Image: Associate Professor and Associate Department Head Drew Abney has been selected for the University of Georgia's 2025-2026 Aspire Fellows cohort. Drew will join colleagues from Franklin College, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and six other UGA schools and colleges in this yearlong interdisciplinary cohort program designed to help faculty build strong community connections while expanding their professional impact. “We congratulate these highly accomplished faculty who exemplify the University of Georgia’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research and service,” said Elizabeth Weeks, interim vice provost for academic affairs and associate provost for faculty affairs. “We look forward to seeing how their significant projects and engagement with this energizing cohort program will enrich their professional journeys.” The 2025-2026 Aspire Fellows are: Drew Abney, associate professor and associate department head, department of psychology, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and faculty affiliate, UGA’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Abney is the lab director of the Developmental Dynamics Lab, which focuses on how behaviors and social interactions impact developmental trajectories throughout infancy and into childhood. His studies apply existing techniques from applied computational social science and dynamical systems theory. Additionally, his work employs new computational and analytic methods to understand the dynamics of human development. Abney’s work has been funded by governmental organizations and private foundations. Continue reading about the 2025-2026 Aspire Fellows
