce goods to sell and fund the school. The two buildings were equal in size to show the importance of teaching both the mind and the hands; though, at the time, there was some disagreement to whether the machine shop should have been used to turn a profit. In 1887 Atlanta pioneer, Richard Peters sold five acres of his extensive land holdings to the state for $10,000 and donated another four to expand the campus. On October 20 1905, Theodore Roosevelt visited Georgia Tech and shook every student's hand.<ref>A Presidential Visit to Georgia Tech</ref>

During its first fifty years, Tech grew from a narrowly focused trade school to a regionally recognized technological university. It was also the home of early radio station WGST AM from 1924 to 1930. In 1948, the School’s name was changed to the Georgia Institute of Technology to reflect a growing focus on advanced technological and scientific research.<ref>Georgia Tech History & Traditions</ref>

During the second world war, as an engineering school with strong military ties through its ROTC program, Georgia Tech was swiftly enlisted for the war effort. In early 1942 the traditional nine-month semester system was replaced by a year-round trimester year, enabling students to complete their degrees a year earlier. Under the plan, students were allowed to complete their engineering degrees while on active duty.<ref>World War II and the Tech Connection</ref> During World War II, Georgia Tech was one of only five U.S. colleges feeding the U.S. Navy's officer program.

Notably, the school's first female students were admitted in 1952;<ref name="firstfemales">Terraso, David. "Georgia Tech Celebrates 50 Years of Women", Georgia Institute of Technology News Room, 2003-03-21. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref> and in 1961, Georgia Tech became the first university in the Deep South to desegregate without a court order.<ref name="firstblacks">Georgia Institute of Technology (2001-09-13). Georgia Tech is Nation's No. 1 Producer of African-American Engineers in the Nation. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref>

The 1992 Vice-Presidential Candidates Debate between Al Gore, Dan Quayle, and Admiral James Stockdale, held on October 13 1992, took place on the Georgia Tech campus at the Ferst Center for the Arts.<ref name="vpdebate">The Gore-Quayle-Stockdale Vice Presidential Debate. Commission on Presidential Debates. Retrieved on November 12, 2006.</ref>

[edit] Name

Founded on October 13, 1885 as the Georgia School of Technology, it assumed its present name in 1948. Unlike similarly-named universities (such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology), the Georgia Institute of Technology is a public institution.

Georgia Tech is sometimes called the North Avenue Trade School, although this was never its official title. The name stems from the fact that the campus is bordered to the south by North Avenue, and that (as mentioned above) the school in its earlier years was operated much like a trade school, with students working part of the day in a machine shop, and the other part of the day in classrooms. Today the name is still used in a humorous manner: the campus bookstore even sells shirts bearing the name "North Avenue Trade School."

[edit] Location

The school was located near the northern city limits of Atlanta at the time of its founding (although the city has now expanded several miles beyond it). A historical marker on the large hill in Central Campus notes that the site occupied by the school's first buildings once held fortifications built to protect Atlanta during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The surrender of the city took place on the southwestern boundary of the modern Georgia Tech campus in 1864.<ref>The Civil War in Georgia, An Illustrated Travelers Guide</ref>

[edit] Presidents of Georgia Tech

• G. Wayne Clough (1994–present)
• John Patrick Crecine (1987–1994)
• Joseph M. Pettit (1972–1986)
• Arthur G. Hansen (1969–1971)
• Edwin D. Harrison (1957–1969)
• Blake R. Van Leer (1944–1956)
• Marion L. Brittain (1922–1944)
• Kenneth G. Matheson (1906–1922)
• Lyman Hall (1896–1905)
• Isaac S. Hopkins (1888–1896)

[edit] Academics

Georgia Tech's undergraduate and graduate programs are divided into six Colleges. Collaboration among the Colleges is frequent, as mandated by a number of interdisciplinary degree programs and research centers.<ref>2006 General Catalog: Interdisciplinary Programs</ref> In 2006, the College of Engineering was the only engineering program in the nation where all of its schools were ranked in the top 10 nationally by U.S. News and World Report.<ref>All Tech’s Ranked Engineering Programs in Top 10</ref> Georgia Tech has sought to strengthen its undergraduate and graduate offerings in less technical fields, primarily those under the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Colleges

[edit] Student life

Set on a spacious campus in the middle of trendy Midtown Atlanta, and with a rich tradition of top-ranked athletic teams and student activities, Tech students have a plethora of social options to choose from.

Due to the prominence of Georgia Tech's athletic programs, attending athletic events is always a popular option for students. The school's men's basketball, football, women's volleyball, and baseball games are well-attended by both current students and alums.

In terms of off-campus social options, being located in the middle of a young and vibrant city like Atlanta offers a number of advantages to Tech students. Just off campus, there are several establishments that act as local watering holes for students. Rocky Mountain Pizza, Peachtree Tavern, and Moondogs are all very popular student spots. Meanwhile, "Home Park", a neighborhood that borders the north end of campus, is a popular living area for Tech students and recent grads, and a number of parties and barbecues are hosted by the neighborhood's residents.

The school's administration has endeavored to reduce the levels of anxiety felt by many Tech students. Most notable have been the administration's FASET (Familiarization and Adaptation to the Surroundings and Environs of Tech) and Freshman Experience (a freshman-only dorm life program to "encourage friendships and a feeling of social involvement") programs, which help to acclimate new students to their surroundings and foster a greater sense of community.

Other school initiatives aimed at improving student life include the administration's efforts to boost female enrollment at the school. Historically, female enrollment at engineering institutions has been quite low, and Georgia Tech is no exception. With about twice as many male students as females, Georgia Tech has one of the most unbalanced male-to-female ratios of any co-ed university. However, this is slowly changing, presumably due to the university's growing liberal arts programs, as well as outreach programs to encourage more female high school students to consider careers in science and engineering, such as the "Women In Engineering" program. The freshman class of 2006–2007 currently has the most balanced male/female ratio to date at 69% to 31%.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Arts at Tech

• Founded in 1906, the Glee Club is the oldest student organization on campus, and was among the first collegiate choral groups to release a recording of their songs. The group has toured extensively and appeared on the Ed Sullivan show twice, providing worldwide exposure to "Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech."

• The Georgia Tech Athletic Bands play a crucial part for school spirit and athletic support. It was founded in 1908 by 14 Students and Robert "Biddy" Bidez. The Marching Band consistently fields over 300 members and even invites students from other Atlanta universities who do not have football programs (Georgia State, Emory, Agnes Scott, Kennesaw State, etc) to participate. Members of the marching band travel to every football game.

• In 1963 the Music Department, under the leadership of Ben Logan Sisk, was created under Tech's General College. In 1976 the Music department was assigned to the College of Sciences & Liberal Studies, and in 1991 was relocated to its current home in the College of Architecture.

• DramaTech is the campus' student-run theater. The theater has been entertaining Georgia Tech and the surrounding community since 1947. They are also home to Let's Try This! (the campus improv troupe) and VarietyTech (a song and dance troupe).

• Since its inception in 1996, the Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra has grown from a dozen interested students into an 80+ member ensemble. It is now one of the largest performance groups on campus.

• Under the Couch is a live music venue located beneath the Couch Building on West Campus. It is run by the Musician's Network.^[clarify]

• Georgia Tech also has a growing music scene, including the growing a cappella groups on campus: Nothin' but Treble, Sympathetic Vibrations, and Infinite Harmony.

[edit] Student media

• WREK-FM, 91.1 MHz is known as "Wreck Radio." The studio is on the second floor of the Student Center Commons. Broadcasting with 40 kW ERP, WREK is among the nation's most powerful college radio stations.
• The Technique, also known as the "'Nique," is Tech's official student newspaper. It is distributed weekly during the Fall and Spring semesters (on Fridays), and biweekly during the Summer semester (with certain exceptions). It was established on November 17 1911. The Technique's office is located in the Student Services Building.
• North Avenue Review is Tech's "free-speech magazine."

[edit] Campus services

• Georgia Tech Cable Network, or GTCN, is the college's branded cable source. The station broadcasts WREK-FM on channel 17, in addition to student-generated content and recent movies on channels 20 and 21. Most non-original programming is obtained from Dish Network. GTCN currently has 109 standard-definition channels.
• The Office of Information Technology, or OIT, manages most of the school's computing resources (and some related services such as campus telephones). With the exception of a few computer labs maintained by individual colleges, OIT is responsible for most of the computing facilities on campus. Student, faculty, and staff e-mail accounts are among its services.<ref>Georgia Tech OIT</ref>
• ResNet provides free technical support to all students and guests living in Georgia Tech's on-campus housing (excluding fraternities and sororities). ResNet is responsible for network, telephone, and television service, and most support is provided by part-time student employees.<ref>Georgia Tech ResNet</ref>

See also: ResNet

[edit] Campus

The Georgia Tech campus is located in Midtown, an area north of downtown Atlanta. Although a number of skyscrapers are visible from all points on campus — most notably the headquarters of both BellSouth and The Coca-Cola Company as well as Atlanta's tallest building, the Bank of America building — the campus itself has few buildings over four stories and has a great deal of greenery. This gives it a distinctly suburban atmosphere quite different from other Atlanta campuses such as that of Georgia State University or Emory University.

The campus is organized into four main parts: West Campus, East Campus, Central Campus, and Technology Square. West Campus and East Campus are both occupied primarily by student living complexes, while Central Campus is reserved primarily for teaching and research buildings.

[edit] West Campus

West Campus is occupied primarily by apartments and coed undergraduate dormitories. The Campus Recreation Center (formerly the Student Athletic Complex), a volleyball court, a large, low natural green area known as the Burger Bowl, a large, and a flat artificial green area known as the SAC Fields are all located on the western side of the campus. Also within easy walking distance of West Campus is City Cafe, which is open 24 hours, Rocky Mountain Pizza, and Engineer's Bookstore, an alternative to Georgia Tech's official bookstore. West Campus is also home to a music club operated by students called Under the Couch as well as a small diner and convenience store, West Side Market. Due to limited space, all auto travel proceeds via a network of one-way streets which connects West Campus to Ferst Drive, the main road of the campus. Woodruff Dining Hall, or "Woody's," is the West Campus Dining Hall. It connects the Woodruff North and Woodruff South undergraduate dorms.

[edit] East Campus

East Campus houses all of the Fraternities and Sororities as well as most of the undergraduate freshman dormitories. Although the residences are similar, East Campus is decidedly more urban than West Campus. East Campus abuts on the Downtown Connector. Via a number of bridges over the highway as well as a tunnel under it, East Campus has quick access to Midtown and its businesses such as The Varsity. Georgia Tech football's home, Bobby Dodd Stadium is located on East Campus, as well as Georgia Tech basketball's home Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Brittain Dining Hall is the main dining hall for East Campus. It is modeled after a medieval church, complete with carved columns and stained-glass windows showing symbolic figures. The main road leading from East Campus to Central Campus is an ascending incline commonly referred to as "Freshman Hill" or simply "The Hill."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Central Campus

Central Campus is home to the majority of the academic, research, and administrative buildings. The Central Campus includes, among others: the Howey Physics Building; the Boggs Chemistry Building; the College of Computing; the Skiles Classroom Building, which houses the School of Mathematics and the School of Literature, Communication and Culture; the D.M. Smith Building, which houses the School of Public Policy and the School of History, Technology, and Society; and the Ford Environmental Science & Technology Building. In 2005, the School of Modern Languages returned to the Swann Building, a 100-year-old former dorm that now houses some of the most technology-equipped classrooms on campus. Intermingled with these are a variety of research facilities, such as the Centennial Research Building, the Pettit Microelectronics Research Center, the Nanotechnology Research Center, and the Petit Biotechnology Building.

Tech's administrative buildings, such as the Student Services Building ("Flag Building"), Tech Tower, and the Bursar's Office, are also located here. The campus library, plus a small traditional eatery called Junior's Grill, as well as a large communal building for students, the Fred B. Wenn Student Center (a student union), are also located on Central Campus. The Student Center provides a variety of recreational and social functions for students including: a computer lab, a game room ("Tech Rec"), the Student Post Office, a darkened Music Listening Room, a movie theater, the Food Court, plus meeting rooms for various clubs and organizations. Adjacent to the eastern entrance of the Student Center is the Kessler Campanile (which is referred to by students as "The Shaft"). The former Hightower Textile Engineering building was demolished in 2002 to create Yellow Jacket Park. More greenspace now occupies the area around the Kessler Campanile for a more aesthetically pleasing look, in accordance with the official Campus Master Plan.<ref>

    "Georgia Tech: Campus Master Plan" (campus facilities planning),
    Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 2004, Space.GaTech.edu webpage:
    GaTech-space-master-plan.

</ref> Numerous clubs and organizations hold activities in Yellow Jacket Park.

[edit] Technology Square

Main article: Technology Square

Technology Square, located across the Downtown Connector and embedded in the city east of East Campus, is home to the College of Management, the official school bookstore, the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, as well as offices for a number of faculty and graduate students, the GVU Center, the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), VentureLab, and the Georgia Electronics Design Center research group (GEDC). The buildings in Technology Square also host a variety of small businesses as well as business ventures spawned by Georgia Tech research. Opened in 2003, the district was built over run-down neighborhoods and has sparked a revitalization of the entire Midtown area.

[edit] Satellite campuses

In 1999, Georgia Tech began offering local degree programs to engineering students in Southeast Georgia, and in 2003 established a physical campus in Savannah, Georgia. Georgia Tech Savannah offers undergraduate and graduate programs in engineering, and boasts a robust research program with many activities centered on coastal concerns. It is also home to the regional offices of the Georgia Tech Economic Development Institute and the Advanced Technology Development Center.

Georgia Tech also operates a campus in Metz, in northeastern France, known as Georgia Tech Lorraine. Georgia Tech Lorraine is known for a much-publicized lawsuit pertaining to the language used in advertisements; see Toubon Law. Additionally, the College of Architecture maintains a small permanent presence in Paris, France in affiliation with the Ecole d'Architecture Paris La Vilette.

The university further collaborated with the National University of Singapore to set up The Logistics Institute - Asia Pacific in Singapore.

[edit] Research

In addition to research performed by the schools, Georgia Tech is affiliated with a nonprofit research organization referred to as the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). GTRI provides sponsored research in a variety of technical specialties including radar, electro-optics, and materials engineering. GTRI employs over 1,300 people, conducting over $110 million in research every year. Sponsored research at Georgia Tech is managed by the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) and its subsidiary, the Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation (GTARC).

The Georgia Tech Nanotechnology Research Center is scheduled to be completed Summer 2008, at which point it will be the largest cleanroom in the Southeastern United States.

[edit] Athletics

Main article: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Not many schools of Tech's relatively small size (around 16,000) and high academic standing (top 5 among engineering schools, top 10 among public universities, top 40 among all universities) do as well or better in the "big three" traditional American sports as does Tech; eliminating schools which are not state-supported, there are only a handful.

The school's sports teams are variously called the Yellowjackets, the Ramblin' Wreck, and the Engineers, but the official nickname is Yellow Jackets. They participate in NCAA Division I-A, in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The school mascots are Buzz and the Ramblin' Wreck. The school's traditional football rival is UGA; the rivalry was, at one time, considered one of the fiercest in college football. The rivalry is commonly referred to as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, which is also the title of a 1986 book about the subject.

Tech's fight song "I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" is known worldwide. It was adapted from an old drinking song ("Son of a Gambolier"), and embellished with trumpet flourishes by Frank Roman. In 1959, then VP Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev sang it together when they had their famous cold war confrontation in Moscow, to reduce the tension. Nixon didn't know any Russian songs, but Khrushchev knew that one American one. It was sung on the Ed Sullivan show. It was played in space. Gregory Peck sang it while strumming a ukulele in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. John Wayne whistled it in The High and the Mighty. It is played after every GT score in a football game. The Edwin H. Morris & Company (later acquired by Paul McCartney's company, MPL) obtained a copyright in 1931.

There are multiple explanations for where how the term "Ramblin' Wrecks" became associated with Georgia Tech. The most plausible is that many GT engineering graduates found jobs in the jungles of South America in the early 1900s, where they concocted mechanical contraptions to tame the jungle and get around. The first Ramblin' Wreck of record was a 1914 Ford Model T owned by Floyd Field, Tech's first dean of men. In 1961, a gold and white Model A, known as the Ramblin' Wreck, led the team onto the field for the first time, and it has done so at home games ever since.<ref>Stevens, Preston. "The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech", Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, Winter 1992. Retrieved on March 6.</ref> The annual "Ramblin' Wreck" parade at Homecoming displays some really strange contraptions, judged for ingenuity.

Tech has seventeen varsity sports. In men's sports, in addition to football, basketball, and baseball, there's golf, tennis, swimming & diving, track & field, and cross country. For women, there's basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis, swimming & diving, track & field, and cross-country. Fourteen of these sports finished in the top 25 during the 2004-5 school year.

[edit] Football

See also: 2006 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

Georgia Tech's football team plays at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field, the oldest on-campus stadium among Division I-A teams. Georgia Tech claims 4 national championships in football: 1917 under the legendary coach John Heisman; 1928 under William Alexander; 1952 under the famous Bobby Dodd; and, 1990 as national co-champions with Colorado under Bobby Ross.

The 1916 Yellow Jackets team set a record for the largest margin of victory in college football history (or in the history of any other American football competition, for that matter) in a game against Cumberland College, 222–0.

The team is currently coached by Chan Gailey, who is best known for his stints with the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. As of the end of the 2005 season, Tech is one of only six Div. I-A teams to have played in a bowl game in each of the past nine years. Only 5 schools have longer bowl streaks. Georgia Tech's winning percentage of .647 in bowl games is the second best in college football among teams with 20 bowl appearances. The Yellow Jackets are 23-13 in bowl games as of 2006. During the Dodd glory years of the early 50s, Tech won six bowls in six years, back when there were only seven bowls. In 1955, it was the first school to win what were then considered the four major bowls: Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Cotton.

The voice of Georgia Tech from 1954 to 1993 was that of the legendary broadcaster Al Ciraldo. Ciraldo coined the classic phrase "toe meets leather" to start each football game. The current voice for the Yellow Jackets is Wes Durham, who also is the voice of the Atlanta Falcons.

GT fans sometimes wear shirts emblazoned with "Fear the I", a takeoff on University of Miami's 'Fear the U' slogan.<ref name="feartheI">Forde, Pat. "The Dash breaks out the Adriana rating system", ESPN, 2006-11-13. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref>

[edit] Basketball

Georgia Tech's men's basketball team plays at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The team is currently coached by Paul Hewitt. Georgia Tech has participated in two NCAA Final Fours - 1990 and 2004. The Yellow Jackets advanced to their first NCAA championship game in 2004, losing to the UConn Huskies.

The 2005-2006 team, after losing rising senior Jarrett Jack to the NBA, featured two upperclassmen and nationally ranked sophomore and freshmen recruiting classes. The team failed to qualify for post-season play. However, with the addition of highly ranked incoming freshmen, Javaris Crittenden and Thaddeus Young, at least one early poll places the 2006-2007 squad back in the Top 20.<ref>Siegel, Shawn. College Basketball: Early 2006-07 Top 25. Retrieved on April 8, 2006.</ref>

Bobby Cremins, the previous coach, led Georgia Tech to several NCAA basketball tournaments and finished with a 354-237 record. The Yellow Jackets reached the NCAA Final Four in 1990 under Cremins with his "Lethal Weapon 3" team featuring Brian Oliver, Dennis Scott, and Kenny Anderson. The basketball court at Georgia Tech was later named Cremins Court for Cremins' accomplishments. In addition to Scott and Anderson, Cremins recruited and coached many other players who went on to have successful careers in the NBA, including Mark Price, John Salley, Duane Ferrell, Tom Hammonds, Matt Geiger, Jon Barry, Travis Best, Drew Barry, Stephon Marbury, Matt Harpring, and Jason Collier.

[edit] Baseball

Georgia Tech's baseball team is currently coached by Danny Hall. The Yellow Jackets are frequently ranked in the Top 10 at the beginning of the season, and almost always finish in the Top 20. Tech has advanced to the NCAA playoffs in 21 of the past 22 years. Tech has been to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, three times: in 1994 (when it lost the Championship game), in 2002, and in 2006. Tech is second only to Stanford University in players named to the USA Baseball National Team over the years.

In 2005, Tech won the ACC Championship (regular season & tournament) and its regional, but lost it in the super-regional to the University of Tennessee. In 2006, Tech fell to Clemson in the ACC tournament, bounced back by sweeping a regional held at home in Atlanta, and then took two straight against the College of Charleston to advance to Omaha for the third time.

A new 4,157-seat baseball stadium opened in 2002. The name of the previous facility, Russ Chandler Stadium, was retained, and it's still affectionately referred to as "the Rusty C." There are always a number of Tech alum in "the bigs," including Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Matt Murton, Jay Payton, Marlon Byrd, Mark Teixeira, and Kevin Brown.

[edit] Golf

Georgia Tech is consistently ranked near the top in golf. In 2005, Golf Digest named Georgia Tech the No. 1 golf school in the country. The success of several alumni on the pro circuit is testimony to the quality of GT players. These include David Duval, Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, and the legendary Bobby Jones.

[edit] Women's sports

Tech's softball, volleyball, and tennis teams have improved dramatically in recent years. Individuals have excelled in track & field and swimming & diving. The women's volleyball has participated in the NCAA tournament regularly under head coach Bond Shymansky. The 2004-2005 Women's Tennis won the ACC tournament and hosted the first rounds of the NCAA at Georgia Tech.

[edit] Club sports

Georgia Tech participates in many non-NCAA sanctioned club sports. These sports include and are not limited to crew, cricket, cycling (the GT Cycling team has won three consecutive mountain bike conference championships and is a proud member of the Dirty South Collegiate Cycling Conference), equestrian, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, ice hockey, kayaking, lacrosse, paintball, roller hockey, soccer, rowing, rugby, sailing (the GT Sailing team participates in intercollegiate regattas and has made it to districts on many occasions), skydiving, triathlon, ultimate, water polo, and wrestling.

Many club sports take place at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, where swimming, diving, water polo, and the swimming portion of the Modern Pentathlon competitions for the 1996 Summer Olympics were held.

[edit] Tech traditions

Tech has a number of legends and traditions, some of which have persisted for decades.

• Stealing the T: Tech's historic primary administrative building, Tech Tower, has the letters TECH hanging atop it on each of its four sides. A number of times, students have orchestrated complex plans to steal the huge symbolic letter T, and on occasion have carried this act out successfully. The T was then returned at the halftime of the homecoming football game, and the student's achievement celebrated. Stealing the T is sometimes also called climbing. Although the administration used to turn a blind eye to this practice, it is now officially discouraged, due to the risk of fatal falls and the potential for damage to the building.<ref name="TBookT">Tbook Publication Organization. The TBook : The "T". Retrieved on November 16, 2006.</ref> Security features such as pressure sensitive roof tiling and fiber optic cabling running throughout the letters have been added to the T to help prevent its theft and aid in catching the perpetrators.<ref name="TBookT"/> The last successful stealing of the "T" occurred in 1999 and to this day, the location of that "T" is unknown. Tradition dictates that the first T to be stolen should be the one facing east, as this can most easily be seen from the Downtown Connector.<ref>goldtimer. GT tower with T stolen. Retrieved on March 6, 2006.</ref>
• The Whistle: A steam whistle that blows five minutes before the hour, every hour from 7:55am to 5:55pm.^{[citation needed]} This tradition is a hold over from the trade school days, originally used to mark the end of a shift in the shops; now it is used both to mark the end of classes and as a ten minute warning to the beginning of the next classes. It is also blown when Georgia Tech's football team scores a touchdown or wins a game, and 2 1/2 hours before home games begin.^{[citation needed]}
• Triple Play: This is a shorthand term for executing 3 or more of the several officially discouraged traditions. They include stealing the T, climbing "the shaft" (Campanile), swimming naked in the president's pool, climbing the coliseum, climbing the stadium lights, and jumping off the 10 meter high dive.^{[citation needed]}

• Ramblin' Wreck: For years Georgia Tech has had the tradition, during graduation ceremonies, that all graduates sing, in unison, the song I'm a Rambling Wreck, which begins, "I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer..." (lyrics).<ref name=RamblinGT>

    "I'm A Rambling Wreck" (song lyrics),
    Georgia Institute of Technology, Alumni.GaTech.edu webpage:
    GT-Ramblin.

</ref> The song I'm a Rambling Wreck is also the Tech fight song.

• To Hell With Georgia: Georgia Tech has an ongoing rivalry, mostly in sports, with the University of Georgia, often simply called "Georgia" for short (the schools are a mere 70 miles apart). The rivalry is often called Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. An annual issue of the Institute newspaper, The Technique, focuses on this rivalry with an issue that spoofs The Red and Black, the newspaper of the University of Georgia. As a dig at the rival school, the Technique will typically refer to it as "the University (sic) of Georgia" in articles. "To Hell With Georgia" (abbreviated "THWUGA") is also known as "The good word." If one student asks the word from another ("What's the Good Word?"), the response is always "To Hell with Georgia!" If asked about the bulldogs ("How 'bout them Dawgs?"), an old tagline from the "University (sic) of Georgia" expression, the correct answer is, "Piss on 'em!"^{[citation needed]}

• RAT Caps: Every year, new freshmen are given yellow caps, and a number of freshmen wear yellow baseball caps throughout the year, most notably freshmen band members. RAT is short for Recruit At Tech, although freshman are sometimes addressed as RATS, or "Recently Acquired Tech Students."<ref>"You certainly won't find these in Webster's", Technique, August 26 2005. Retrieved on March 6.</ref> The RAT caps are decorated with the football team's scores, the freshman's major, expected graduation date, and "To Hell With Georgia" emblazoned on the back of the cap. Freshmen caught not wearing the cap had their hair forcibly shaved into the shape of a letter tee ("T"); however, anti-hazing laws have eliminated the shaving threat and (by proxy) widespread usage of the RAT caps. The tradition of RAT caps is maintained mostly by the marching band.

• George P. Burdell: The legendary imaginary Tech student George P. Burdell who enrolled in 1927<ref name=BurdTB>

   "George P. Burdell" (detailed history),
   Tbook Publication Organization, 2005, Tbook.org webpage:
   Tbook-Burdell.

</ref> is said to possess nearly every degree Georgia Tech offers, after many students took a variety of classes in his name. In 1927, a student, receiving 2 enrollment forms, also enrolled as George P. Burdell and attended as both names, so Burdell obtained a B.S. 1930, got a Master's, and in WWII, went to Harvard and joined the Air Force.<ref name=BurdTB/> Since the 1960's, some students have managed to re-enroll George P. Burdell in the Institute registrar's computers. When Tech switched to online class registration, Burdell took every course offered that term.^{[citation needed]} After initially vigorously searching for the hackers, the Institute has since accepted the presence of George P. Burdell in every year's class. George P. Burdell is also a common tool for pranks at various school events and games. He usually gets paged over the stadium public address system at away sporting events.^{[citation needed]}

• The Cumberland Game: College football game with the largest margin of victory in history. In 1916, Georgia Tech's football team (coached by the legendary John Heisman — for whom the trophy is named) defeated Cumberland 222-0. Cumberland's total net yardage was -28 (minus 28), and it had only one play for positive yards. Neither team got a first down (Georgia Tech scored every time it got the ball). Cumberland beat Georgia Tech's baseball team 22 to 0 the previous year.<ref>The Game of the Century: Cumberland University vs. Georgia Tech - October 17 1916. Cumberland University. Retrieved on March 6, 2006.</ref>

• Sideways the Dog: Sideways was a black and white female dog, who, after having been involved in a car accident, was forced to walk sideways. She was a favorite of the students, and often slept in a different dorm room every night, being fed through the generosity of the student body and Brittain Dining Hall. She would often wander into classes and sleep during boring lectures. Sideways died after accidentally ingesting some rat poison in one of the dorm rooms, and was buried (sideways) on the grounds near Tech Tower. A plaque marks her resting spot and briefly tells her story.<ref>Tech Traditions: Sideways the Dog</ref>

• Drownproofing: From 1936 to 1987, Tech offered a class called Drownproofing, which was required for graduation. The class was developed by Coach Fred Lanoue for the Naval School which was located at Georgia Tech prior to and during WWII. He taught students how to float in water for extended periods of time with ankles and wrists bound, how (unbound) to swim 50 yards (46 meters) underwater, and other water survival skills. At the time it was considered a prime example of the difficulty of Tech's curriculum, and referred to in jest by students as "Drowning 101".<ref>Apostolu, Dan. "Drownproofing", Tech Topics, Summer 2000. Retrieved on March 6.</ref><ref>The TBook Organization. The TBook : Drownproofing. Retrieved on November 11, 2006.</ref>
• Anak Society: The only official secret society on campus.<ref name="anak">ANAK secret selection. Retrieved on November 24, 2006.</ref>

• The Institute: Traditionally, Georgia Tech has been called "the Institute" while discouraging use of the terms "the university" or "the college" and such. The Institute had been divided into "Schools" which are now called "Colleges" for each field of study.

• Getting Shafted: "Getting shafted" generally refers to the rigorous academic difficulty of Georgia Tech's curriculum. The physical manifestation of this phrase is the Kessler Campanile (A "shaft-like" structure near the Student Center).

• Getting Out: "Getting out" refers to graduating from Georgia Tech. Graduates never say they graduated from Georgia Tech, they simply say "I got out."^{[citation needed]}

• Ma Tech: An affectionate name that students and alumni alike use for their Alma Mater.

[edit] List of famous Georgia Tech Alumni

Main article: List of Georgia Institute of Technology people

Many distinguished individuals once called Georgia Tech home, including CEOs, astronauts, artists, and a president of the United States.

[edit] Georgia Tech in popular culture

Main article: Georgia Tech in popular culture

There are many instances of Georgia Tech in popular culture, especially in feature films.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Georgia Tech website
• Georgia Tech Directory
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 33.776793° -84.398206°
  • Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
  • Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth
  • Official Campus Map

es:Instituto Tecnológico de Georgia ko:조지아 공과대학교 it:Georgia Institute of Technology nl:Georgia Institute of Technology ja:ジョージア工科大学 th:สถาบันเทคโนโลยีจอร์เจีย tr:Georgia Teknoloji Enstitüsü zh:佐治亚理工学院