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Supervising Professor
Lisa Yaszek
is assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s
School of Literature, Communication, and Culture, where
she researches and teaches contemporary literature,
science fiction, and gender studies. She is also the
primary administrator of the Bud Foote Science Fiction
Collection and the Science Fiction Lab. Yaszek’s
first book, The Self Wired: Technology and Subjectivity
in Contemporary Narrative (Routledge 2002), explores
the emergence of “cyborg writing” as a new
way for artists to represent human relations in a technology-intensive
era. Yaszek is currently working on a new project entitled
Galactic Suburbia: The Politics and Poetics of Postwar
Women’s Science Fiction.
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Spring 2006
Erin Gatlin has recently graduated from Georgia Tech in May 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Science, Technology, and Culture. She plans to teach middle school science before eventually pursuing graduate study in American culture, and on the side hopes to begin an amateur career in web comics.
Betsy Gooch is a Science, Technology, and Culture student who is planning on taking the Information, Design, and Technology Masters program. Betsy hopes to study Digital Media further and to have a career in the film/television world. She has always been interested in science fiction, but after taking Prof. Yaszek’s class on the subject, Betsy knew she needed to learn more. Her main research for this lab is the intricacies of the science fiction fan community of primarily contemporary television SF. Currently, the number one person Betsy would love to meet is Joss Whedon.
Bob Martin is pursuing a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering and hopes to graduate in May 2007. His concentration is in space mission design (though he sometimes wonders why he didn’t just go to flight school and work for the airlines), and therefore he tends to focus on science fiction with a lot of technical detail, especially concerning space travel. Bob is a private pilot and enjoys working with his hands.
Jason Taylor is a graduate student in Computer Science, specializing in Intelligent Systems and Cognitive Science. Like any aspiring polymath, he is also an amateur chef, electronic composer, philosopher, logician, traveler, artist and writer. As a researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence and advanced Human Interfaces, he is keenly interested in the reality behind the myth of the trans- and the post-human. He is currently working on his first novel tentatively titled Last Child Born, in which he intends to explore a turbulent future when humanity must pass the torch to its transhuman and posthuman successors.
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Fall 2005
As Paul Clifton completes his final semester as an Industrial Engineering major at Georgia Tech, he faces a new set of challenges including finding a job and becoming self-sufficient. Hopefully during the course of these amazing adventures, he will still find time to write music and fiction and enjoy the finer things in life such as watching the leaves change color. He also hopes to put his new perspectives on utopia to use in as many aspects of his life as possible including finding a job and becoming self-sufficient.
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Spring 2005
Erin
Gatlin is approaching her final year
at the Georgia Institute of Technology, working toward
a Bachelor of Science degree in Science, Technology
and Culture with a Minor in History and a Certificate
in African American Studies. Her primary academic
interest is the development and enforcement of racial
identities through culture in America. She intends
to pursue this study further at the graduate level.
Her other interests include art and literature, particularly
in popular culture. She is an amateur comic artist
and occasional bad poet.
Vishal
Gupta is a currently pursuing his PhD
in Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech. Vishal
has a keen interest in the fusion of technology and
art. Pursuing this interest, he researches circuits
for futuristic battery-powered portable applications
on one hand, and writes poetry and studies science
fiction on the other. Regarding science fiction, he
is still in the process of finding his favorite SF
theme. Consequently, his interests run the gamut:
from Asimov’s I, Robot to Philip K.
Dick’s The Man in the High Castle to
Gibson’s Neuromancer.
Bryan Kauffman
is by now loose in the world, actually practicing
mechanical engineering. If he isn't, he had better
start moving and find a job before Grandma tosses
him out in the street.
Justin Kronz
is a Computer Science senior who is focusing
on usability and computer interfaces. Currently he
is the webmaster for the Science Fiction Lab. His
spare time interests include digital photography and
classic movies. After graduating in Spring 2006, he hopes to take some time off to travel the world before settling into a full time programming job.
Laura Rich
is a Science, Technology, and Culture student who
plans on graduating with a Bachelor of Science in
May of 2006. Her focus is in both literature and communications,
with a particular focus on video production. Laura
hopes to continue studying in one these fields after
she graduates, eventually earning a Masters Degree.
Since she was a small child, Laura always enjoyed
reading science fiction. She pursued this interest
by participating in an undergraduate research project
known as the Science Fiction Lab with Professor Lisa
Yaszek. Laura is currently researching German science
fiction within the lab.
Mister Jesse
Scherer immigrated to this planet's "Mid-West"
region sometime in the very early eighties, but soon
learned to imitate an infant to escape the horrors
of big hair and MTV. After a vacation which went horribly
awry and refused to end, he settled in rural Georgia.
The absolute dearth of decent libraries in this frigid
province soon led him to flee to the Atlanta Jungle,
where he fell in with some Georgia Tech students and,
owing largely to peer pressure, matriculated as a
Computer Science major. Now in his fourth year as
a student, Jesse is a perpetual sophomore with aspirations
to someday design computer interfaces or write his
own sf "literature." He will probably do
both while working as a short-order cook in a five-star
aquarium. He lives in a slum with his wife, some ants
who don't pay rent, several roommates, four insane
birds, and a number of ravenous fish.
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Fall 2004
Jason Ellis
is a senior Science, Technology, and Culture major
at the Georgia Institute of Technology. After taking
Professor Lisa Yaszek's Science Fiction and Gender
Studies courses, he decided to pursue further work
studying science fiction as an independent researcher
in the Science Fiction Lab. His interests in science
fiction focus on the Golden Age, robots, and artificial
intelligence. After graduation Jason plans to pursue
graduate work in literary and cultural studies.
Andrew Pilsch
is pursuing dual degrees in STaC and Computer Science.
These two paths of study have led to his continuing
interest in exploring the ways in which humans interact
with the technology that permeates contemporary society.
Andrew is examining representations of cyborgs in
science fiction literature as part of his work in
the Science Fiction lab while working on several cognitive
science and artificial intelligence research projects.
This has enabled him to study both the cultural representations
of this phenomenon and the science behind the literature.
Andrew is also interested in creative writing, avant-garde
cinema, and experimental music. His current work in
the Science Fiction Lab is funded by a President’s
Undergraduate Research Award.
Laura Rich
is a Science, Technology, and Culture student who
plans on graduating with a Bachelor of Science in
May of 2006. Her focus is in both literature and communications,
with a particular focus on video production. Laura
hopes to continue studying in one these fields after
she graduates, eventually earning a Masters Degree.
Since she was a small child, Laura always enjoyed
reading science fiction. She pursued this interest
by participating in an undergraduate research project
known as the Science Fiction Lab with Professor Lisa
Yaszek. Laura is currently researching New Wave science
fiction within the lab.
Amelia Shackelford is a STaC major
and aspiring writer. Her passions lie in researching
and writing science fiction and “off the path”
stories. Her research has thus far centered on the
Gothic Body, tattooing and scarification in literature
and pop culture. She is most intrigued by SF's simultaneous
capacity to be eerily prophetic and utterly off-the-mark.
This may go a long way toward explaining her affinity
for writing first drafts on a mechanical typewriter
and spending hours taking photos with an antique Polaroid.
Kate Sisson
studies contemporary literature in the Science, Technology,
and Culture program at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
She is particularly interested in African-American
literature, postcolonial literature and science fiction.
Kate is currently preparing her senior thesis on the
intersection of Afrofuturism and American hip-hop.
In addition to her studies, Kate works as a freelance
editor in Atlanta. Kate has worked under Lisa Yaszek
in the Bud Foote collection as a writer, researcher,
interviewer and publicity assistant. Her work in the
collection this semester is funded by the President's
Undergraduate Research Award at Georgia Tech. After
graduation Kate plans to pursue a graduate position
in literary and cultural studies.
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Spring 2004
Allen Chen is a third-year Science, Technology,
and Culture major. His areas of scholarly interest include
science fiction and media studies research. He first became
involved with the Frankenstein Project in 2003 while attending
Prof. Lisa Yaszek's Science Fiction and Cybernetic Fiction
courses. Allen is receiving advanced undergraduate research
credit for his work as a researcher and writer for the Frankenstein
Project, and he hopes to continue his studies in the Bud
Foote Science Fiction Collection at Georgia Tech next year
as well.
Doug Davis is a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral
Fellow in Georgia Tech's School of Literature, Communication,
and Culture. He received his Ph.D. in
literary and cultural studies from Carnegie Mellon University
in May 2003. In his work, Doug synthesizes ideas from literary
theory and science studies to analyze how works of literature
give their readers real knowledge about the world. He is
particularly interested in the literary history of American
war storytelling, and how war stories told during the cold
war impacted the course of both American literary history
and international relations. He is currently finishing a
scholarly monograph on this topic entitled Strategic Fictions:
American War Stories in the World of Nuclear Defense. As
the Brittain postdoctoral liaison to the Frankenstein Project,
Doug has counseled the project's writers and webdesigners
on textual presentation, publicity, and community outreach.
Jessica Dillard is a Science, Technology,
and Culture senior with a minor in Women, Science, and Technology.
She is interested primarily in the relations of science
and gender, and plans to pursue graduate studies in this
area in order to research and teach at the collegiate level.
In addition to completing a senior thesis on gendered religious
imagery in eighteenth-century science writing, Jessica has
worked as a researcher for the History of Technology and
Society program at Georgia Tech and for the forensic evidence
collection on sexual assault at the University of Cincinnati.
Her involvement in feminist activism at Georgia Tech includes
performing in The Vagina Monologues and serving
as president of the Women's Student Union. Jessica became
involved with the Frankenstein Project as an extension
on her research on gender and romanticism. She received
a 2003 President's Undergraduate Research Award for her
contributions to this project.
Penny Harding is a fourth-year Science,
Technology, and Culture major with a specialty in media
studies. In addition to serving as the webmaster for the
Frankenstein Project, Penny has also done production
work for the Phat Videos music show on the Georgia Tech
Cable Network. After graduation, Penny plans to work in
web design and creation, where she intends to use her knowledge
of media culture and design to make the connections between
users and designers more efficient.
Matt Simpson is a Computer Engineering
student graduating with a B.S. degree this May. His professional
focus is in digital design, specifically low-level hardware
design and software integration. His passion is for electronic
sound, and he is an electronic music DJ for WREK Atlanta,
91.1 FM. Matt's love of technology in all forms extends
to researching and writing about its literary representations
as well, and over the past several years Matt has pursued
this interest by working closely with Prof. Lisa Yaszek
in LCC. Although Matt is primarily interested in cyberpunk
literature, the Frankenstein Project has enabled
him to extend his interests and explore the roots of modern
science fiction as well. He recently received a 2004 President's
Undergraduate Research Award for his contributions to this
project.
Kate Sisson is a Science, Technology,
and Culture senior at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
She is interested in contemporary American literature with
a focus on science fiction. Kate is currently preparing
her senior thesis on the language of science fiction in
American hip hop. Kate joined the Frankenstein Project
to further pursue her interest in science fiction, and she
is currently receiving advanced independent study credit
for her contributions to the project as a researcher, interviewer,
and writer. After graduation Kate plans to pursue graduate
studies in literary and cultural studies.
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