Sophia B Liu, Ph.D.
About Sophia B Liu, Ph.D.
Sophia B Liu, Ph.D., serves as the Participatory Open Science Innovation Lead at the U.S. Geological Survey, specializing in social science and open innovation. She has held various roles in government and academia, contributing to crowdsourcing initiatives and data integration efforts since 2015.
Work at U.S. Geological Survey
Sophia B Liu, Ph.D., currently serves as the Participatory Open Science Innovation Lead at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Reston, Virginia. She has held this position since 2015, focusing on integrating public-generated data into scientific analysis. Liu previously worked at USGS as a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow on three separate occasions: from 2011 to 2012 in Golden, Colorado, from 2013 to 2014 in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, and for a brief period in 2015. During her tenure, she contributed to projects such as the 'iCoast - Did the Coast Change?' initiative, which utilized crowdsourcing for coastal change detection.
Experience at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Liu worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as the Open Innovation Director for six months in 2021. In this role, she was involved in promoting open innovation practices within the department. Her experience at HHS reflects her commitment to enhancing public engagement and innovation in government services.
Education and Expertise
Sophia B Liu earned her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary: Technology, Media, and Society from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she studied from 2005 to 2011. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science, Information & Computer Science, and Digital Arts from the University of California, Irvine, completed in 2004. Additionally, she studied Geography and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex as part of an Education Abroad Program from 2003 to 2004. Liu's educational background equips her with a diverse skill set in social science and technology.
Contributions to Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science
Liu co-chaired the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science (CCS), where she contributed to developing best practices for federal initiatives in this area. She initiated the FEMA Crowdsourcing Unit at the National Response Coordination Center in 2017, which enhanced the agency's ability to engage the public in disaster response efforts. Her work emphasizes the importance of integrating public participation into scientific and governmental processes.
Research and Projects
Throughout her career, Liu has engaged in various research projects that focus on data integration and public participation. She worked on the Tweet Earthquake Dispatch project at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, which utilized social media for disseminating earthquake information. Additionally, she has been involved in research on Visualizing Critical Minerals data at the USGS National Center in Reston, Virginia, integrating public-generated data into scientific analysis.