The Georgia Tech community mourns the loss of Ruth Kanfer, professor in the School of Psychology, who passed away peacefully at home on August 13, 2025, at the age of 70. A remarkable professor in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Kanfer made lasting contributions to the field through her research, teaching, and mentorship. She was deeply dedicated to supporting the personal and professional development of her students.

In Memoriam

By Margaret E. Beier, Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University

On August 13th, 2025, Dr. Ruth Kanfer, a distinguished scholar and influential figure in the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Professor of Psychology at Georgia Tech since 1997, passed away at the age of 70 after a battle with cancer.

Dr. Kanfer’s seminal contributions to the field of psychology include a cognitive resource framework for self-regulation, motivation, and performance that laid a foundation for later developments in basic and applied psychology, and has shaped the direction of research for generations of scholars. Her work bridged disciplinary boundaries as she considered the determinants of worker behavior and the systems in which workers operate. Her recent research examined the timely topics of workforce adaptability and lifelong learning within the context of economic upheaval and technological disruption associated with the future of work; research focused on the continuous development and engagement of vulnerable and aging workers who are often understudied in psychology.  

Dr. Kanfer was a path-breaking and award-winning scientist. A leader in the field, she lent her expertise to multiple committees at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, was an elected Fellow of the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). She received the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution, the SIOP William R. Owens Scholarly Achievement Award, and the SIOP Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award. She was also honored with the prestigious Dunnette Prize for lasting contributions from SIOP in 2024. She was the founding Director of the Work Science Center at Georgia Tech, an interdisciplinary initiative that continues to carry forward her vision for workplace research.

Dr. Kanfer was a brilliant scientist with the ability to reduce complicated theory and research to its essential elements and to elegantly communicate her ideas. A scholar of motivation, Dr. Kanfer knew the importance of what she called “fire in the belly” and inspired her students and collaborators to do great things. She built a life dedicated to her craft and would often invite graduate students to engage in intellectual debate and idea generation with her and her long-time collaborator and husband, Phillip Ackerman, also a faculty member at Georgia Tech. For students, these sessions were as awe-inspiring as they were educational and set the stage for the intellectual rigor associated with scientific careers.

Always supportive, Dr. Kanfer maintained relationships with collaborators and students throughout her career. She built people up, was a great listener, and made others feel like they were the most important people in the room when speaking with her. She possessed a sharp wit that filled interactions with laughter and fun. She had a life filled with a vibrant circle of friends with whom she balanced her prolific scholarship with famous Halloween parties, bike trips, and worldwide travel. She built an enduring partnership with Phillip Ackerman, leading to multiple scientific breakthroughs and publications, but more importantly, their amazing daughter, Sarah, Sarah’s husband, Lewis, and their granddaughter, Lucy. Ruth Kanfer was simply a force of nature in all aspects of life. She showed, by example, how to live each day to the fullest, and she will be sorely missed. Dr. Kanfer is survived by her husband, Dr. Phillip Ackerman, a daughter Sarah (Lewis), and a granddaughter.

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