{"684257":{"#nid":"684257","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Cooking Up Confidence: Aware Home Lab and Georgia Tech EXCEL Program Partner to Teach Life Skills","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new partnership between Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/awarehome.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EAware Home Research Initiative\u003C\/a\u003E and the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/excel.gatech.edu\/home\u0022\u003EEXCEL program\u003C\/a\u003E is helping students with intellectual and developmental disabilities gain essential life skills \u2014 starting in the kitchen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EXCEL program, named for its goal of expanding career, education, and leadership opportunities, is a four-year college experience designed for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe accept students from across the country, not just Georgia,\u201d said Sherri Burrell, EXCEL\u2019s mentorship coordinator. \u201cOur goal is to prepare our students for life after college, and that includes learning how to live independently.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBurrell joined the EXCEL team in August 2024 and quickly identified a gap in the program: Students needed a hands-on space to learn about nutrition, cooking, and healthy living \u2014 skills that could not be taught effectively in a traditional classroom. That\u2019s when she connected with Brian Jones, director of research at Georgia Tech\u2019s Aware Home lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Aware Home, a three-story, 5,040-square-foot living laboratory, is designed to simulate a real home environment where Georgia Tech researchers, faculty, and students can develop and test innovative technologies. With its fully equipped kitchen and smart home capabilities, it offers an ideal setting for EXCEL students \u2014 many of whom are tactile learners \u2014 to engage in real-world, hands-on learning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe partnership began with current EXCEL students and their Georgia Tech mentors \u2014 traditional students who support EXCEL participants in areas like social development, wellness, and life transitions. Together, mentors and mentees learned to prepare simple, nutritious meals. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just beneficial for our EXCEL students; many of the mentors were also new to cooking,\u0022 noted Burrell. \u0022They learned new skills and knowledge right alongside their mentees.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe collaboration expanded into the EXCEL Summer Academy, a two-week program for high school juniors and seniors interested in applying to EXCEL. During the summer sessions, prospective students visited the Aware Home to explore topics like nutrition, dining, and making healthy food choices. \u201cEven though incoming students are on a meal plan and don\u2019t have kitchens, it\u2019s still important they understand how to make smart decisions about what they eat,\u201d Burrell said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Legacy of Research Innovation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond this EXCEL program educational role, the Aware Home has a rich legacy of shaping the future of smart home technology. One of its most influential contributors is \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cs.washington.edu\/people\/faculty\/shwetak-patel\/\u0022\u003EShwetak Patel\u003C\/a\u003E, a Georgia Tech alumnus and now a professor at the University of Washington\u2019s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science \u0026amp; Engineering. Patel\u2019s time in the Aware Home as a Ph.D. student profoundly influenced his career and the broader field of ubiquitous computing. He described how the Aware Home lab\u2019s impact on his research career fell into three distinct \u201cbuckets\u201d:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E1. Career Transformation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPatel credits the Aware Home with fundamentally reshaping his career path. His early exposure to real-world research problems in a home-like setting helped him discover his passion for applied computer science and human-centered innovation. \u201cIt totally informed the way I do research now,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2. Living Laboratory Innovation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Aware Home\u2019s immersive environment allowed Patel to explore practical challenges in home sensing and automation. His doctoral work, Infrastructure Mediated Sensing, focused on detecting water and electricity usage, human presence, and environmental context\u2014technologies that laid the foundation for the smart home industry. This research led to the creation of startups like Zensi and Phyn, and influenced commercial products such as Belkin\u2019s Conserve line, smart meters, and even [Google] Nest and Sense devices. Patel is also a distinguished engineer and health technologies leader at Google who guided \u0026nbsp;many of Google\u2019s smart home technologies. \u201cYou can draw a direct line from our early work in the Aware Home to the smart home technologies we see today,\u201d Patel explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E3. Defining Innovation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPatel\u2019s experience in the Aware Home helped him refine his understanding of innovation\u2014not just as a technical achievement, but as a meaningful solution to everyday problems. \u201cThe Aware Home really informed my view on how to do innovation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about solving real-world problems in ways that matter to people.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHelping People Today and in the Future\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith future research opportunities on the horizon, this EXCEL-Aware Home partnership and other ongoing research projects across Georgia Tech are poised to further explore how smart environments can support independent living and improve the quality of life. Researchers, companies, or startups interested in specifically using Aware Home for research, testing, or evaluating in-home technologies should contact Brian Jones, lab director of Aware Home, at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brian.jones@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrian.jones@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"full_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new partnership between Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/awarehome.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EAware Home Research Initiative\u003C\/a\u003E and the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/excel.gatech.edu\/home\u0022\u003EEXCEL program\u003C\/a\u003E is helping students with intellectual and developmental disabilities gain essential life skills \u2014 starting in the kitchen.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new partnership between Georgia Tech\u2019s Aware Home Research Initiative and the Georgia Tech EXCEL program is helping students with intellectual and developmental disabilities gain essential life skills \u2014 starting in the kitchen."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2025-08-11 16:31:52","changed_gmt":"2025-08-28 16:41:55","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677638":{"id":"677638","type":"image","title":"Aware Home cooking 1","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Excel program students and mentors cooking in the Aware Home.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1754921902","gmt_created":"2025-08-11 14:18:22","changed":"1754921984","gmt_changed":"2025-08-11 14:19:44","alt":"Aware Home cooking","file":{"fid":"261556","name":"DSC06983-Large-main-ok-pizza.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/11\/DSC06983-Large-main-ok-pizza.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/11\/DSC06983-Large-main-ok-pizza.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":563809,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/11\/DSC06983-Large-main-ok-pizza.jpeg?itok=iHbuGpvl"}},"677639":{"id":"677639","type":"image","title":"Sherri Burrell - EXCEL\u2019s mentorship coordinator","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESherri Burrell, EXCEL\u2019s mentorship coordinator, with a group of Excel students and mentors in the Aware Home where they practice their cooking skills.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1754922012","gmt_created":"2025-08-11 14:20:12","changed":"1754922106","gmt_changed":"2025-08-11 14:21:46","alt":"Sherri Burrell, EXCEL\u2019s mentorship coordinator","file":{"fid":"261557","name":"IMG_0268-Large-copy-2nd.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/11\/IMG_0268-Large-copy-2nd.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/11\/IMG_0268-Large-copy-2nd.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":619779,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/11\/IMG_0268-Large-copy-2nd.jpg?itok=6MTxQ0vK"}}},"media_ids":["677638","677639"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"188084","name":"go-ipat"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:walter.rich@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstitute for People and Technology\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}