Dr. Catherine D Ignazio

Biography

Catherine D'Ignazio is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is the director of the Data + Feminism Lab, which focuses on utilizing data and computational methods to advance gender and racial justice, particularly in relation to space and place. D'Ignazio is a scholar, artist/designer, and advocate for feminist technology, data literacy, and civic engagement. She is known for organizing reproductive justice hackathons and designing global news recommendation systems. Her art includes water quality sculptures that talk and tweet, and she has conducted walking data visualizations aimed at vividly illustrating future sea level rise. In collaboration with Rahul Bhargava, she built a platform, DataBasic, that offers tools for introducing newcomers to data science. D'Ignazio authored the book 'Data Feminism' with Lauren Klein, published by MIT Press in 2020, and she has another book titled 'Counting Feminicide: Data Feminism in Action' scheduled for release in 2024. Her research intersects technology, design, and social justice and has been published in notable conferences and journals. She previously served as an Assistant Professor of Data Visualization and Civic Media at Emerson College and has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design. D'Ignazio holds a Master's degree from the MIT Media Lab, an MFA from the Maine College of Art, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Tufts University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She speaks English, Spanish, and French and has lived in various cities worldwide, including Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Paris, and Catalunya. Additionally, she is a co-founder of the spatial justice collective Institute of Infinitely Small Things and serves on the board of Indigenous Women Rising, which focuses on health equity for Native and Indigenous Peoples.

Research Interests

Experience