Dr. W. Jud Ready is the Deputy Director, Innovation Initiatives for the Georgia Tech ‘Institute for Materials.’  He has also been an Adjunct Professor in the School of Materials Science & Engineering at Georgia Tech and a Principal Research Engineer on the research faculty of Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) for over a dozen years.  Prior to joining the Georgia Tech faculty, he worked for a major military contractor (General Dynamics) as well as in small business (MicroCoating Technologies). He has served as PI or co-PI for grants totaling ~$17M awarded by the Army, Navy, Air Force, DARPA, NASA, NSF, NIST, industry, charitable foundations and the States of Georgia and Florida. His current research focuses primarily on energy, aerospace, nanomaterial applications and electronics reliability.

Dr. Ready has published numerous refereed publications on electronic and nanoscale materials and his research developments have been presented at well-over two dozen international conferences. He has served as an expert witness in criminal and civil cases and he has provided testimony to the Georgia State House Science & Technology Committee. He has patents awarded in the United States (#6,846,370; 6,994,757; 8,350,146; 8,474,805; 8,604,681; 8,774,890; 8,919,752; 9,058,954) and abroad, with several others pending in the U.S. and abroad as well.

The Electronic, Magnetic and Photonic Materials Division (EMPMD) of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) named Dr. Ready as a 2002 “Young Leader.” He has served as Chair for the TMS Nanotechnology Committee, TMS Education Committee and TMS Membership & Student Development Committee.  He was elected to the TMS Board in 2005 (Director, Membership & Student Development) and again in 2010 (Director, Content Development & Dissemination).

In 2015, he received the Brimacombe Medal from TMS that rewards a mid-career individuals for sustained excellence and achievement in business, technology, education, public policy, or science related to materials science and engineering.  Dr. Ready is also the recipient of the “Innovative Research Award” by GTRI in 2013; the “Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award” by the Georgia Institute of Technology (2009); the “Young Leader International Scholar Award” by the Japan Institute of Metals (2005); and the “Red Flag Award” by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (2001). Dr. Ready also serves on the TMS Electronic Packaging and Interconnect Materials Committee and the TMS Public and Government Affairs Committee.

He has also been involved in a variety of peer review activities for archival journals, scholarships and federal agencies and continues to be a session organizer for numerous national and international symposia/conferences. Dr. Ready is also a Senior Member of IEEE, and a member of the Materials Research Society (MRS).  Dr. Ready is a helicopter and instrument-rated fixed wing pilot and has served as Board Chairman for the non-profit /501(c)(3) Yellow Jacket Flying Club, Inc. since 2010.  He also is a Trustee of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, as well as the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, and recently served on the Georgia Tech Executive Board, as well as Faculty Assembly.