G. P. "Bud" Peterson

George Paul "Bud" Peterson (born September 1, 1952) is the former president of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Peterson is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics and an M.S. in Engineering, and Texas A&M University, where he earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. On January 7, 2019, Peterson announced his upcoming retirement from Georgia Tech, effective summer of 2019. His successor, Ángel Cabrera, assumed the office September 1, 2019, after serving for seven years as president of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In September 2019, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted to name Peterson President Emeritus and Regents Professor of Mechanical Engineering for the standard three-year term. The Board of Regents also awarded him tenure.

Prior to his position as Georgia Tech's 11th president, Peterson served as the chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder, the provost of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and associate vice-chancellor and executive associate dean of Engineering of Texas A&M University.

Peterson was named as the sole finalist for the position of president of Georgia Tech on February 2, 2009, and was accepted Feb. 25, 2009. He succeeded G. Wayne Clough and Gary Schuster (interim) when he took the position April 1, 2009. He was officially installed as president at a September 3, 2009, investiture ceremony. Peterson shares his first name and middle initial with Georgia Tech's famous fictional student, George P. Burdell.

On October 17, 2009, Dr. Peterson accepted the north end-zone goalposts from students and fans on his lawn after the No. 19 Yellow Jackets upset the fourth-ranked Hokies in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field. This was the first time Georgia Tech beat a top 5 team at Grant Field (The Jackets beat No. 3 Miami on the road in 2005) since the 1962 Alabama game.

Peterson presided during a time of great momentum at Georgia Tech. By 2016, freshman applications had tripled since his arrival, resulting in the best-qualified and one of the most diverse freshman classes in Georgia Tech history for eight consecutive fall semesters. During his 10 years, enrollment increased by 69 percent (24 percent, undergraduates; 159 percent, graduate students).

Under Peterson, Georgia Tech created innovation neighborhoods around the campus. The most notable is Tech Square, which has become home to innovation centers for numerous companies.

Another project completed during Peterson's tenure is Coda, a collaborative building with John Portman & Associates in which Georgia Tech is the anchor tenant. The 750,000-square-foot facility houses Tech's computing center. Excavation was completed in August 2017, and Coda officially opened May 23, 2019, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The largest single scholarship endowment fund in Georgia Tech's history has been established to honor Peterson and first lady Valerie H. Peterson. Totaling $17 million, the G.P. “Bud” Peterson and Valerie H. Peterson Scholarship Endowment Fund was announced at the June 2019 meeting of the Georgia Tech Foundation. The Fund was established to help students with demonstrated financial need from across the nation.