Howdy, I'm Parker.
I’m a computer scientist, software engineer, and cartographer based in Berkeley, CA working on novel programming systems for developing interactive graphics. I care a lot about about making programming with data feel more tangible and interactive.
I'm currently a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley — advised by Professor Sarah E. Chasins — and a software engineer and graphics developer at the climate newsroom Grist.
Featured Work
Much of my current work focuses on bridging the gaps between graphical user interfaces and programming languages to build tools that allow us to write code without manipulating text. Often this takes the form of direct manipulation, reverse engineering from examples, natural language, or some combination of the three.
A next-generation direct manipulation programming system for interactive cartography on the web.
cartokit allows users to analyze and visualize geospatial data using familiar interactions from both traditional GISs and vector graphics editors like Figma and Illustrator. Meanwhile, the system generates modern JavaScript or TypeScript in real-time for their map.
A compiler and browser extension for reverse engineering data visualizations from the DOM.
reviz allows users to reverse engineer SVG-based data visualizations on any webpage into partial @observablehq/plot programs with holes. They can then interactively retarget these programs to their own data, all while staying in the browser.
Publications
My research focuses on using novel techniques from programming languages (PL) and human-computer interaction (HCI) research to build useful and usable programming tools for data journalists, climate researchers, and social scientists.
Parker Ziegler, David Minh-Duy Cao, Justin Lubin, and Sarah E. Chasins
Sora Kanosue, Xiaorui Liu, Parker Ziegler, Eric Rawn, and Sarah E. Chasins
Parker Ziegler, Justin Lubin, and Sarah E. Chasins
Justin Lubin, Parker Ziegler, and Sarah E. Chasins
Parker Ziegler and Sarah E. Chasins
Featured Graphics
I've had the distinct privilege of putting my research into practice by building interactive graphics to support the investigative reporting of the very talented folks at Grist and High Country News. Here are a few favorites, which have won several awards.
This paired interactive map and timeline illustrates how devastating wildfires linked to PG&E equipment have led to the utiliy's aggressive use of “fast-trip” settings. Rural, isolated California communities are bearing the brunt of more frequent and longer outages.
Misplaced Trust
The extractive industries filling public university coffers on stolen land
This interactive map locates more than 8.3 million acres of land taken from 123 Indigenous nations to benefit land-grant universities as part of the 1862 Morrill Act. Many of these universities continue to profit off of extractive practices — such as oil drilling, mining, and logging — on this land today.
Wiped Off the Map
A federal clerk's error put more than 90,000 acres of Yakama Nation land in the hands of Washington state. The tribe wants it back.
This interactive uses historical georeferenced maps to show how a clerical error enabled the federal government to take thousands of acres of Yakama Nation land beyond the original treaty boundary.