The Evoke Lab and Studio, based in UC Irvine’s Department of Informatics, was founded by Professors Geoffrey C. Bowker and Judith Gregory in 2013. Originally, the group spoke to the concerns of “designers, technologists, makers, builders, theorists, and thinkers.” The work focused on science and technology studies and HCI to give birth to “exciting things into the world built on a foundation of serious social theory.”
In 2015, based in CAL IT2, the Evoke Lab and Studio took on Data/Self, a project about self-tracking; Knowledge Infrastructures, which questioned how computing tools shaped the sciences (and vice versa); and Emerging Configurations of Knowledge, on exploration of expressive computational media. Of that period, Professor Bowker wrote
“We start with an eye toward social issues and concerns, and integrate social theory, art, computer science, and design to create new technologies and artifacts that evoke thought, debate, discussion, and consideration of a more harmonious mediated world. Our projects range from small experiments with new innovations to large-scale studies on major issues like “big data”, privacy, social justice, and self-exploration through technology. We are an open community of interdisciplinary scholars and designers who have fun, learn, and grow together, and are always looking for more fellow travelers!”
Geoffrey C. Bowker, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Informatics at UC Irvine, has profoundly shaped our understanding of information technology, cyberinfrastructures, and sociotechnical systems throughout a distinguished academic career spanning institutions such as the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, UC San Diego, and the University of Pittsburgh. His early work, Science on the Run (1994), pioneered STS research in information infrastructures, while his co-authored collaboration with Susan Leigh Star, Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences (1999), remains a landmark text across science and technology studies, information technology, and design studies. Bowker has continued to expand the field through award-winning works such as Memory Practices in the Sciences (2005), recipient of the Ludwik Fleck Prize, and has contributed to important collaborative initiatives including international graduate workshops on Values in the Design of Information Systems and Technology. As digital technologies like artificial intelligence increasingly shape human life, Bowker’s innovative research — most recently explored in his contribution to the Ends of Knowledge volume (2023) — remains ever more relevant and necessary.
Dr. Judith Gregory was Co-Director of the Values in Design Laboratory, with additional faculty appointments at Aalborg University, the IIT Institute of Design, and the University of Oslo. She held a PhD in Communication from UC San Diego, and her research interests spanned participatory design, health informatics, STS, social inclusion, and complex adaptive systems. With over 17 years of health informatics experience, she made significant contributions to the field, including work with Kaiser Permanente, the Veterans Administration, and the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Her scholarly publications and service as Conference Chair for the 7th International Conference on Design & Emotion reflected her broad and lasting impact across research, practice, and the academic community.