Andrea Grimes Parker is an American

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...

, researcher, and

Associate Professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

, known for her

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

study of

human computer interaction Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

(HCI) and personal health

informatics Informatics is the study of computational systems, especially those for data storage and retrieval. According to ACM ''Europe and'' ''Informatics Europe'', informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which ...

. Parker is currently an associate professor at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) School of Interactive Computing. She also currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the

Rollins School of Public Health The Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) is the public health school of Emory University. Founded in 1990, Rollins has more than 1,100 students pursuing master's degrees ( MPH/MSPH) and over 150 students pursuing doctorate degrees ( PhD). Th ...

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

. She was previously an

Assistant Professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

, with joint appointments in the

Khoury College of Computer Sciences The Khoury College of Computer Sciences is the computer science school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first college in the United States dedicated to the field of computer science when it was founded in 1982. I ...

and the Bouvé College of Health Sciences.

Biography

Early life and education

She was born Andrea Elaina Grimes, to African American parents Octavia R. Grimes and Vincent E. Grimes. Her father works at the

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

public defender's office and her mother is a nurse case manager with

Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser P ...

in San Jose. In 2004, she was one of two United States representatives for the 2004 World Association for Cooperative Education Conference. Parker attended Northeastern University and received a B.S. degree in Computer Science in 2005. Parker was a member of

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

National Honors Society and

Upsilon Pi Epsilon Upsilon Pi Epsilon (): International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines, is the first honor society dedicated to the discipline of the computing and information disciplines. Informally known as UPE, Upsilon Pi Epsilon was ...

while at Northeastern. In 2010, she married Lonnie Thomas Parker IV, a classmate at Georgia Tech. She changed her name in 2010, and has research papers in both names. In 2011, she received a PhD from Georgia Tech. Parker's doctoral advisor was Rebecca E. Grinter and her thesis was titled, "A Cultural, Community Based Approached to Health Technology Design".

Research career

Parkers research lies generally in the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI) and

computer-supported cooperative work Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) is the study of how people utilize technology collaboratively, often towards a shared goal. CSCW addresses how computer systems can support collaborative activity and coordination. More specifically, the ...

(CSCW). In 2010, OrderUP! was a game presented by Parker and colleagues at Ubicomp 2010 conference in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark, created to teach people how to make smart choices when ordering food. The game was designed using

Transtheoretical Model The transtheoretical model of behavior change is an integrative theory of therapy that assesses an individual's readiness to act on a new healthier behavior, and provides strategies, or processes of change to guide the individual. The model is ...

(TTM). In 2013, Parker launched a social media platform to share workout tips, for people in the neighborhood of Roxbury that participate in a once a week gym program. She has done research on the role of digital fitness trackers and social networks, and their impact on motivation, future planning, and behavior change. Parker is specifically interested in vulnerable and marginalized populations overcome barriers, and looking beyond the surface level interaction of data sharing found currently in many fitness trackers. From 2014 until 2016, Parker served as the National Evaluator for the

Aetna Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

Foundation's portfolio of projects on mobile health interventions in community settings. From 2018 until 2019, Parker was a Northeastern University Institute of Health Equity and Social Justice Research Faculty Scholar.

Teaching career

Parker is the founder and director of the Wellness Technology Research Lab at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. Parker is currently an

at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) School of Interactive Computing. She also currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the

. She was previously an assistant professor at

, with joint appointments in the

and the Bouvé College of Health Sciences.

Publications

Books

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Articles

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References

External links

Official websiteProfile
on

Association for Computing Machinery The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional member ...

(ACM) Digital Library *
Profile
an
profile
on

Microsoft Academic Microsoft Academic was a free internet-based academic search engines for academic publications and literature, developed by Microsoft Research, shut down in 2022. At the same time, OpenAlex launched and claimed to be a successor to Microsoft Aca ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Andrea Grimes African-American computer scientists American women computer scientists American computer scientists Northeastern University alumni Northeastern University faculty Georgia Tech alumni Georgia Tech faculty Human–computer interaction researchers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century African-American scientists