IPaT Leadership
Michael Best
Executive Director
Michael L. Best is executive director of the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) and professor with the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology where he directs the Technologies and International Development Lab. He was director of research at Georgia Tech – Shenzhen, our campus in China, from 2019 – 2021 and was founding director of the United Nations University Institute on Computing and Society (UNU-CS) in Macau SAR, China. He holds a Ph.D. from MIT and has served as director of Media Lab Asia in India and head of the eDevelopment group at the MIT Media Lab.
Leigh McCook
Deputy Director
leigh.mccook@gtri.gatech.edu | (404) 407-7898
Leigh McCook is deputy director of the Institute for People and Technology, and division chief of the Socio-Technical Division within the Georgia Tech Research Institute Information and Communications Laboratory (GTRI-ICL). As deputy director, Leigh works to strengthen industry and international partnerships and build new research collaborations across the Georgia Tech campus. While she continues to conduct research, McCook's focus is on growing IPaT’s research portfolio of federal and industry projects, particularly in education and humanitarian systems.
Russ Clark
Senior Research Scientist
russ.clark@gatech.edu | (404) 385-4706
Russ Clark is a senior research scientist in the Institute of People and Technology, who engages hundreds of students each semester in mobile development, networking, and the Internet of Things. He emphasizes innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry involvement in student projects and application development. He's co-director of the Georgia Tech Research Network Operations Center (GT-RNOC), which supports research efforts across campus, and principal leader of the Convergence Innovation Competition, which pairs students and industry sponsors on novel projects. He has played a leadership role in the NSF GENI project, leading both the GT campus trials efforts as well as the GENI@SoX regional deployment and the Software-Defined Exchange (SDX). Russ is active in the startup community, including roles with the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program and as a principle with Empire Technologies during its acquisition by Concord Communications.
Maribeth Gandy Coleman
Assistant Vice Provost for Research Faculty, Director of Research
maribeth@imtc.gatech.edu | (404) 894-3638
Maribeth Gandy is the director of research at IPaT, a Regents' Researcher, as well as the associate director of interactive media. She does research in the areas of augmented reality, mobile computing, and HCI. She is a computer scientist who is interested in not only building interesting mobile applications, accessible interfaces, and AR experiences but in bringing HCI techniques for design and evaluation into these domains.
Maribeth has worked on a wide array of projects in the 12 years she has been a faculty member at Georgia Tech; ranging from an augmented reality prototyping tool, to an accessible computer interface based on gesture, to a virtual reality experience for exposing theater students to vaudeville. She is currently collaborating with NC State on an NSF funded project to develop cognitive games for older adults.She is currently developing presence metrics for measuring engagement in AR environments using qualitative and quantitative (physiological measures) data. She also teaches the “Video Game Design” course and the "Principles of Computer Audio" (which she created in 2001) in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech.
Quinn Drake
Financial Manager II
Quinn Drake has worked in the University System for over ten years. She joins our team from Emory University. Before Emory, Quinn worked at Georgia State University as a Grants and contracts officer. Her experience includes post-award management, state accounts, residual accounts, indirect accounts, and foundation accounts. Her many roles in the financial arena have led her to the position of Financial Manager II.
Siva Jayaraman
Managing Director for AI Institute for Collaborative Assistance and Responsive Interaction for Networked Groups (AI-CARING)
jsiva@gatech.edu | (404) 939-7858
Siva Jayaraman is the managing director for AI Institute for Collaborative Assistance and Responsive Interaction for Networked Groups (AI-CARING).
Cynthia Moore
Assistant Director for Business Operations
Cynthia Moore is assistant director for business operations at the Institute for People and Technology. She has over a decade of experience at Georgia Tech, previously serving as director of Institute Diversity's OMED: Educational Services. She provided oversight and leadership of programs and initiatives that address the academic transition, retention, and academic success of underrepresented students in STEM. Moore also oversaw various initiatives at OMED, including the Tower Awards, an annual celebration of student diversity and academic success. She began her Georgia Tech career in Business Services where she was responsible for administrative and financial management.
Walter Rich
Research Communications Program Manager
walter.rich@research.gatech.edu | (404) 894-5901
Walter Rich is a research communications program manager in Georgia Tech's Institute Communications supporting the Institute for People and Technology, the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute, and Georgia Tech research communications overall.
Richard Starr
Director of Research Operations
Richard Starr is the director of research operations at IPaT. He has deep academic and industry expertise associated with health data management and healthcare research
Clint Zeagler
Co-director of Strategic Partnerships
Clint Zeagler is the co-director of strategic partnerships at IPaT. With a Ph.D. in human centered computing, Zeagler drives his research on electronic textiles and on-body interfaces with the Contextual Computing Group and the GVU center of Georgia Tech. As a principal research scientist within IPaT and as an instructor for Georgia Tech, he teaches courses on Wearable Product Design and Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing (MUC). Zeagler enjoys working with corporations such as HP/Palm, Google, and even the Atlanta Braves to bring real world experience into the classroom. As a member of the NASA Wearable Technology Cluster, his ongoing relationship with the NASA Georgia Space Grant Consortium funds MUC student projects on wearable computing for space.
