Georgia Tech Research Institute

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit applied research organization of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). GTRI develops advanced technology solutions and large-scale system prototypes to address the most challenging problems in national security, economic development, and the overall human condition. GTRI's researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems and create workable solutions and manufacturable products for the United States federal government, state governments, and industry customers.

GTRI 2021 Annual Report

GTRI has more than 2,800 employees supporting eight laboratories in over twenty locations around the United States. In 2021, GTRI had over $780M of problem-solving research awards for government and industry. James J. Hudgens, Ph.D. is the director of GTRI and senior vice president of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

GTRI groups its expertise into six core competencies:

• Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation, Systems Engineering and Technology Development: GTRI performs analysis, modeling, and simulation of individual defense systems, families-of-systems, and system-of-systems architectures to quantify capabilities, limitations, anticipated performance, and cost-effectiveness

• Cybersecurity, Information, Communication, Command and Control, and Software Systems: GTRI conducts basic and applied research, as well as exploratory and advanced development in cybersecurity, secure databases, networks, telecommunications, mobile telecom, and information infrastructure

• Electromagnetics, Materials, and Device Technology: GTRI performs modeling, simulation, design, and prototyping of RF, EO/IR & UV materials, devices, components, structures, apertures, subsystems, and systems
• Sensors, Weapons, Electronic Warfare and Autonomous Systems: GTRI conducts basic and applied research; systems engineering; design, development, and prototyping of sensor and weapons systems, including undersea, land-based, sea-based, airborne, and space-based systems
• Test & Evaluation: GTRI performs independent modeling, testing, and evaluation at the component, subsystem, and system level of legacy, current, and planned weapons and sensor systems
• Threat Systems Research & Development: GTRI investigates threat system accessibility, susceptibility and vulnerability analysis, modeling, and counter-countermeasure development

GTRI maintains eight laboratories, which are located on and off campus and across its other locations.

• Advanced Concepts Laboratory (ACL): Work at this lab identifies and transitions advances in basic research for use in real-world applications, with particular emphasis on antennas, electromagnetics, counter-proliferation technologies, and integrated analysis of signals and systems.

• Aerospace, Transportation & Advanced Systems Laboratory (ATAS): Work at this lab includes system simulations, tests, and evaluations related to threat radars, missiles, air and ground vehicles, uncrewed and autonomous systems, transportation systems, power and energy systems, acoustics, flow control, and food processing technologies.

• Applied Systems Laboratory (ASL): This lab conducts applied research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) of ground-based air and missile defense (GBAMD) and rotary-wing aviation systems. ASL conducts world-class applied research, development, test & evaluation (RDT&E) for several government agencies located at the U.S. Army Redstone Arsenathe l and the local Huntsville area.

• Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research Laboratory (CIPHER): This lab develops technologies that secure, defend, and respond to threats within the United States' information, distribution, and network systems.
• Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory (EOSL): This lab focuses on electro-optical (EO) and radio frequency (RF) signal and information processing, with expertise covering system design, algorithm development, and modeling and simulation for signals across the electromagnetic spectrum.
• Electronic Systems Laboratory (ELSYS): This lab's core focus areas include electronic warfare life cycle engineering, human systems integration, applied systems engineering, avionics systems integration, uncrewed systems and robotics, professional education and training, and professional program management.
• Information and Communications Laboratory (ICL): This lab focuses on information and data science. Core research areas include software-defined radio frequency systems, communications electronic warfare, 5G, spectrum analytics, RF propagation modeling, embedded software, high-performance computing, interoperable data infrastructure, trust, analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, information science, decision support systems, and enterprise applications.
• Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory (SEAL): This lab's research falls into four primary areas: intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); air and missile defense; foreign material exploitation and electromagnetic systems; and electronic attack/electronic protection (EA/ EP).

GTRI is a designated University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) with a mission to enhance Georgia's economic development, the United States' national security, and the human condition and to educate future technology leaders. In 1995, the GTRI was designated as a UARC by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). UARCs are organizations affiliated with universities or colleges that are established by the Department of Defense (DoD) to maintain essential research, development, and engineering "core" capabilities, maintain long-term strategic relationships with their DoD sponsors, and operate in the public interest, free from real or perceived conflicts of interest.

GTRI’s core competencies under the UARC focus primarily on offensive & defensive missile weapon systems, networks, information, and communications systems, cyber operations, and associated and supporting functional technologies.

GTRI was founded in 1934 as the State Engineering Experiment Station (EES) by the University System of Georgia (USG). In October 1984, The Engineering Experiment Station (EES) officially became the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GRTI).

In 1934, the Board of Regents of the USG was exploring ways to boost the struggling Georgia economy (due to the Great Depression) by maximizing its education infrastructure. W. Harry Vaughan, an associate professor of ceramics at Georgia Tech at the time, and two of his colleagues developed blueprints for an engineering experiment station in 1929 and approached the Board of Regents in 1934. The three men pointed out to the board that in 1919, the General Assembly had authorized but not yet funded the establishment of an engineering experiment station. The Regents subsequentially voted to allocate $5,000 of USG funds toward establishing an engineering experiment station (EES) effective July 1, 1934.

The EES's original purpose was to conduct research applicable to "any or all branches of engineering, manufacturing and the industries and the science related thereto." Vaughan was named the director of the newly established EES, and he supervised thirteen part-time faculty and a handful of graduate assistants. The EES was set up at the Georgia Tech campus, with its original location in the basement of The Old Shop Building and the director's office located on the third floor of another building. Due to their modest beginnings, tools were rented from the mechanical engineering school. The EES's initial work included projects in ceramics, textiles, and helicopter research.