Starting this month, the Georgia Tech Wearable Computing Center, in partnership with the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), will host a series of panel discussions on the future of wearable technology. The discussions complement the exhibit On You: Wearing Technology, on display at MODA through October 2nd.

Topics and panelists for Wearing the Future include:

Health and Wearable Technology, July 28th at 7pm
Beth Mynatt (moderator) - Professor, Georgia Tech College of Computing and Executive Director, Institute for People and Technology
Jiten Chhabra - Researcher, Georgia Tech Interactive Media Technology Center
Raja Schaar - Design Instructor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University
Juliet Sekandi - Assistant Professor, University of Georgia College of Public Health

Athletics and Wearable Technology, August 6th at 2pm
Brad Stenger (moderator) - Journalist, consultant and researcher
A.J. Scola - Manager of Minor League Operations, Atlanta Braves
Peter Presti - Co-director, Georgia Tech Wearable Computing Center and Senior Research Scientist, Georgia Tech Interactive Media Technology Center

Industry and Wearable Technology, August 27th at 2pm
Thad Starner (moderator) - Professor of Computing, Georgia Tech
Sam Kellet, Jr. - Chairman, CEO, and Co-founder, United Sciences, LLC

Arts & Media and Wearable Technology, September 22nd at 7pm
Madison Cario (moderator) - Director, Georgia Tech Arts
Maribeth Gandy Coleman - Dir., Georgia Tech Interactive Media Technology Center and Co-director, Georgia Tech Wearable Computing Center
Vu Ha - Software Engineer, Funomena
Lane Conville-Canney - Special Events and Grants Coordinator, Georgia Tech Ferst Center for the Arts / Office of the Arts

Fashion and Wearable Technology, September 29th at 7pm
Clint Zeagler (moderator) - Program Manager, Georgia Tech Wearable Computing Center
Lucy Dunne - Founder, Wearable Technology Lab
Kevin Knaus - Professor of Fashion Marketing and Luxury Management, Savannah College of Art and Design
Susan Spencer - Founder and Product Manager, Valentina

Admission to the panels is free with regular admission to MODA, but seating is limited so please register in advance. If you can’t make it to the discussions in person, they will be broadcast online and recorded for later viewing. Each panel will also include a guided tour of On You: Wearing Technology by one of its curators.

The exhibit looks at the challenges along the road to making a consumer wearable computer like power and heat, networking, and mobile input. Consumer, professional, and “maker” devices from the past and present are on display. More than 50-thousand people have seen the exhibit; it’s been all over the world, traveling to Germany, China, and the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California before returning to Atlanta. Clint Zeagler, exhibit designer and curator, says it appeals to different audiences.

“Mountain View has so many people who have worked on technology in the computer industry, that a lot of the exhibit was very nostalgic for them. MODA has a more diverse and design focused audience, which is why we included personal stories.” he said.

A new part of the exhibit, created for MODA, is personal stories and images of local users and creators of wearable technology, including Georgia Tech Professor Melody Moore’s FIDO project, and the PIXI dress developed by Zane Cochran and Sonia McCall, graduate students at Georgia Tech.

Learn more about On You: Wearing Technology at museumofdesign.org and wcc.gatech.edu.