Inside the ATHENA Lab
In the Technology Square Research Building (TSRB) at the heart of Tech Square, the ATHENA Lab operates with a simple premise: research should not stop at theory.
“We never report before having a prototype,” says Dr. Manos Tentzeris.
That mindset has defined the lab since Tentzeris founded ATHENA in 1998, the same year he joined Georgia Tech as a professor. Nearly three decades later, the lab has become a distinctive engine, producing world-leading hardware and addressing global grand challenges that move quickly from concepts to physical systems.
Professor Tentzeris’ path to Atlanta runs through Greece and the Midwest. He completed his undergraduate studies in Greece before earning his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. When he arrived at Georgia Tech, he built ATHENA within the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), focusing on electromagnetics, microwave circuits, and wireless systems.
The lab originally operated out of another building before becoming one of the first occupants of TSRB. Its current location is not incidental.
“TSRB is attractive due to the other labs in the building that we can collaborate with,” Tentzeris says.
That proximity has shaped the lab’s culture. ATHENA works across disciplines and across departments, with a team that spans mechanical engineering, biochemistry, art, smart manufacturing, and materials science. Students at every level contribute, from undergraduates to visiting researchers.
“The team can speak lots of languages,” Tentzeris says, referring to the multidisciplinary technical range required to move ideas into working systems.
A Lab Built on Prototypes
ATHENA stands for Agile Technologies for High-performance Electromagnetic Novel Applications. The name tracks closely with how the lab operates.
“The ATHENA Lab does not do incremental work,” Tentzeris says. “We conduct disruptive and novel research.”
That approach shows up clearly in the lab’s trajectory. Early work in the 2000s focused on flexible electronics, circuits that could bend and conform to surfaces. By 2007, the lab was among the first to demonstrate paper as a viable substrate for electronics, opening the door to low-cost, lightweight sensing systems.
From there, the work expanded into wireless sensing and wireless power transfer. The lab also began printing RF electronics in 3D and 4D, using inkjet techniques that reach optical frequencies and work on nearly any substrate. Around 2012, ATHENA researchers began exploring how to capture ambient wireless energy already present in the environment. That line of thinking has since evolved into one of the lab’s more ambitious directions.
By 2020, the group was exploring how cellular networks themselves could function as a distributed wireless power grid. The idea is straightforward in concept and complex in execution. Devices could harvest energy from existing infrastructure rather than relying on batteries. The approach also relies on 'morphing' components that readjust their shape based on ambient conditions, tuning themselves toward near-zero-power performance.
Across these efforts, a consistent pattern emerges. ATHENA builds systems that are flexible, low-cost, scalable, and conformal/wearable. The lab’s research spans wireless, RF, and millimeter wave systems, phased arrays, wearable electronics, and additive manufacturing techniques that allow components to be printed rather than fabricated through traditional methods.
From Lab to Market
ATHENA’s work does not stay confined to TSRB. The lab has built a steady pipeline from research to commercialization.
“We’ve worked with other labs and institutions but also corporations like Toyota, Boeing, Northrop, TI, and Raytheon,” Tentzeris says.
That industry engagement complements a growing track record of patents and startups. Tentzeris notes the lab has produced more than two dozen patents, with several technologies moving toward commercialization pathways.
One visible example is Atheraxon, a startup connected to ATHENA research that focuses on wireless sensing and localization technologies. The company reflects a broader trend within the lab: translating deep technical work into deployable systems.
This translational approach aligns closely with the surrounding Tech Square ecosystem, where proximity to startups, corporate partners, and Georgia Tech research creates a feedback loop between discovery and application.
Image: Pearl Kaplan
Pushing Toward What’s Next
Today, ATHENA’s work is increasingly focused on the future of “smart” wireless infrastructure and sustainable electronics.
One area is additive manufacturing. The lab is developing methods to 3D print components for 5G, 6G, and even early-stage 7G systems. The goal is to reduce cost barriers and accelerate production timelines for advanced hardware.
“We want electronics that will enable integrated communication, sensing, identification, and radar capabilities within the same module,” Tentzeris states.
Another priority is environmental impact. The lab is exploring biodegradable electronics and ways to reduce electronic waste, a growing concern as devices become more ubiquitous.
Recent projects also point to new application domains. Tentzeris describes an underwater sensor capable of detecting DNA in aquatic environments, a system with potential transformational uses in ocean research and environmental monitoring.
At the same time, the lab continues to refine its core capabilities in wireless sensing, localization, and energy harvesting. These technologies are converging toward systems that operate on minimal power, adapt to their environment, and scale across networks. The lab sees that convergence, paired with AI, as the groundwork for early real-world quantum communication and collaborative robotics.
A Research Culture in Transition
The lab’s forward momentum has not come without challenges that have forced continuous adjustments in how research is conducted and have reshaped how the lab plans and sequences its work.
“Still, the ATHENA lab’s emphasis on novel, groundbreaking, prototype-driven work remains intact,” Tentzeris says.
ATHENA fits cleanly into the broader Tech Square model. It is multidisciplinary, applied, and outward facing. It collaborates across labs and with industry, producing work that can move beyond the university.
That approach has positioned the lab as both a world-caliber research center and a staging ground for what comes next in innovation and technology.