Syracuse iSchool doctoral student wins best poster at 2011 iConference

Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) doctoral candidate Andrea Wiggins won the best poster award at the 2011 iConference for her work in “eBirding: technology adoption and the transformation of leisure into science.”

Wiggins’ researches in the area of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), centering on sociotechnical studies of work, and investigates the interaction of organizational settings, task design and technology use. Her interests include data-intensive science, distributed collaboration and social computing, which come together in her dissertation topic, cyberinfrastructure for public participation in scientific research, also referred to as “citizen science.”

The University of Washington in Seattle hosted the iConference, an annual gathering of researchers and professionals from around the world who share the common goal of making a difference through the study of people, information, and technology.

Wiggins holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Alma College in Michigan, and an MSI in information from the University of Michigan School of Information. She is expected to defend her dissertation “Crowdsourcing Science: Organizing Virtual Participation in Knowledge Production” in fall 2011.