THE FLATS – Leaders in sports innovation from Georgia Tech, local professional sports teams and the business world gathered on campus late last month for the second-annual Georgia Tech Sports Innovation Symposium. The symposium was held at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Thursday, March 28.
The objective of the Georgia Tech Sports Innovation Symposium is to create increased awareness and share related efforts around sports innovation, with the ultimate vision of making Atlanta the global leader in the field by building partnerships, collaboration and research opportunities.
2nd-Annual GT Sports Innovation Symposium
March 28, 2019 - Bobby Dodd Stadium
This year’s symposium featured four “power talks” and two panel discussions on topics related to sports innovation.
“Power talk” topics included:
- “Concussions/traumatic brain injury research” by Dr. Michelle LaPlaca (GT professor, biomedical engineering);
- “Creating partnerships in sports science” by Dr. Young-Hui Chang (GT professor/director of GT’s comparative neuromechanics laboratory);
- “Creating the next Gatorade” by Dan Taylor (GT men’s basketball director of player development and PhD candidate);
- “Predictive modeling for sports” by Dr. Joel Sokol (director of GT’s master of science analytics program);
Panel discussions included:
- ESports with panelists John Brock (owner/founder of Tabbris, co-owner of Envy Gaming), Todd Harris (president, Skillshot Media, and COO, Hi-Rez Studios), Min-Sik Ko (VP, IMG ESports, and VP of tournament operations, ELEAGUE) and Bret Cowley (NCAA ESports working group);
- Sports analytics and science with panelists Karl Pierburg (AMB Sports & Entertainment VP of technology, data and analytics), Justin Watkins (Atlanta Braves director of business intelligence), Ryan Horton (GT football director of applied sports science) and Pat Boyle (GT football research and analytics coordinator).
In all, symposium participants included more than 50 Georgia Tech faculty and staff members, more than a dozen representatives from the Atlanta Braves, Falcons, Hawks and United and nearly two dozen corporate leaders from venture capital firms, the healthcare and consulting fields, adidas and other sports-related companies.
Georgia Tech plans to continue to proactively collaborate with symposium participants and beyond to make Atlanta the global leader in sports innovation. Upcoming initiatives include the creation of a GT sports innovation website.
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