Eric Greenlee

PhD Candidate in Computer Science
Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Computing

My research centers on co-designing embedded conservation technologies with field scientists and local conservation workers. By designing these systems with rather than for these communities, we can better align emerging technologies with partners’ goals and values while accounting for the broader socio-political context in which they operate. These partnerships often manifest in projects aimed at reducing the burden of gathering environmental data in settings with limited internet and power infrastructure while simultaneously supporting local economic opportunities and autonomy. Cultivating reciprocal, long-term relationships is core to my research approach. I work with partners to co-construct research questions and pursue extended real-world deployments that address challenges in environmental justice, biodiversity monitoring, and community resilience.

I am co-advised by Dr. Ellen Zegura, director of the Computing and Society Lab, and Dr. Josiah Hester, director of the Ka Moamoa - Ubiquitous and Mobile Computing Lab

I primarily partner with Indigenous Ojibwe water stewards in the Western Great Lakes region of the United States. We have co-designed and deployed a system called Makak, a low-cost, user-friendly buoy sensor for protecting manoomin, the Ojibwe word for the wild rice that is culturally and ecologically significant to local ways of life. Following a visit to Madagascar in the summer of 2024, I am working with local conservation organizations to develop systems that will address challenges with reforestation and biodiversity monitoring efforts by centering conservation workers. In parallel, I continue to explore lab-based prototypes that adapt emerging technologies towards conservation applications.

My work contributes to and connects the fields of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Information and Communication Technology and Development (ICTD). My research and teaching also aim to transcend silos and ways of knowing, engaging with Indigenous scholarship and the fields of environmental science, sociology, and international development.

Prior to my PhD, I worked as a Radio Frequency engineer with the U.S. Department of Defense from 2018 to 2022, and I graduated with a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Dartmouth College in 2018. I enjoy tinkering in my free time, having built prototype systems to aggregate environmental data and visualize family locations (like the Weasley family clock from Harry Potter) using low-cost hardware.