Sydney Purdue

Sydney Purdue is a PhD Candidate in the inaugural class of CAMD’s Interdisciplinary Design and Media program. She is co-advised by Enrico Bertini and Melanie Tory, and she is a member of the Khoury Vis Lab. She is a PhD Affiliate of the Data Theatre Collaborative and a PhD Affiliate of the Northeastern Center for the Arts.

She researches data visualization broadly, but she specializes in data physicalization and situated visualization, both areas that focus on how data can be represented with regard to physical spaces. She has published her research in TVCG, IEEE VIS and ACM TEI, has led a workshop on collaborative data quilting at Information+, and has exhibited her work as a part of ACM TEI.

As a part of her research, she also creates artistic pieces. Often inspired by data visualization, her work ranges across mediums, including textiles, wood, paper, pottery, mixed mediums, and theatrical scenic design. As a theatre artist, she has worked on over 20 productions and has scenic designed more than 10 shows, including The Numbers, a civic data-inspired production. She has had her artistic work exhibited across the Boston area and the United States, including at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in Maryland and at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL.

Prior to Northeastern, she graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.S. in Statistics and a minor in Visual Arts. She received an Applied Data and Governance Fellowship through the Harris School of Public Policy, and she worked with the Cook County government in Chicago, IL, where she was permanently hired on, rising to become a Senior Research Analyst.