Georgia Tech Grand Challenges

"At the end of the day we're human. We're scholars, athletes, engineers, designers and so much more." By recognizing the needs and value of their users' full selves beyond the classroom and workplace, FullCircle LLC has found success by "combin[ing] scientific research...with mental wellness" to create virtual experiences that enhance users' mental health and wellbeing. This Grand Challenges team turned startup counts among its achievements the development of a wellness vid...eo game, mental wellbeing hotline, and relationship-building social network--achievements recognized by TED, Forbes, BBC, and the Biomimicry Institute. If you have struggled with mental wellness during quarantine, you aren't alone: FullCircle has found up to 75% of university students are struggling with feelings of sadness and stress. Find support from students facing the same challenges through Team FullCircle's virtual mental wellness experiences at https://www.teamfullcircle.org/ .

"We are entrepreneurs and public servants, with a combined vision to save and improve the lives of others through technology," says Usman Jamal, a member of Reflex--a Grand Challenges team recently awarded Georgia Tech Ideas to Serve's People's Choice Award. Reflex delivers medical equipment within the critical intervention period of an emergency incident. With average urban and rural response times both beyond the critical five minute threshold, the team aims to equip bystan...ders with the medical equipment they need to stabilize the situation until first responders can arrive on scene. Using drones to deliver equipment ensures faster response times, better connection with professional care, and a consistent distribution of medical equipment. Reflex's drones are meant to enhance the current EMS system, by playing to the strengths of the system and filling in the gaps. "Our motivation to solve this problem stems from our teammates who have been personally affected by long emergency response times," Jamal explained, "resulting in the loss of a family member for one and growing up with a quadriplegic father for another. Brought together by these experiences, our team of six Georgia Tech students along with guidance from Dr. Jeffery Davis and Dr. Wes Wynens, we have formed Reflex, a group dedicated to promoting the welfare of humanity through reducing emergency response times. " Learn more about how Reflex is taking emergency response technology to new heights at https://reflexems.wixsite.com/website .

"Technology helps us quantify the progress we make in the Urban Food Forest...we apply GIS to map areas that need harvest or maintenance," Trees ATL site coordinator Michael McCord explained to GC volunteers this morning, "and we use a similar system to track volunteer hours applied to the site." Interested in learning more about the connections between STEM and service in Atlanta? Register for one of Grand Challenges' upcoming days of service--like our afternoon of medical supply sorting with Medshare!: https://gatech.campuslabs.com/engage/event/6525648

Masked up, but all smiles underneath after a great afternoon packing meals with Open Hand Atlanta! If you're interested in socially-distanced and virtual service opportunities in our community, check out Grand Challenges's newsletters and Engage page for both in-person and digital ways to volunteer every month. Help GC support food security and Atlanta's green spaces next month! Join us October 21st, 10AM-1PM as we help maintain Browns Mill's Urban Food Forest. Sign up open now on Engage: https://gatech.campuslabs.com/engage/event/6480623

Interested in virtual and socially-distanced service opportunities in the Atlanta community? Keep an eye on our monthly newsletter and Engage page for both in-person and digital ways to give your time this semester. This week, our student group had a great time preparing toiletries for donation with Atlanta Mission . Ready to do your part in ending food insecurity? Join us at Open Hand Atlanta September 25th, 12:15-3:45PM as we pack meals for Atlantans who may not otherwise receive them. Sign up now open on Engage: https://gatech.campuslabs.com/engage/event/6401175!

What better way to hang out than a cook out?! GC students are cooking up all sorts of brilliant ways to spend time together while socially distancing. Marcus Ma (GC 2020) got creative this Labor Day and smoked his dorm brisket over 14 hours. The best part of cooking is sharing the meal with your friends, definitely, he says. I use cooking more as a medium to connect with people than as a way to make good food.

Thank you to GC volunteers who gave their time to #sweepthehooch with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and protect our waterways this weekend! Interested in serving with GC? Keep an eye on your inbox for our upcoming newsletter and its feature on no/low contact service opportunities.

Help GT SMILE (Spreading Messages In Love & Encouragement) welcome students back to campus this fall by sharing words of encouragement: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSfkVnZtv7otPrwmJU/viewform . All messages will be copied onto paper hearts and hung from trees around campus for everyone to enjoy. Share what makes you smile by 12PM EST on August 10th to be sure your message is included!

Looking for a way to serve your community this summer? Register for a July meal packing shift to serve Atlantans experiencing food insecurity with OpenHand. All volunteers will be asked to socially distance, wear PPE, undergo temperature checks, and help sanitize materials used.

Pride month may be over, but there are plenty of ways you can keep sharing love and support with the Atlanta community this summer! This July, join Grand Challenges in partnering with Atlanta Mission to write letters of encouragement to Atlantans experiencing homelessness. To register as a volunteer: https://forms.gle/uRFWWBVe6foX4Rr66 To learn more about how homelessness disproportionately affects Georgia's LGBT+ community: ... https://lesley.edu//the-cost-of-coming-out-lgbt-youth-home https://www.wabe.org/look-inside-lgbtq-teen-homelessness-at See more

Happy Pride! Our team hopes you’ll join us in reflecting on the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which sought to establish safe spaces for members of the LGBT+ community and inspired the first pride marches. This month and always, Grand Challenges is proud of our diverse community of students, faculty, and staffas well as their dedication to understanding past, and tackling current, human rights issues. What makes you proud to be a part of Grand Challenges? Let us know in the comments.

Partners in Dignity is a third year Grand Challenges (GC) team looking for solutions to period poverty in Uganda. The team recently competed in the Ideas 2 Serve competition and took home third place in the Problem Discovery track. Although COVID-19 has derailed some of their plans, the team is still making new discoveries in their problem space and moving towards a solution. Adele Payman explained the two main constraints that the team faces in developing a solution. The f...Continue reading

Our team can't wait for our incoming Grand Challenges cohort to join the program! All GC alumni and upperclassmen interested in helping us welcome our new students should consider registering below to volunteer as a welcome letter writer! Please register by this Friday, June 9th, to participate. Welcome Letter Writer Interest Form: https://forms.gle/C2hzVdXktyL7GeEq6