Celebrating 90 Years of Innovation and Impact
Leadership
Our Priority
GTRI’s top priority is our people. We are committed to developing our staff, students, and research faculty as thought leaders. We measure our success by the impact our people have in our mission areas.
A thought leader is one whose views on a subject are respected and influential. They have a positive reputation for helping others with their knowledge and insight, and establish rich, meaningful relationships with those they are trying to reach. Everyone at GTRI has the potential to be a thought leader, whether they enable our missions by being a thought leader in finance, IT, security, or operations; work within a team to deliver on a project; or work directly with our sponsors. Our people are our core, our differentiator, and our secret weapon. Prioritizing our people will ensure our strategic success.
Director
James J. Hudgens
Senior Vice President, Georgia Tech and Director, Georgia Tech Research Institute
James J. Hudgens, Ph.D., has led national security research for over 25 years. As the current director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and senior vice president of the Georgia…
Deputy Directors
Bill Melvin
Deputy Director, Sensors & Intelligent Systems
Dr. William Melvin is Deputy Director for Research at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Director of the Sensors and Intelligent Systems Directorate at GTRI, a University System of…
Kim Toatley
AVP GTRI Financial & Research Administration
Kimberly (Kim) Toatley currently serves as AVP GTRI Financial & Research Administration where she is responsible for four operational units: Sponsored Project Support, Accounting,…
Keith McBride
Chief of Staff
Keith McBride is the chief of staff for The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and serves on the GTRI Executive Council. His primary roles include advising and assisting the…
Romy Smith
Chief Counsel, GTRI
Romy Smith serves as Chief Counsel to the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Prior to taking her position with Georgia Tech, Ms. Smith served as…
Mark Whorton
Deputy Director, Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Mark Whorton is the Chief Technology Officer of GTRI with responsibility for technology strategy and stewardship of discretionary investments supporting internal research and development. Dr.…
Troy Littles
Chief Operating Officer
Troy L. Littles is the Chief Operating Officer for GTRI. Troy provides strategic oversight and guides the day-to-day operations of the research institute.
Before joining GTRI, Troy served as…
Emily Monago
Director, Strategic Inclusive Excellence
Dr. Emily Monago has fulfilled an inaugural role at GTRI. In this role, Emily leads and builds upon existing GTRI efforts for inclusion and belonging that align with existing GTRI and…
William H. Robinson
Deputy Director, Information and Cyber Sciences
William H. Robinson, Ph.D., is the GTRI Deputy Director for Research for the Information and Cyber Sciences Directorate (ICSD). As ICSD Director, William leads the Information and Communications…
Laboratory Directors
Rusty Roberts
Laboratory Director
Rusty Roberts is the Director of the Aerospace, Transportation and Advanced Systems (ATAS) Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). ATAS develops advanced systems concepts,…
Alexa Harter
Laboratory Director
Dr. Alexa W. Harter is Director of the Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research (CIPHER) Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. CIPHER Lab’s…
Doug Denison
Laboratory Director
Doug Denison received his BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, and the PhD degree in EE from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT…
Tommer Ender
Laboratory Director
Dr. Tommer R. Ender serves as Director of the Electronic Systems Laboratory (ELSYS) of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). As GTRI’s largest lab with over 500 personnel and over $…
Ryan Hersey
Laboratory Director
Ryan Hersey, Ph.D., is the Director of the Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory (SEAL) in the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Sensors and Intelligent Systems Directorate. He…
Margaret Loper
Interim Director, ICL
Margaret L. Loper is the interim Director for the Information & Communications Laboratory (ICL), where she serves as the Associate Director for Operations. She joined GTRI in…
Linda Viney
Laboratory Director, Applied Systems Laboratory
Linda Viney is the director of GTRI's Applied Systems Laboratory. As director, Viney will work with the ASL leadership team to direct the lab’s research mission, coordinate sponsor…