Home page for the Human Factors Lab at Georgia Tech

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Sponsors

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Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) is funded by the National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Aging).

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News

  • Alumnus Tim Nichols featured in Psychological Science Agenda

    Read about Tim's interesting career as a video game user researcher!

  • HFA Research in Robotics

    Drs. Arthur Fisk, Wendy Rogers, Neta Ezer (alumna) and graduate student Jenay Beer were featured in news articles about their work in robotics. See HFES, Georgia Tech, and NPR releases!

  • Cognitive Aging Post-Doc Position Open

    The Cognitive Aging Program in the School of Psychology will have an opening for a postdoctoral Fellow. See Cognitive Aging Post Doc Position for more information.

  • Book Release

    Fisk, A. D., Rogers, W. A., Charness, N., Czaja, S. J., & Sharit, J. (2009). Designing for older adults: Principles and creative human factors approaches (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Buy this book from CRC Press
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Overview of the Human Factors and Aging Laboratory

Lab Photo 2009

Left to right, Front Row: Alan Poole, Cara Bailey-Fausset, Ralph Cullen, Cory-Ann Smarr. Middle Row: Daniel Serrano-Baquero, Jenay Beer, Sara Felipe, Wendy Rogers, Tracy Mitzner, Katherine Olson, Sara McBride. Back Row: John Burnett, Arthur Fisk, Anne Adams.

At Georgia Tech, human factors and aging is studied from the broad perspective representative of the field of human factors. The Human Factors and Aging Laboratory is specifically oriented toward developing a fundamental understanding of aging, cognition, and attention. The Human Factors and Aging Laboratory is also committed to bringing that fundamental basic knowledge to bear on design issues important to the quality and safety of activities of daily living encountered by older adults.

What is Successful Aging?

Embedded in the overarching philosophy of the Human Factors and Aging Laboratory at Georgia Tech is the belief in the importance of understanding successful aging. Our research activities are motivated by that goal. The concept of successful aging refers to factors that allow individuals to function effectively and successfully as they age. Our research does not emphasize loss of function associated with aging; rather, we wish to understand factors that are responsible for retaining, or even enhancing, a person's ability to function in later life. Our research efforts are conducted within the framework of human factors science and application. As such, our research continues to contribute to the fundamental, scientific knowledge concerning adults' (of all ages) capabilities and limitations. We are particularly interested in understanding perceptual, cognitive, and movement control capabilities and limitations. Because of the human factors focus, we strive to apply that scientific knowledge to better design products, environments, and training programs. Through application of our scientific data we hope to accomplish the goal of helping each other enjoy the added longevity that people experience in today's world.