Members of the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) and the Georgia Tech community express great sadness with the death of our friend and former colleague, Ed Price. Ed passed away on April 4. He was 47 years old.

“Losing Ed is heartbreaking for many of us at IPaT. He spent his entire career at Georgia Tech and I had the privilege of knowing him from our student days to working with him through many collaborations. He cared deeply about our institution and the people within it,” said Beth Mynatt, executive director of the Institute for People and Technology.

Ed Price was the Director of Research Partnerships and Development for IPaT and the former Research Director of the Interactive Media Technology Center (IMTC) at Georgia Tech. He was one of the founders of IMTC, starting there as a student at its inception in 1989.

"Ed had a tremendous impact on Georgia Tech, both through his professional contributions as a researcher, leader, and mentor and as a dear friend to all of us at IMTC. We are devastated by his passing, but the professional lessons we learned from him as well as the memories of his boundless love for all of us will live on in perpetuity,” said Maribeth Gandy Coleman, director of IMTC.

Ed was also a project manager for the for NIDILRR Wireless RERC for over a decade, focusing on user interfaces for mobile devices for persons with sensory disabilities.

"Ed was one of the best engineering multi-taskers I ever met. He was a part of my life since I began at GT in 1997. Ed provided critical engineering and technical leadership to the team of the Wireless RERC from its 2001 beginning, until the week before he passed. He was a special friend and colleague and I will miss him deeply," said Helena Mitchell, Principal Investigator and director of the Wireless RERC.

Ed holds a number of patents in phonetic audio search and in telemedicine networks and is the co-inventor of the fundamental technology behind Nexidia, a successful speech search company.

Ed led many research efforts, including the award-winning Odyssey Online educational program, which teaches cultural history through archeological artifacts He was past chair of the international Video Development Initiative (ViDe), which is the lead organization behind the proposed ITU H.350 standard for videoconferencing directories. In 1995, he helped to develop the first IP-based home telemedicine system with full motion video. One of Ed’s most influential research projects is the development of interactive video systems used as part of Atlanta’s successful 1996 Olympic bid. Ed also had a passion for the use of new media technology in the arts, and collaborated on numerous projects with leading museums and other cultural groups in Atlanta and around the U.S.

A native of Florida, Ed earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1991. He worked at IPaT and IMTC for 23 years and retired from the Institute in August 2016.

A memorial for Ed will take place on May 24 from 2-5pm at the President’s Suite in the Bill Moore Student Success Center. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Lost-n-Found and/or the Humane Society. Ed will be greatly missed by his former colleagues and friends at Georgia Tech.