I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto working on climate informatics, human-centered computing (HCC), and science and technology studies (STS). My research uses a range of ethnographic, participatory, and design research methods to evaluate and improve the technologies we use to understand and respond to environmental challenges like disasters and climate change. My research is supported by a diverse network of funders including NSERC, SSHRC, NSF, NOAA, and the Natural Hazards Center.

I coordinate the Toronto Climate Observatory.

I am also a Faculty Affiliate at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, the School of Cities, and an organizer of the University of Toronto's Critical Computing Group.

Some recent publications include:

I have 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 Bachelors Degrees in History and Political Science from the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Prior to starting my PhD, I was was a researcher at the The Center for Neighborhood Technology and the World Resources Institute, a software developer at Development Seed, and a consultant to the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). At GFDRR I 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. I am also a co-founder and member of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, an international organization working towards creating a free and open map of the world for humanitarian and development purposes.

While a PhD student at CU Boulder, I was also a visiting student researcher with University of California, Berkeley's Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, and Society, and a visiting researcher and lecturer with the Stanford Urban Resilience Initiative.

Online:

Contact:

soden@cs.toronto.edu

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