Posted October 17, 2017

The 2017 Foley Scholars are:

– Kayla DesPortes (Ph.D. Human-Centered Computing, School of Interactive Computing) – Betsy DiSalvo, advisor
– Tesca Fitzgerald (Ph.D. Computer Science, School of Interactive Computing) – Ashok Goel and Andrea Thomaz, advisors
– Tom Jenkins (Ph.D. Digital Media, School of Literature, Media, and Communication) – Carl DiSalvo, advisor

(As in the previous four years, we were able to make a third Foley Scholar award thanks to a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.)

Our GVU Distinguished Masters Student Award winner is:

– Morgan Orangi (MS Human-Computer Interaction) – Carl DiSalvo, advisor

You can read more about these amazing students and their accomplishments at http://gvu.gatech.edu/foley-scholars-2017/

The selection process for these awards is hugely competitive, with extremely strong nominations from across Georgia Tech. This year we had applications from eight different degree programs and five different schools across five GT colleges–what a wonderful testimony to the intellectual diversity of the GVU community. The review committees had an incredibly difficult time evaluating so many exceptional candidates.

As you know, the Foley Scholars Endowment was established in 2007 during the 15th Anniversary of the GVU Center, and each year provides funding for these awards to outstanding graduate students (direct financial gifts of $5,000 to each of our Foley Scholars winners, and $1,000 for our GVU Distinguished Masters student) . The award was established by colleagues of Jim Foley and GVU alumni to honor Jim's significant contributions in the field of computing, his influence on the work of others, and his dedication to interdisciplinary research. Thank you to the many of you who provide support for this endowment.  We will be honoring the winners, finalists, and their advisors at the Foley Scholars Awards Dinner later this month.

For more information about the Foley Scholars Endowment visit http://gvu.gatech.edu/foley-scholars