Research areas
(please contact me if you need to access an article: jenliu @ infosci.cornell.edu)
Climate Change and Networked Infrastructures
My dissertation project examines the impact of climate change on network infrastructures. My work is situated in rural communities in the American South, where efforts to expand network connectivity and maintain existing infrastructures occur against the backdrop of climate change. In particular, I examine how recent federal and state policy initiatives that aim to broaden broadband access across the region manifest in landscapes shaped by environmental and social inequality. My project aims to consider alternative futures for socially and environmentally just network infrastructures.
Digital agriculture
In recent years, the use of digital and computational technologies has expanded into the field of agriculture. In my research, I examine questions of who will have acess and will benefit from the development and deployment of these tools by drawing from histories of agricultural technology development. I focus particularly on the impact that these technologies will have on marginalized farming and rural communities in the United States.
Environmental Sensing and Knowledge Production
How can the design of environmental sensing devices impact interactions with the environment? This topic was the subject of my masters' thesis where I built a series of wearable tools for mushroom foraging. See more here. (Page currently under development!)
* art work *
I have a large body of creative work that stems from 2008 - present and includes videos, drawings, sculptures, and interactive art that is foundational to the work I currently do. They can be see here (Page currently in development!)