Research Faculty Promotion

Posted June 21, 2023

Sarah Farmer, director of testing and evaluation for the Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP), has been promoted to Research Scientist II, effective July 1, 2023.

As a human factors researcher, Farmer’s research areas have ranged from modeling human performance to applied research in the field of accessible design. She is the managing director of HomeLab, a human factors research initiative at Georgia Tech. HomeLab is made up of researchers with various specialties, including human factors engineering, psychology, universal design, industrial design, and electrical and mechanical engineering. HomeLab also consists of a pool of participants, with a focus on older adults and people with disabilities.

Farmer contributes to the NIH's Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, launched in May 2020 in order to speed the innovation, development, commercialization, and deployment of COVID-19 diagnostic technologies. She established and leads the human factors sub-core for the RADx Test Verification Core (TVC), tasked with evaluating and providing support for candidate COVID-19 diagnostic technologies in the areas of clinical validity, regulatory processes, usability, and robustness of design.

The data collected within the human factors sub-core are provided to technology companies to aid in improving the design and performance of their product, and to NIH leadership to assist in determining if a technology should proceed in the program.

Farmer and her team conduct rapid evaluations of candidate technologies. For her contributions to this research program, she was part of the team that received the Institute Research Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development, which is awarded each year to a research team that pioneers new research areas, develops interdisciplinary initiatives, has societal impact, and significantly expands Georgia Tech’s research portfolio.

Farmer is also a member of Ivan Allen College’s 2023 Million Dollar Club, recognizing faculty who secure at least $1 million dollars in external research and have external funding in the current year.