The threat of hurricanes is not taken lightly by residents of the Gulf and East Coasts, nor by the engineers responsible for developing and maintaining coastal landforms and infrastructure. Indeed, if any positive can be found in the devastation wrought by hurricanes and tropical storms, it is the resulting improvement in preparedness - from post-disaster emergency response to more stringent building codes and increased environmental protection.

Expanding upon the environmental standards already adopted by campus facilities, Georgia Tech Savannah has announced a campus-wide recycling program aimed at the reuse of paper, cardboard, aluminum, and plastic.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Savannah said gallium nitride avalanche photodectors could provide real-time detection of bioterrorism agents like anthrax by inducing fluorescence in the biological molecules floating in the air at ultraviolet wavelengths. Since gallium nitride photodiodes do not respond to visible light, they enable noise-free avalanche photodetectors--unlike silicon photodiodes which require strong filters to reduce noise at visible wavelengths.

Georgia Tech and the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, both units of the University System of Georgia, are developing a joint advanced education and research program for Fall semester 2008 entitled Coastal Science and Engineering.