Georgia Tech

Tomorrow evening at Georgia Tech some undergraduate students get the spotlight for the things they invented. Just like the TV show American Idol is looking for the best vocal talent, the program InVenture is looking for the best marketable product. For more on InVenture, visit http://www.gpb.org/inventure. You can also watch the competition live tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on GPB Television or online.

Recently, Georgia was passed-over for a major piece of the federal stimulus transportation pie. While states like North Carolina and Florida got millions for rail projects, Georgia came up nearly dry. Now key players in Georgia’s freight transportation industry worry future jobs and investment are at risk. That’s if Georgia doesn’t get up-to-speed with upgrading its freight infrastructure. GPB's Edgar Treiguts reports.

Georgia's public universities and colleges say they'll have to cut more than 4000 jobs, eliminate degree programs and dramatically cap student enrollment if they have to make $300 million in cuts next fiscal year. The cuts would mean unprecedented layoffs of tenured professors, says Regents Chancellor Errol Davis, and require the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents to, in effect, declare bankruptcy. The proposed budget reductions come after the joint House and Senate appropriations committee asked Chancellor Erroll Davis to try and cut $300 million, on top of $265 million in cuts already proposed by Governor Sonny Perdue. Lawmakers are trying to plug a $1 billion shortfall in the state budget without raising taxes. The cuts outlined today represent only the additional $300 million requested by legislators. "We strongly believe that cuts of this nature, if implemented, would severely compromise our ability to provide the educated populace that is necessary for the continued success of this state," Davis wrote in a letter to Senator Seth Harp and Representative Earl Ehrhart, chairmen of the joint legislative committee. Here are some highlights: *University of Georgia: Layoffs and positions eliminated would total 1418. Other proposed actions -- reduce incoming student body by 1500, eliminate 4-H programs, close half of UGA's county extension projects, close Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center, reduce state funding for Vet Med Teaching Hospital by 66 percent and eliminate funding to staff WUGA-FM, a GPB member station. *Georgia Tech: Layoffs and positions eliminated would total 452. Other proposed actions -- Decrease admissions by 20 percent, reduce course offerings by 540 sections, reduce graduate teaching positions by 120 per semester. The school also expects a loss of $60 million to 100 million in sponsored research revenue and 150-200 research positions. *Medical College of Georgia: Cuts would mean 155 fewer students at a time that Georgia is trying to train more people and keep them in the state in the midst of a shortage of doctors. Other proposed actions -- Reduce graduate medical education and cancer initiative by $5 million each, eliminate nursing program at Athens campus, eliminate five undergraduate degree programs in allied health fields. Layoffs and positions eliminated would total 63. *Augusta State University: Eliminate the school's MBA program, as well as nursing, drama and continuing education programs. Layoffs and positions eliminated would total 53 percent.

Georgia Tech won its first conference title since 1998 on Saturday night, topping the Clemson Tigers 39-34 in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in Tampa. Tech's Yellow Jackets will head to the Orange Bowl on January 5th in Miami. The 12th-ranked Yellow Jackets saw a 13-point lead evaporate in the contest when Clemson scored a go-ahead touchdown with 6:11 to play. But down 34-33, Tech took the ensuing possession and marched 86-yards down the field. The drive was capped by Jonathan Dwyer's 15-yard touchdown run to the left corner of the end zone with 1:25 remaining. Tech's defense was able to hold-off the Tigers in their next possession to cement the victory. Tech scored points on its first seven possessions (4 FG's; 3 TD's), amassing 470 yards of offense for the game. Meanwhile, C.J. Spiller highlighted the Clemson offense with 233 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets (11-2) are heading to their first Orange Bowl appearance since 1967.

Two of college football's top conferences will stage championship games today -- both Georgia-connected. Georgia Tech takes the field tonight in Tampa for the ACC Championship Game. The 12th-ranked Yellow Jackets will face #25 Clemson. It's the first appearance for Tech in the ACC's title game since 2006, when the Jackets lost to Wake Forest. Here in 2009, Tech comes-in with a 10-2 record, but off a loss in their last game to the rival Georgia Bulldogs. Clemson is 8-4, and also off a loss to their rival, South Carolina. Kickoff from Tampa is 8 tonight. In Atlanta, it's perhaps the most anticipated game in college football so far this season. The SEC Championship will feature a matchup of undefeated teams--top-ranked Florida battling #2 Alabama. The winner goes to the National Championship in January. Florida's Gators are defending national champions. Kickoff is set for 4pm inside a packed Georgia Dome.

Georgia college students may have to pay up to $400 more in fees next year to make up for budget cuts at the state’s colleges and universities. The state Board of Regents is expected to vote on it next week. The board will meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Atlanta. The proposed increase is between $50 and $100, depending on where a student goes to school. Students attending research universities like University of Georgia and Georgia Tech would pay $200 per semester. Regents officials say the state is planning to cut another $163 million from the higher education budget as sales tax revenues continue to slump.

Georgia Tech recevied an anonymous donation of $5 million. Tech officials say they also got a challenge grant that will match every dollar donated to the college endowment up to $20 million. The grant money will go to endowed faculty chairs and professors, undergraduate student scholarships and graduate fellowships. The college's dean, Steve Salbu, says the goal of the challenge grant is to allow the college to more than double its current endowment within five years. Under the challenge grant, donors must make a qualifying gift or multi-year commitment to be fulfilled within five years. The dean will decide where to spend the $5 million gift.

Georgia Tech moved up eight spots in the AP poll, from 19 to 11, after beating No. 4 Virginia Tech 28-23 Saturday. (Jeff Shultz with the Atlanta Journal Constitution lists the scenarios in which GT could advance to a Bowl Championship Series game.)

It was GT's first win over a top five ranked opponent at home since they beat Alabama some 37 years ago. The Yellow Jackets offense ran circles around the Hokies in the second half, rushing for over 250 yards. Fans stormed the field after the game, ripping down the goal posts and carrying them out of the stadium.

On the BCS rankings, Tech comes up 12th, with ACC opponent Miami, ranked 10th. Tech lost to Miami earlier this year.

Dozens of people hit the streets of Atlanta this weekend armed with GPS devices, to make the city the most digitally mapped in the country. The online map is free... for the people by the people. It includes anything from bike trails to ATM’s to public art. Whatever point anyone wants to plug in they can. About 150 volunteers did just that this weekend, trying to make a map of their city that’s more accurate than anything else on the market. "If there’s a new trail or building or something cool in the city... as soon as somebody sees it, takes the GPS point and uploads the data, it’s there," says April Swank, a geography student at Kennesaw State University who just added some local churches. "You’re not looking at a map that’s two years old, which in Atlanta with our growth is a big deal." The non-profit group Open Street Map heading up the project has already mapped much of Europe. It says it focused on Atlanta to begin the US map because the city’s a hot spot for technological innovation and people here were so receptive to the idea. Many Georgia Tech students mapped their campus this weekend. View the map here.

A crowd of over 100 students and faculty watched a Georgia Tech ‘dorm room’ come down in flames Wednesday afternoon. The planned burning was part of a fire safety demonstration organized by the school and various state and local agencies. After firemen lit up the mock dorm room, it burned down in less than two minutes. Campus Fire Marshal Michael Hodgson is charged with publicizing fire safety at Tech. He says most college students haven’t had any fire safety education since they were in elementary school. “They still remember ‘stop, drop and roll,’ but ‘stop, drop and roll’ is for when you’re on fire,” Hodgson says. “College-age, they’re on their own for the first time, so it’s a very dangerous situation. They think they’re invincible and they don’t live very safely. So it’s our job to get that message out to them.” Public Safety Commissioner and GOP gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine warned the crowd not to overlook fire safety. “Nothing is better than a picture and what we’re showing here is how quick that fire can spread,” says Oxendine. “It’s not just a matter of making sure you’re safe in your own dorm room, but it’s making sure that your neighbor is safe in his dorm room, because what he does can cost you your life.” According to the non-profit organization, The Center for Campus Fire Safety, 99 people have died in campus fires since 2000. Almost half of those victims were killed in fires started by cooking, smoking, candles, or electrical malfunctions. The school decided to host the event again after students favorably responded to last year’s demonstration. “We heard a lot of good feedback anecdotally from students about how surprised they were last year at the quickness of how the blaze spreads and the ferocity,” says Assistant Vice President for Environmental Health and Safety Mark Demyanek. Demyanek says the economy didn’t have much affect on the planning of the demonstration. Home Depot donated the materials for the mock dorm room, while Domino’s Pizza and Coca-Cola contributed food and drinks to help publicize the event.