Ayanna Howard has named to Atlanta Magazine's Innovation Index. She and her colleague Yu-ping Chen, an assistant professor from the Department of Physical Therapy at Georgia State University, are featured in the November 2013 issue of the magazine that recognizes organizations and individuals that are contributing to Atlanta becoming a healthier city.

Howard and Chen were honored at a November 13 event at the Atlanta History Center for their work developing a robot to help children with cerebral palsy. The robot is designed to help children improve their muscle control and motor skills. Video cameras in the robot's eyes record data as the child plays, allowing researchers to tailor therapy to his or her needs.

Howard has been a faculty member in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech since 2005. She is the Motorola Foundation Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, where she leads the Human-Automation Systems Lab. Howard was also recently named the associate director for research for the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines.