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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta | Posted: January 20, 2003
MEDIA ADVISORY
For Thursday, Jan. 23
Who: State and local officials, agri-business leaders and Georgia Tech researchers and administrators
What: Will break ground on Georgia Tech's Food Processing Technology Research Facility
When: Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003 at 10 a.m.
Where: Georgia Tech's North Avenue Research Area, 640 Strong Street NW, Atlanta, GA.
[Special note: Attendees will assemble at the Wardlaw Center, 177 North Avenue, where a shuttle will carry them to the site of the ceremony.]
Why:
The Food Processing Technology Research Facility is the first of its kind at Tech. The final, $9.4 million facility will provide a world-class research center for collaborative food-processing technology development, academic research and public interaction. More than 40 engineers and scientists associated with the facility will work together to develop exciting breakthroughs in computer vision, robotics, plant ergonomics, biosensors and wearable-computer technology.
Additional Details:
* Funding for the facility is provided by the state of Georgia and a mix of corporate and industrial donors.
* Construction will take place in two phases, with phase I completion slated for 2004.
* Phase I will house 35,000-square feet of laboratory and office space for research and development in the areas of automation technology, information technology and environmental systems. A 50-seat auditorium and meeting facilities will be included, plus a lower lobby outfitted with interactive computer kiosk systems to entertain and inform school and visitor groups about the growing role of technology in the poultry and food-processing industries.
* Phase II, to be built at a later date, will house 10,000-square feet of additional laboratory and office space for human factors, food safety and bioprocessing research.
* The research facility will serve as headquarters for the Georgia Tech Research Institute's Food Processing Technology Division, a unique research unit that examines new technological developments for processing food more efficiently.
* The Food Processing Technology Divison also houses the Agricultural Technology Research Program, which recently ranked tenth among the top 10 university programs serving the meat and poultry industry, according to an industry survey conducted by Meat and Poultry magazine.
For more information on the facility, contact Craig Wyvil, Chief of the Food Processing Technology Division, Georgia Tech Research Institute, (404) 894-3412 or craig.wyvill@gtri.gatech.edu.
