Wayne Wolf is an expert in embedded computing systems.

Wayne Wolf isn't bothered about Atlanta's long, hot summers.

"That's why air conditioning was invented," Wolf quipped in an interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education about leaving Princeton University and the Ivy League for Georgia Tech and "Hotlanta."

A leading expert in embedded computing systems and smart cameras, Wolf will join Georgia Tech in July as its newest Georgia Research Alliance eminent scholar. He will occupy the Rhesa "Ray" S. Farmer Jr. Distinguished Chair in Embedded Computer Systems in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he will continue his research and commercialization activities.

Wolf brings the total number of Georgia Tech GRA eminent scholars to 18.

"Georgia Tech has a critical mass of people in computer engineering," Wolf told the Chronicle, observing that his department at Tech will be about as big as the entire engineering school at Princeton. "It presents a lot more opportunities to work with people on big projects."

At Princeton, Wolf focused his research and teaching on embedded computing, computer architecture, multimedia and very large-scale integration design, the process of creating integrated circuits by combining thousands of transistor-based circuits into a single chip.

"The results of Dr. Wolf's work have clear implications for how surveillance and homeland security applications are now developed and will be in the future," said Gary May, professor and Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "They are also of critical importance to the economic and overall security of Atlanta and the state as a whole."

Wolf is the 57th scientist attracted to Georgia research universities under the GRA eminent scholars program, a national model for attracting world-class scientific talent.

"Wayne Wolf is a highly valuable addition to our GRA eminent scholar program," said GRA president C. Michael Cassidy, MS TASP 87. "A key GRA goal is to recruit superior scholars to Georgia who have a proven record of converting research into useful applications. Dr. Wolf's knowledge of video and computer technology and successful forays into commercialization can lead to products that will benefit many."