The seventh annual class of 40 Under 40 includes Niall Brown, ME 13, a former U.S. Air Force instructor pilot who trains and mentors the next generation of aviators, Ziyi Gao, IE 17, the co-founder of the world’s leading alcohol reduction app, and Brennan Torstrick, MS BioE 17, PhD ME 17, who is advancing medical diagnostics with innovative wearable technology for sleep apnea and cardiac care.
Nominees, who must have completed at least one semester at Georgia Tech and be under the age of 40 as of June 30, 2026, were scored using a 25-point rubric by a committee of over 28 faculty, staff, and volunteer leaders, who collectively represented all Georgia Tech colleges.
To learn more about this year’s nominees and their accomplishments, please visit GTalumni.org/40under40.
Among the honorees are six Daniel Guggenheim School alumni, Lauren Baugh, Marc Canellas, Christine Hartzell, Natasha Schatzman, Sangita Sharma, and Suo Yang. From advancing aviation and aerospace to shaping the future of academia and engineering, these alumni are making meaningful contributions across a wide range of industries. Explore their journeys since graduation and learn about the experiences, traditions, and memories that made their time on campus unforgettable.
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Lauren Baugh, AE 10
Technical Lead—Functional Genomics | Ginkgo Bioworks
Lauren Baugh is technical lead for arrayed functional genomics at Ginkgo Bioworks, where she builds high-throughput platforms at the intersection of genomics, computational analysis, and drug development. A Georgia Tech aerospace engineer turned biomedical scientist, she earned her PhD at Tufts and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT, where her research on heart valve disease and endometriosis has appeared in Nature Biomedical Engineering and other leading journals. She currently leads the scientific response to an ARPA-H initiative advancing animal-free drug testing, with a particular focus on women’s health.
Favorite Tech Memory: Climbing to the top of an empty Bobby Dodd after a game and taking in the Atlanta skyline all lit up.
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Marc Canellas, MS AE 14, PhD AE 17
Assistant Public Defender, Forensics Division | Maryland Office of the Public Defender; Advisory Board | IEEE-USA AI Policy Committee
Marc Canellas is a public defender, engineer, and nationally recognized expert on AI and the law. After graduating from Georgia Tech, he served as an IEEE-USA Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives advising on AI, justice, aerospace, and defense policy. He then earned his JD from New York University and now litigates cases involving potential life sentences, while challenging technologies like facial recognition systems. He advises Congress and the executive branch as a member of the IEEE-USA AI Policy Committee’s advisory board; publishes on AI and criminal law in engineering journals and law reviews; and trains judges and attorneys nationwide on emerging technologies.
Favorite Tech Memory: Meeting my wife, the best thing to ever happen to me. And creating the Graduate Student Experience Survey.
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Christine Hartzell, AE 08
Minta Martin Professor | University of Maryland
Christine Hartzell is the Minta Martin Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD). She is the founding director of ASTRA-UMD, which is UMD’s center for space exploration technology research. She has participated in NASA and JAXA missions to study asteroids and Phobos, one of Mars’ moons. Asteroid 9319 was named “Hartzell” in recognition of her contributions to the field of asteroid science. Hartzell was a Keck Institute for Space Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech. She completed her PhD in aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder and received her bachelor’s in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech.
Favorite Tech Memory: Napping in the student center after a long night of homework!
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Natasha Schatzman, AE 11, MS AE 14, PhD AE 18
Aerospace Engineer | NASA Ames Research Center
Natasha Schatzman earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD in aerospace engineering from the Daniel Guggenheim School at Georgia Tech. She works in the Aeromechanics Office at NASA Ames Research Center, specializing in computational and experimental rotorcraft aeroacoustics and aerodynamics, and supporting multiple planetary vehicle design and testing efforts. Schatzman has received numerous honors, including the 2023 Vertical Flight Society (VFS) François-Xavier Bagnoud Award, 2025 VFS Alex M. Stoll Award, and the 2026 NASA Ames Education and Outreach Award.
Favorite Tech Memory: After taking a test, I would swim laps in the 1996 Olympic pool at the CRC to unwind.
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Sangita Sharma, AE 14
Director of the Sustainable Skies Lab | Delta Air LinesSangita Sharma is the director and founder of Delta Air Lines’ Sustainable Skies Lab, a first-of-its-kind innovation hub accelerating the development, testing, and deployment of net-zero aviation technologies. Over her 12-plus-year career at Delta, Sharma has led initiatives spanning operations, strategy, and crisis response, from improving reliability through data models to standing up cleanliness protocols during Covid-19. A proud Yellow Jacket, Sharma holds degrees in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech and business administration from Emory University. Sharma also serves on the board of trustees of the New York Restoration Project.
Favorite Tech Memory: Serving eggs and pancakes to students at midnight during finals week, alongside favorite faculty and staff members.
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Suo Yang, MS AE 14, MS CSE 15, PhD AE 17
Associate Professor | University of Minnesota
Suo Yang is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota. A distinguished Georgia Tech alumnus, he earned his PhD and master’s in aerospace engineering, alongside a master’s in computational science and engineering, followed by postdoctoral research at Princeton University. Yang has authored more than 100 publications and pioneered modeling for advanced aerospace propulsion. He has received four prestigious Department of Defense Young Investigator awards and the inaugural CSSCI Early Career Award. A leader in AIAA and education, Yang advances critical technologies for the U.S. Armed Forces and global energy industries while upholding Georgia Tech’s legacy.
Favorite Tech Memory: My first aerodynamics lecture in the Guggenheim building: It was the moment my transition from mathematician to engineer felt real.
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