Jessica Pater Wins iSchools 2021 Doctoral Dissertation Award

Jessica Pater, who received her Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing, was named the winner of the iSchools 2021 Doctoral Dissertation Award.

The iSchools Doctoral Dissertation Award is an annual competition recognizing the year’s most outstanding dissertations from across iSchools membership. The iSchools organization was founded in 2005 by a collective of information schools dedicated to advancing the information field in the 21st century. The organization seeks to harness the power of information and technology, and maximizing the potential of humans. They promote an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the opportunities and challenges of information management.

Pater’s winning dissertation is titled Digital Self-Harm: Implications of Eating Disordered Behaviors Online.

According to the dissertation award committee, “the thesis addressed a significant and highly sensitive social problem, taking an intellectually rigorous approach that has widespread potential impact; and that the thesis demonstrates careful scholarship, with a clear engagement with previous literature and a systematic review, with excellent synthesis.”

Overall, the thesis, in the words of one dissertation reviewer, “is a clear example case for the vital value of information science for the global community.”

Pater is currently a research scientist and manager of the Health Services and Informatics Research Lab in the Parkview Research Center (PRC) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Her research explores how the use of digital technologies impact health and social norms. She conducts studies and designs technologies focused on supporting the mental health needs of patients and those providing treatment and support.

Pater earned her undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees from Georgia Tech.

Walter Rich
walter.rich@research.gatech.edu
Research Communications
Georgia Tech