Dr. Baratunde Cola delivered the following Commencement Address at Georgia Tech’s Spring 2024 Ph.D. Ceremony held at McCamish Pavilion on Thursday, May 2, at 4 p.m
The ceremony can be viewed on Georgia Tech’s YouTube channel. Dr. Cola’s commencement speech begins at 53:30.
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Thank you for that kind introduction. Thank you to President Cabrera, Provost, Deans, Faculty and guests. Congratulations to the class of 2024. I love Georgia Tech students. You are so inspiring. Today is a great honor for me. What an amazing day on this campus and in Atlanta. Congratulations to the partners, parents, family, and friends as well. You have achieved the highest degree … the Ph.D. They call this the terminal degree… which means you have been in school way too long.
When I graduated with my Master’s degree 20 years ago my dad said, “Congratulations you are now the master. What can be higher than mastering the subjects of your field?” He had a good point. When you master all the knowledge what can possibly come next? But you have learned that mastery is just the beginning. You must be a PIONEER to earn your PhD at Georgia Tech. You have learned to dig deeper to find the simplest principles on which existing knowledge is built. Then you have expanded this knowledge for others to learn and master. My dad is right, the Master is a powerful person. You can do and achieve a lot in life from mastery. But to be trained how to think through a top-tier PhD program like here at Georgia Tech is to gain a power beyond mastery. A power to navigate the uncertainties of life with more clarity and confidence.
Nothing will break your clarity and confidence more than adversity. People say adversity makes you stronger. I disagree. Adversity can make you stronger depending on how you are able to respond to it. You need several tools and strategies, like money, knowledge, networks, faith, to respond to adversity in ways that make you really grow. Grit alone is not enough. All humans face adversity. And we all share challenges that connect us no matter where we live, how we live, how we look, what we believe. When you see vastly different outcomes across our world and communities it is not because humans are vastly different, it is because the tools that the humans have to deal with adversity are vastly different. I am here today to tell you that the way you learned to think, search, question, create, receive criticism, collaborate, and problem solve in your PhD is the greatest tool for facing adversity.
I am here today to tell you that the way you learned to think, search, question, create, receive criticism, collaborate, and problem solve in your PhD is the greatest tool for facing adversity.
Dr. Baratunde Cola
I only went to grad school to play my last year of college football as the starting fullback at Vanderbilt. How I got there from being a walk-on, tearing my ACL two times and serving as the student equipment manager two times is an interesting story for another day. I planned to drop out of grad school and pursue professional football after the season, but I tore my ACL for a third time in our final game, which ended my football career for good.
I made it a long way in football and through undergraduate studies with discipline, grit, and faith as my major tools for life. The six years that followed the end of football included me earning my master’s degree from Vanderbilt, starting an engineering software company with my dad, working in real estate investing with a friend, dabbling in TN politics, and earning my Ph.D. from Purdue. I tried a lot of things because I wanted to do something that could really make a difference for me and others. However, this is where I learned a very humbling lesson: discipline, grit, and faith could only take me so far when I lacked other essential tools like money and strong networks to break through the natural adversity that gets in the way of ambition.
I grew up in Pensacola, FL and went to Vanderbilt on a partial engineering scholarship. I spent my entire undergraduate time chasing a football dream and rehabbing torn knee ligaments. I did not understand how to build networks at Vanderbilt and going to Vanderbilt put me $70K in debt.
I went to Purdue for a Ph.D. because I did not like the limitations on my life 20 years ago. At 23 I was honest with myself about what paths could be available to a Black guy from Pensacola with no access to money, a lot of debt, and a tiny network to achieve his dreams. It was a critical moment for me. Vanderbilt and playing SEC football were great boxes to check but I needed more. I thought, if I became a world expert in this new carbon nanotube material, in time, I would be able to build a powerful network and create opportunities I wanted in my life.
My plan was to get my PhD and then go to work in Silicon Valley for a startup as a first step. Because of my plan, I had a lot of focus and confidence during my Ph.D. I am sure many of you entered your programs with focus and confidence too, for your own reasons. AND, I am sure many of you had that confidence broken many times by some of your professors… Look, I went to Vanderbilt, a top liberal arts school, so I thought I was a good writer going into Purdue. I will never forget the first journal paper I wrote. I spent so much time on it and was very proud of myself when I emailed the draft to my co-advisors. I thought, “They are going to love it and be so happy that I am their student.” A few days later I got a one sentence response from one of my advisors that basically said … “this sucks.” My feelings were hurt. I learned that the PhD world gives unusually direct feedback that can feel harsh. But he was right. I made the paper better, and it now has 100s of citations. It is also the scientific foundation for the company I lead today, Carbice, which stands for Carbon Interfaces Cooling Electronics.
My 6 years in graduate school challenged me and showed me that there are simple building blocks for knowledge that can be used to solve all types of problems. I met many amazing people and built a great network. And I got to consult with several deep tech startup founders and investors and learn how the industry works. But most of all … I went 6 years without tearing my ACL again! Unfortunately, I tore my ACL for the fourth time as a Georgia Tech professor and 2 years before I started Carbice. In fact, I would go on to tear this ligament in my knee 7 times. During this period of successive injuries my wife and I had two kids, I earned tenure at Georgia Tech, was promoted to full professor, and raised 2 rounds of equity funding for Carbice. It was a busy time.
It takes a lot of discipline and grit to keep rehabbing knee surgeries in the background of life. It’s been about another 6 years now since my last knee surgery - all is good now. Turns out that repairing an ACL is not so straightforward when your tibia slopes posteriorly more than 12 degrees – mine sloped 18 degrees when we finally corrected a root cause in my last surgery. You must dig deeper to solve hard problems. Earning my PhD empowered me to read over 100 journal articles outside my discipline on ACL repairs. It helped me ask better questions and eventually find a root cause and the right care team to fix a problem that consumed 20 years of my life in pain and rehab. My eyes were also opened to the science of Pilates and how two sessions a week with a great instructor is like magic for the knees. PhD thinking is a powerful tool.
My company Carbice is built on PhD thinking. We call it a teaching and learning culture. We have put over 8 quadrillion vertically aligned carbon nanotubes into satellites orbiting earth now, and have built the world’s largest production capacity for this breakthrough material in West End Atlanta, GA. Soon, every bit of data that runs through your electronic devices will be protected from heat by Carbice nanotubes. A digital, AI future cannot escape the basic laws of thermodynamics and what we do at Carbice is a first-principles solution to drive performance. It has not been easy to build Carbice. I have had to reinvent myself many times and deal with a long list of setbacks and barriers. Building Carbice requires Ph.D. style problem solving daily.
I have had to reinvent myself many times and deal with a long list of setbacks and barriers. Building Carbice requires Ph.D. style problem solving daily.
Dr. Baratunde Cola
The murder of George Floyd in 2020 outraged nearly everyone. I was inspired then to write about the systemic problem that Black People face in America because it is a very hard problem that belongs to every American. The outcomes we see like George Floyd are strongly correlated to the lack of a basic American requirement – every community needs strong manufacturing companies that support large payrolls and tax base. Back then it was a hypothesis from my observations. Then I leveraged my Ph.D. thinking, Georgia Tech network, and Waterman award to fund a collaborative study to prove it with data. Nationwide data shows that large, advanced manufacturing facilities increase nearly all metrics of community health. The benefits are especially strong when these facilities appear in majority black communities. Here is a solution for business leaders and policy makers: build large, advanced manufacturing facilities in more black communities to eliminate outcomes like George Floyd and unlock the full greatness of America. There are 5 ready-to-go pad sites just down the street at Pittsburgh Yards here in Atlanta.
Higher order Ph.D. thinking can solve personal problems, systemic problems, and global problems in powerful, sustainable ways. Today I see a swarm of Yellow Jackets, ready to go out and protect this colony we call earth with how you have trained your minds. I see a swarm that is empowered to defend truth, enlightenment, and the humanity of all communities. Because Justice matters. Freedom matters. Science matters. Faith matters. I see a swarm with the power to apply higher order thinking to protect and advance it all. Democracy requires sensible thinking and your actions can bring our nation and world together – you are powerful when you choose to believe this.
Higher order Ph.D. thinking can solve personal problems, systemic problems, and global problems in powerful, sustainable ways. Today I see a swarm of Yellow Jackets, ready to go out and protect this colony we call earth with how you have trained your minds.
Dr. Baratunde Cola
Adversity is attracted to ambition. You are going to face doubt and pain on your path. It is not easy to ask someone to apply Ph.D. thinking to all aspects of their life. It takes a lot of energy. But that is my challenge to you because I am confident that your time at Georgia Tech has prepared you well.
So go out and apply your PhD degree – you earned it, but also go out and apply your PhD thinking with CONFIDENCE. We all need your help to live better, in a better world. GO JACKETS and congratulations.
#Buildstronger.
Carbice is the material for pioneers.™