Robert Soden
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & School of the Environment
Robert Soden is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and the School of the Environment.
Soden’s research focuses on crisis informatics, human-centered computing (HCC) and science and technology studies (STS). He uses critical and participatory design tactics to evaluate and improve the technologies we use to understand and respond to environmental challenges like natural disasters and climate change.
Soden holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Colorado Boulder, a master’s degree in natural resources and sustainable development from American University and a bachelors degree in history and political science from the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Prior to starting his PhD, Soden was a professional software developer and consultant to the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), where he launched the Open Data for Resilience Initiative, a worldwide effort to harness open data, open source software and civic technology to improve disaster and climate risk management. He is also a co-founder and member of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, a global organization dedicated to creating a free and open map of the world for humanitarian and development purposes.
While a PhD student, Robert was also a visiting student researcher with University of California, Berkeley's Center for Science, Technology, Medicine & Society, and a visiting researcher and lecturer with the Stanford Urban Resilience Initiative.