Welcome to the School of Psychology at Georgia Tech
The School of Psychology at Georgia Tech is a multidisciplinary academic unit. The research and educational programs of the School help study what makes us human and mechanistically describe the dynamic human experience. We achieve this by bringing experts from complementary disciplines together to innovate at the intersection of disciplines that study the brain, behavior, technology, and people & society.
As you roam our webpage, you’ll notice that psychology at GaTech is rather unique in a number of ways. You already know that we are embedded in one of the world's leading science and engineering institutions of higher education. Unlike many of our peers, our home college is the College of Sciences, which also houses the likes of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Math. You’ll see we have a structure of 5 programs which include Adult Development and Aging, Cognition and Brain Science, Engineering, Industrial-Organizational, and Quantitative Psychology help us manage the research efforts and provide focused training to our graduate students, but all of the faculty move easily between areas. Finally, you may notice that we are small, intentionally. It allows us to focus our research and our training in a way that has made us exceptional.
The Faculty, Grad Students, Undergraduates, and Staff are eager to meet you.
Lauren Hester
Psychology Undergraduate named one of Atlanta’s Change-Makers for her excellent contributions to the community
Lauren Hester first became connected to Georgia Tech as a high school student through Project ENGAGES, where she developed her own research project in Susan Thomas’ lab. Since then, the psychology major and French minor has enrolled at Georgia Tech and become involved in numerous efforts to “pay it forward.”
News and Notes
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We asked a few avid readers for book recommendations.
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The Board of Regents (BOR) of the University System of Georgia (USG) voted Tuesday to maintain tuition and mandatory student fees at current levels for most USG institutions, including Georgia Tech, in the 2023-24 academic year.
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Georgia Tech's 264th Commencement, held May 5 and 6 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, celebrated 5,673 graduates. Here are a few moments captured during the event. More images from Spring Commencement are available on Flickr.
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One of the Institute Strategic Plan (ISP) goals is to connect globally and amplify impact by contributing “to global collaborative efforts that advance the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through our education, research, and service.” In response, Sustainability Next developed a plan to expand SDG concept and skill integration across the undergraduate curriculum. In support of the plan, 21 projects representing all six colleges and 15 schools were presented at the Undergraduate Sustainability Education Jamboree, held on April 26 in the Kendeda Building auditorium. With many winning projects featuring high enrollment and core courses, this first round of sustainability education “seed grants” will significantly expand the reach of Georgia Tech’s sustainability-across-the-curriculum initiatives.
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U.S. News and World Report continues to rank all six College of Sciences schools among its best science schools for graduate studies. In the 2023-2024 edition, Physics rises by seven to 21, and Chemistry and Mathematics each advance into the top 20. Science specialty programs also take home high marks, with seven in the top 20.
We Are Hiring
The School of Psychology invites nominations and applications for five open-rank tenure-track faculty positions with an anticipated start date of August 2023 or later.
The successful applicant will be expected to demonstrate and develop an exceptional research program. The research area is open, but we are particularly interested in candidates whose scholarship complements existing School strengths in Adult Development and Aging, Cognition and Brain Science, Engineering Psychology, Work and Organizational Psychology, and Quantitative Psychology, and takes advantage of quantitative, mathematical, and/or computational methods.
Events
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Experts in the News
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Sonification makes astronomy more inclusive and helps scientists fine-tune celestial observations
Technically speaking, there is no noise in deep space. A lack of molecules means there is no medium through which sound waves can travel. Essentially, most of the universe is a giant, near-perfect vacuum. But hot turbulent gas in stars produce internal and surface waves which can be picked up by telescopes. Space telescopes also measure wavelengths of light and send that data back to Earth. Sonification allows the astronomical data transmitted by telescopes to then be turned into sound. Sonification is not only creating greater opportunities for scientific inclusion, but helping astronomers to fine-tune their celestial observations. "The auditory system is a fantastic pattern recognition device. We accomplish speech by listening to changes in a person's voice over time. We can use the same capabilities to listen for changes in a dataset," says Bruce Walker, professor in the School of Psychology and the School of Interactive Computing, and director of Georgia Tech's Sonification Lab.
Australian Broadcasting Company , May 22, 2023
30 Under 30 Women in Psychedelics
College of Sciences alumna Natalie Lembeck ('15 Psychology) is included in Psychedelic Spotlight's 30 Under 30 feature on rising stars in the psychedelic field, as they work towards psychedelic legalization and decriminalization, research discoveries, harm reduction, and adequate mental health care. Lembeck has worked in labs and clinics involved in Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies-sponsored research, focusing on the use of cannabis and MDMA to aid in the treatment of PTSD. She currently works as the executive assistant to Dr. Michael Mithoefer, clinical researcher and psychotherapist.
Psychedelic Spotlight , Apr 10, 2023
The sound of the stars
Understanding the universe isn't just about visually mapping celestial bodies, it's also about listening to the heavens. Data sonification takes astronomical data and turns it into sound. It could help find new patterns in the huge amount of digital information. And it's a way of enhancing astronomy by promoting greater engagement and accessibility — a musical mix of science, art and cold, hard data. Bruce Walker, professor in the School of Psychology and the School of Interactive Computing, and director of Georgia Tech's Sonification Lab, joins a panel of scientists for an April 15 program on what sonification can add to astronomy.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio National , Apr 10, 2023
PAUL GEISLER: A Day for a Daydream?
Eric Schumacher's 2018 research paper on daydreaming and intelligence sets the stage in this column celebrating the power of imagination. Schumacher, professor in the School of Psychology, found that those who let their minds wander score higher on creativity and intelligence tests. Columnist Paul Geisler argues that no matter who many advances the technology world gives us, such as ChatGPT, they will never replace a human's ability to create worlds inside their heads, and possible solutions to problems, via daydreaming.
The Facts, Apr 5, 2023
