I am thrilled to introduce our newest tenure-track faculty member, Jordan Wirfs-Brock, joining us in January 2023. Her tentative teaching assignments for the spring semester are CS/Math 215, Introduction to Data Science, and CS 267, Human-Computer Interaction.

I asked Jordan to write a short introduction for students and alumni. Here’s what she wrote:

I am finishing up my PhD in Information Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder. My research explores how we might treat data as a creative material to help people understand the sociotechnical forces, big and small, that shape their lives. I do this by developing sonifications—data representations you can listen to—and participatory sound-and-data activities to help people experience data in visceral ways and build new capacities for critical listening. For example, through a collaboration with the radio show Marketplace, I developed two narrative sonifications on the economic impacts of COVID-19. And I have led workshops using vocal and sonic sketching to help people develop their own sonic languages to interpret air quality data. By designing playful, creative interactions with data and sound that can bridge personal data with data about broader societal issues, I hope to make data more meaningful and actionable for more people.

Both my parents are software engineers, so naturally I rejected computer science as a career path until I gained some wisdom through a meandering journey that included stints as an aerospace engineer, a high school teacher, a civic technologist, and a data journalist covering the energy industry. Because of this eclectic background, I am especially interested in welcoming students who may not initially see themselves fitting into the fields of data science and computer science.

I’m also a competitive trail runner who loves relays, ultra-distance races, and multi-day adventures. I grew up in Oregon, am fascinated and terrified by mountain lions, and frequently geek out over podcasts and board games.

You can listen to the Marketplace piece and learn more about Jordan’s sonification from this Twitter thread.

Please join me in welcoming Jordan Wirfs-Brock to Whitman!