# Hi, I am an Associate Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin where I direct the Critical Data Studies Lab. I also serve as the director of our MSIS program and the Graduate Advisor for the iSchool.
# My research is concerned with the emergence, standardization, and preservation of information. In particular, I study the ways data is represented and managed over time. Currently, I am researching people who build and maintain data technologies, data archives, and information infrastructures that support long-term cultural memory. This research has been funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the National Science Foundation, Sloan Foundation and Ford Foundation, and the ACM History and Archiving Fellowship.
# In November 2025, my book, Archiving Machines will be published by MIT Press. The book examines the origins of data archives and computing processes of storage, exchange, and transmission. I argue that these data archiving processes shape the access regimes and data sovereignty we experience today.
# Before joining UT, I worked as an archivist and librarian in Los Angeles. When I’m home in Austin, you can find me biking, bouldering, or swimming around town.
Amelia Acker, PhD
aacker [at] ischool.utexas.edu