At its inception in 2000, the program was a summer research experience for undergraduates at Georgia Tech by the Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues (GTEC), a National Science Foundation-funded Engineering Research Center, and today provides a full-year research opportunity for its scholars. As the program grew, it expanded its reach to a broader scope of students and has supported over 500 top undergraduate researchers from Georgia Tech, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Georgia State University, Emory University, Agnes Scott College, and Georgia Gwinnett College, who have gone on to distinguished careers in research, medicine, and industry.

Petit Scholars have the opportunity to work in IBB faculty labs, be matched with graduate student mentors, and participate in diverse areas of research. Scholars receive training that provides a solid foundation to pursue advanced degrees in science or engineering, and Mentors gain valuable management experience for their own professional pursuits.

IBB labs offer a wide selection of interests including; Automation and Supply Chain Management, Biomaterials, Biophysics, Cancer Biology, Cell Manufacturing, Chemical Biology, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Drug Design, Development, Delivery, Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, Imaging of Living Systems, Immunoengineering, Mechanical Engineering, Medicinal Chemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Molecular Evolution, Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics, Neuroscience, Pediatrics, Regenerative Medicine, and Systems Biology.

Funding for the Petit Scholars is supported by Atlanta area community members, on-campus research centers, friends of IBB, and corporate sponsorship. If you are interested in donating to this valuable program, please email petitscholars@ibb.gatech.edu.