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| Photo by Neil McGahee |
| The Olympic Torch for the 2002 Winter Games passed through the Tech campus on its way to Salt Lake City. |
Torch Creator Sam Shelton Carries the Flame
Georgia Tech Professor Sam Shelton, who created the torch for the 2002 Olympic Games, was one of the Atlanta torch bearers who helped carry the flame on its journey to Salt Lake City.
Creating the new torch was an encore performance for Shelton, who received his mechanical engineering degree from Tech in 1961 and doctorate in 1969. He also created the torch for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
An associate professor in mechanical engineering, Shelton said the new torch presented some "interesting challenges." For one thing, the torch called for a glass crown that resembles ice.
After looking all over the world for a manufacturer that could make the glass crown, Shelton gave the job to a factory in Croatia that specializes in handblown glass.
Shelton designed the torch to maintain a consistent flame while being carried in temperatures that range from 80 degrees to 20 degrees below zero.
The flame was flown to Atlanta from Greece, where the Olympic Games originated. Former boxer Muhammad Ali lit the torch in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park on Dec. 4, and the flame began a winding journey to Salt Lake City, site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Shelton was among the dozens of Atlanta torch bearers who helped relay the flame toward its destination.
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