to improve our understanding of how nonhuman animals think and live, to promote their health and well-being, and to advance the mutually beneficial ways in which we interact with them. The animal informatics track in the informatics Ph.D. will prepare graduates for a career in academia; local, state, federal, and global wildlife conservation and management; research laboratories; animal-centered nonprofits such as shelters and sanctuaries; assistive and therapeutic programs; zoos and aquariums; livestock care and management; and the commercial pet industry.
We focus on five main areas of interest:
The animal informatics track, which includes the growing field of animal-computer interaction, will allow students or professionals working in the commercial pet industries, captive animal management (e.g., zoos, aquariums, livestock), animal welfare organizations, assistive and therapeutic support animal programs, veterinary medicine, wildlife conservation, and the cognitive, biological, and evolutionary sciences to break new ground in this pioneering area.
A total of 90 credit hours are needed to earn a Ph.D. in informatics. Students in the animal informatics track must complete all of the required credits and coursework for the Informatics Ph.D., including the I501 and I502 seminars, the Animal Informatics seminars, I609 and I709, two research rotations (I790) and their chosen PhD minor. The following is sample mapping of how all requirements might be met.
Christena Nippert-Eng - Track Director
Christena Nippert-Eng is a sociologist and Professor of Informatics at IUB. Her scholarly interests include cognition, culture, gender, privacy, time, space, everyday life, ethnography, user-centered design and, most recently, the social behavior of nonhuman animals, especially the rest of the great apes.
Patrick Shih - Track Director
Patrick Shih's research focuses on the study of sociotechnical systems and mechanisms to support health and wellbeing and reduce health disparity of marginalized and underserved populations in rural areas. Specifically, his lab designs, prototypes, and deploys novel personal health informatics devices, interfaces, and platforms to support people with physical, developmental, and mental conditions. He also designs technologies to amplify human and animal capabilities in animal-assisted interventions and to improve animal welfare.
Justin Wood’s research aims to link psychology to artificial intelligence with the goal of reverse-engineering the origins of intelligence to build machines that learn like newborn animals. His ultimate goal is to build end-to-end (pixels-to-actions) artificial agents that mimic cognitive development in newborn animals.
Christopher Flynn Martin is a research scientist at Indianapolis Zoo and affiliate faculty in the Department of Informatics. He conducts studies on animal cognition at the zoo, and runs a consulting business that builds custom electronics and software to enhance animal enrichment, research, and husbandry practices at zoos around the world.
Description of the video:
Description of the video:
Description of the video:
*For Fall 2020, you can register for this course under I400/I590.
Qualitative Methods and Design
INFO I527 Mobile and Pervasive Design OR CSCI P535 Pervasive Computing
INFO I530 Field Deployments
INFO I440/I540: Human-Robot Interaction
INFO I543 Interaction Design Methods
INFO I544 Experience Design
INFO I590 Environmental Policy and Health Design
INFO I590 Technology Entrepreneurship
INFO I604 Human-Computer Interaction Design Theory
INFO I709 Animal and/as Technology
IoT Systems and Physical Fabrication
INFO I400/I590 Makerspace: Design and Fabrication
INFO I440/I540 Human-Robot Interaction
INFO I527 Mobile and Pervasive Design OR CSCI P535 Pervasive Computing
INFO I549 Advanced Prototyping
CSCI P442 Digital Systems OR ENGR E314/E514 Embedded Systems
ENGR E537 Rapid Prototyping for Engineers
Mobile App Development
INFO I400 Cross-platform Mobile Programming
INFO I527 Mobile and Pervasive Design OR CSCI P535 Pervasive Computing
Virtual Reality Platform
INFO I304/I590 Intro to Virtual Reality
INFO I442/I590 Creating Virtual Assets
INFO I443/I590 Building Virtual Worlds
INFO I444/I590 Artificial Life in VR
CSCI B453 Game Development
Data Analytics
INFO I422/I590 Data Visualization
INFO I526/CSCI P556 Applied Machine Learning
INFO I601 Introduction to Complex Systems
INFO I606 Network Science
CSCI B555 Machine Learning
CSCI B565 Data Mining
ENGR E434/E534 Big Data Applications
ENGR E484/E584 Scientific Visualization
ENGR E511 Machine Learning for Signal Processing
ENGR E533 Deep Learning Systems
GEOG G588 Applied Spatial Statistics
Artificial Intelligence and Cognition
INFO I440/I540 Human-Robot Interaction
CSCI B551 Elements of AI
CSCI B657 Computer Vision
BIOL L453 Sensory Ecology
BIOL Z460 Animal Behavior
Geospatial Information System
GEOG G336/G535 Environmental Remote Sensing
GEOG G436/G536 Advanced Remote Sensing
GEOG G438/G538 Geographic Information Systems
GEOG G439/G539 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
GEOG G478/G578 Global Change, Food and Farming Systems
GEOG G439/G639 GIS ∓ Environmental Analysis
Website and Database Design
INFO I435/I535 Management, Access, and Use of Big and Complex Data
ILS Z511 Database Design
ILS Z515 Information Architecture
ILS Z517 Web Programming
ILS Z532 Information Architecture for the Web
ILS Z556 Systems Analysis & Design
Technology Entrepreneurship
INFO I436/I566 Technology Innovation
INFO I438/I568 Technology Entrepreneurship
Animal Informatics Ph.D. students are encouraged to complete a Ph.D. minor that complements their major studies and fills in any gaps in their animal-, technology-, methods-, or field site-related training, such as (but not limited to):
Animal Behavior, Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change, Environmental Science, Geography, Human Evolutionary Studies, Bioinformatics, Complex Networks and Systems, Human-Computer Interaction, Information Science, Intelligent Systems Engineering, Bioengineering, Computer Engineering, Cyber- Physical Systems, Security Informatics, Global Studies, Human Rights, Computational Linguistics, Inquiry Methodology, Neural Science, Pure and Applied Logic, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Nonprofit Management, Public Management, Regional Economic Development, Urban Affairs, Scientific Computing, Social Science Research Methods, Statistical Science, Sustainable Energy Science, Vision Science, Environmental Health Science, Life Sciences, and, especially for those planning to work in the conservation sphere, minors in various languages and area studies. The Individualized Minor is also an option but note that it must be proposed and approved prior to beginning coursework.
This track may be a good choice for Ph.D. students considering dual majors in programs such as anthropology, cognitive science, environmental science, and evolution, ecology and behavior. Dual majors require intensive planning and advising. Students should work closely with advisors in any majors under consideration to be sure this option will work within a given timeframe.
