The Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) is an Interdisciplinary Research Institute at Georgia Tech offering a unique people-first approach to research and innovation. IPaT assembles academics, industry, government, civil society, and other partners to create people-centered solutions to some of society’s thorniest challenges. Created in 2011, IPaT’s community of researchers has spearheaded breakthroughs in health, aging, usability, sustainability, smart cities, and more. IPaT focuses on real-world impact, translating research out of the lab and into people’s lives in the form of real products, applications, and community education and programming. It accomplishes this through the efforts of over twenty research faculty, more than 100 affiliated faculty, significant research infrastructure and systems, well regarded events and programming, and an incredible staff.

Our Mission

Catalyze the Georgia Tech community through convening interdisciplinary teams and connecting creative expertise

Educate current and future people-centered engineers, scientists, designers, business leaders, and policymakers.

Create innovative infrastructures, services, and solutions through research and development that address societal challenges. 

Advocate for socio-technical change that improves the human condition through community partnerships, thought leadership, and policy improvement.

Translate knowledge through an early emphasis on collaborative dissemination and implementation science.

Our Core Values

As an institution, we have identified a set of core values that underlie our work, how we interact with each other, and which strategies we employ to fulfill our mission.

One Georgia Tech: We will operate collaboratively by sharing knowledge and resources, all for the greater good of Georgia Tech.

Trusted Partner: We will be transparent, meet deadlines, and work together to enhance and grow valuable relationships on and off campus.

Innovation: We will support a culture of creativity, thought leadership and boundary-pushing ideas, and be unafraid of failure.

Diversity: We will recognize, respect, and embrace our individual differences while exploring how these differences positively impact IPaT as a whole.