Amanda Parkes

Amanda J. Parkes, PhD

Dr. Amanda Parkes is a fashion technologist with over 10 years of experience in interaction design, wearable technology, and fashion innovation. She is the Chief of Technology and Research at Manufacture NY, a hybrid fashion incubator/factory/research facility in Brooklyn NY where she is leading the development of a high tech fashion & textiles R&D space with advanced digital fabrication, wearable electronics, and a biology/chemistry lab for new materials. She is currently the acting CTO of Thesis Couture, a company redesigning the infrastructure of high heels. As an academic, she serves as a visiting scientist at the MIT Media Lab and an adjunct professor in the Columbia University Department of Architecture. She holds a PhD & M.S. in Tangible Media from the MIT Media Lab and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (Product Design) and a B.A. in Art History from Stanford University. She is an international speaker & lecturer including TED, DLD & SXSW and her design work has been awarded in forums including the ID Magazine Annual Design Review, the Prix Ars Electronica, and the D&AD Awards. She was recently named to the 2014 Business of Fashion 500 People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry.