Andrea Wiggins

I am a PhD candidate studying virtual organizing, and am currently anticipating a fall 2011 dissertation defense.

My academic training includes a Master of Science in Information from the University of Michigan School of Information (2007) and a BA in Mathematics from Alma College (2000). Between degrees, I contributed a year of voluntary national service with AmeriCorps, and worked professionally in the nonprofit and IT sectors.

Research Interests

My teaching interests are in human-computer interaction and information systems, including information architecture, interaction design, usability and evaluation methods. I am also interested in teaching on such topics as IT in organizations, scientific data management, and data-intensive critical thinking.

Teaching Interests

My research interests are in the area of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). I focus broadly on sociotechnical studies of work, examining the interaction of organizational settings, work design, and technology use. In particular, I am interested in social computing and public participation in scientific research, which intersect in virtual citizen science projects. Citizen science is a form of research in which professional researchers collaborate with members of the public. Understanding how these projects create scientific outcomes is the focus of my dissertation research.

My research includes studies on citizen science, free/libre open source software development, and the iSchool community. The most current details of my research efforts are found on my web site.

Professional Interests

I am a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and SIGCHI, as well as the Association for Information Systems (AIS) and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S).

Personal Interests

In addition to my academic pursuits, I also enjoy travel and spending time with my husband Everett. We love the outdoors, especially hiking the Finger Lakes Trail and backpacking in the Adirondacks as often as we can get away.

My creative efforts focus on photography and knitting. I learned how to knit when I was about 8 years old, which means that I've been knitting for over two decades. I also handspin yarn with a drop spindle and occasionally dabble in other fiber arts.

Photography has been a passion for years, and I have a diverse collection of vintage and modern cameras. My work has appeared in the New York Times, several international technology magazines, and juried art exhibits.