Dr. Beatriz E. Palacios Abad

Name:

Dr. Beatriz E. Palacios Abad

Title:

Assistant Professor

Department:

Computer Science

Describe your research in about 200 words.

My work lies at the intersection of networking, policy, and human-centered computing. I am interested in measuring and characterizing Internet access and quality of coverage in underserved communities, particularly in rural and Tribal areas in the United States. My goal is to support community organizing and self-advocacy efforts in the pursuit of digital inclusion. I use a sociotechnical systems perspective to gather highly contextual data about the different actors, the tools, and the sociopolitical issues related to broadband infrastructure. In my research, I especially engage with broadband workers in rural and Tribal communities, who act as champions of broadband through the roles of IT directors, technology consultants, advocacy group leaders, geospatial analysts, and various city- or county-level public office positions. I am currently focused on designing tools with and for communities to better gather data about broadband coverage in their area and to better facilitate communication and knowledge sharing between communities, their broadband champions, policymakers, and Internet Service Providers.

What’s the most interesting thing you have learned from a student?

Early in my career, before I started my PhD, I had a student intern at a previous job who had to manipulate colors for a specific feature he was developing. He had asked me to help test the final product since he was colorblind and couldn’t verify whether his code worked on his own. This interaction made me interested in accessible design and information visualization–something which proved useful and meaningful during my doctoral studies!