The Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) has expanded its faculty leadership team to advance its work in partnerships, AI and resilience research, and interdisciplinary graduate student training.

Marta Hatzell to Lead BBISS External Partnership Efforts

Marta Hatzell has been appointed as faculty director for Strategic Engagement and Partnerships. Hatzell is a Woodruff Professor in Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering with a joint appointment in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, specializing in energy storage materials, sustainable materials engineering, and electrochemical systems.

Across institutes, research centers, federal agencies, national laboratories, and industry partnerships, Hatzell’s work has operated at the intersection of research, infrastructure, policy, and implementation. She has worked closely with power utilities, industry partners, and federal sponsors. In this role, Hatzell will help shape BBISS’s external-facing strategy involving federal agencies, national laboratories, and university partners. She will bring her experience and expertise to steward strategic partnerships and strengthen large-scale collaborative research efforts, working closely with Ameet Pinto, faculty director for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration.

Xiao Liu to Advance AI and Resilience Research at BBISS

Xiao Liu has been appointed as faculty director for Resilience and AI. Liu is the David M. McKenney Family Associate Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. His research advances statistical methods and machine learning, with applications spanning wildfire risk analysis, climate and environmental modeling, infrastructure systems, and data-driven resilience research.

Liu’s appointment is part of BBISS’s growing focus on connecting AI, resilience, and sustainability research across disciplines, particularly in areas related to sustainable AI and AI for climate and sustainability science. His work on wildfire ignition risk quantification for power delivery networks, wildfire spread modeling, and remote-sensing analysis of wildfire aerosols demonstrates a commitment to using machine learning and AI to address complex environmental and infrastructure challenges. In this role, Liu will lead efforts to advance AI-driven approaches to resilience and will co-steward the AI, Sustainability, and Resilience Initiative in partnership with Josiah Hester, faculty director for Civic Innovation and AI.

Matthew Realff to Lead BBISS Education Initiatives

Matthew J. Realff has been appointed as faculty director for Interdisciplinary Sustainability Education. Realff is a professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech, where he has served on the faculty since 1993. Realff’s decades of research and education leadership center on advancing sustainable systems, with an emphasis on integrating process systems engineering with environmental and economic analysis. He has contributed to the development of sustainability policy, environmentally informed design, recycling systems, and industry standards.

Realff’s appointment supports BBISS’s ongoing efforts to strengthen interdisciplinary graduate education and workforce development aligned with Georgia Tech’s broader sustainability strategy. His commitment to sustainable systems education and his prior leadership roles, including chair of the Sustainability Education and Curriculum Committee, position him to expand interdisciplinary training and pathways for students who want to tackle sustainability challenges across boundaries.

Beril Toktay, BBISS executive director, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Marta, Xiao, and Matthew to the BBISS faculty leadership team. These appointments greatly expand BBISS’s capacity to address sustainability challenges crossing disciplinary, institutional, and sectoral lines.”

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