Randal T. Abler, PhD

Randal Abler earned his doctorate in Electrical Engineering in 2000 after spending a decade as a research engineer pursuing work in parallel computing, telecommunications, and distance learning.  He pursued a faculty position at Georgia Tech Savannah, an outreach campus serving non-traditional students as part of an effort to broaden engineering education opportunities in the state of Georgia.  Continuing on the theme of growing educational opportunities, Dr. Abler help found the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program at Georgia Tech, working closely with Dr. Ed Coyle to create a working VIP center at Georgia Tech.  Dr. Abler developed VIP courses, assisted other faculty in starting their own VIP teams, and was involved in spreading VIP through multiple institutions within the country.  Dr. Abler also took special interest in leading the development of computerized team assessment tools for VIP, with emphasis on understanding and improving the impact of VIP on student outcomes across entire spectrum of students represented by the growing multi-institutional growth of VIP.   Dr. Abler was the founding Executive Director of the non-profit VIP Consortium and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors.