international level, and employees are encouraged to publish their work and present it at conferences and consortia. GTRI is an operating unit of Georgia Tech although it performs research under commercial cost principles for non-profit organizations. For that reason, it uses a separate contracting entity, the Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation (GTARC). Although GTARC is the contracting entity, the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) owns the intellectual property created by all Georgia Tech researchers and manages technology protection and licensing. GTRI reports to the Georgia Tech Executive Vice President of Research (as of 2013, Stephen E. Cross) who currently serves as the President of GTARC. GTRI's project directors are responsible for the direction of all aspects of projects, including marketing, contract development, research, and fulfillment. Most projects are conducted on a cost-reimbursable basis and are negotiated by Georgia Tech's Office of Sponsored Programs with terms and conditions appropriate for contracts specific to the operation of a university research organization. The organization is led by the Director, who is also considered a vice president of Georgia Tech. Five people report to the director: the Deputy Director and Associate Vice Provost for Research; the Deputy Director for Support Operations; and the three deputy directors in charge of each research and development directorate. The eight lab directors report to their respective deputy director of research and development. The business strategist, financial operations director, and chief scientist all report to the Deputy Director/Vice Provost. Business services, human resources, information systems, machine services, and other support services report to the Deputy Director for Support Operations. GTRI, like many traditional boards of directors, has an External Advisory Council, which consists of individuals who are notable in related fields of industry, government or academia and who provide advice about research direction, strategy, and markets, although they do not govern the organization. Members of the Board of Trustees of the contracting agency, GTARC, are not necessarily members of the External Advisory Council, although there is sometimes overlap between them. University affiliation GTRI contributes to the Georgia Tech research environment for faculty and students by conducting externally sponsored, applications-oriented research programs that benefit the state, region, and nation. These programs, led by GTRI research faculty, contribute to national security, civilian needs, and industrial competitiveness, and provide students with career experience through graduate research assistantships, cooperative education programs, and undergraduate assistantships. Since 1995, GTRI (and in particular, its Huntsville Laboratory)