Rider Foley’s research explores the intersection of innovation and sustainability. His past project have sought to understand how emerging technologies can be designed to meet the needs of users, and how those designs navigate the political, legal, and social constructs that constrain (and enable) innovation. During one research project, I partnered with engineering faculty from UVA to design and test an edge-cloud server facility in uptown Manhattan (aka Harlem), New York. During that project I supported 9 undergraduate researchers and two graduate researchers that conducted, on the ground research in Harlem. By working with a community-based organization, I helped convene a community advisory board that offered guidance to the research team and led to the creation of Gig Hub on 148th Street in Manhattan in partnership with the Mayor of New York City. Both of those projects explored the ways that emerging technologies are constrained and enabled by social, political, and ethical factors. My research findings from 150 interviews in Atlanta, Phoenix, and the Twin Cities are being published as a full length manuscript by Routledge, The Myths of Regional Innovation: Sustainability Challenges and Responsible Innovation.
