Jenny Hou and Sidney Wise Selected as R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Student Interns in the Abit Massey Student Internship Program

December 3, 2024

Jenny Hou and Sidney Wise Selected as R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Student Interns in the Abit Massey Student Internship Program

The Georgia Tech Research Institute’s (GTRI) Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) has selected Jenny Hou and Sidney Wise as the latest R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Student Interns. The internships began with the Fall 2024 semester and will continue through the Spring 2025 semester. 

Funded by an endowment from the R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Foundation, the internships are awarded to Georgia Tech students participating in ATRP’s Abit Massey Student Internship Program. During the academic year, interns work alongside ATRP researchers on real-world challenges facing poultry production and processing, and have the opportunity to gain practical industry knowledge by networking with staff at local poultry companies. The goal is to prepare the next generation of researchers and professionals to produce significant advances in innovation and technology.

Hou, a fourth-year computer science major, is working with Walker Byrnes, research engineer II, on designing robotic systems for poultry processing applications with an emphasis on human-computer interaction. Hou, who is from Fremont, California, said she has always been interested in how robotics fits into our world today. “This internship will give me the opportunity to investigate a large industry in which robotics can have a big influence on how the industry advances,” she said. “Being able to work closely with robots will allow me to learn and understand more about the dynamics between humans and robots, and explore how they can coexist harmoniously.”

Wise, an Atlanta native, is pursuing a master’s degree in robotics. She is working with Colin Usher, senior research scientist, on the development and field testing of an autonomous robot that can perform management tasks in commercial poultry houses, easing labor requirements while potentially mitigating disease and contamination factors. With research interests in human-robot interaction and artificial intelligence, Wise said she is excited to gain the technical skills and insights needed to excel as an engineer. “I love robotics and believe this internship will provide an opportunity for me to further explore my research interests with the goal of identifying the technology fields I am most interested in pursuing as a career.”

“We are pleased to have Jenny and Sidney as our latest R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Student Interns. They are outstanding student researchers. We are also so thankful for the R. Harold and Pasty Harrison Foundation’s support that allows us to provide these practical training opportunities to equip future technology leaders,” said Doug Britton, ATRP program manager.  

Established in 1973, ATRP develops advanced technology in support of Georgia’s multibillion-dollar poultry industry, the state’s leading agricultural sector. The technologies help poultry processors optimize operations and improve efficiency, safety, product yields, and environmental sustainability.

The R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Foundation was founded by the Harrisons’ daughter, Bobbie Ann Harrison Reynolds, and her husband, Raymond H. Reynolds, Jr. (a Georgia Tech industrial engineering alumnus), in honor of her late parents with a primary goal to strengthen and support education. Her father founded Harrison Poultry in 1958 in Bethlehem, Georgia.

The Abit Massey Student Internship Program is in honor of the late Abit Massey, president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation, who was instrumental in ATRP’s founding.

ABOUT GTRI
The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $800 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry. GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.