Andy Quitmeyer, an alumnus of the Digital Media M.S. and Ph.D. programs in the Ivan Allen College School of Literature, Media, and Communication, may single-handedly reinvent what it means to “rough it” in studies of digital media.

Quitmeyer's work pioneering the field of Digital Naturalism goes far beyond all-nighters in the lab or on computers. He constructs wilderness makerspaces that achieve in situ environments for designing technological tools to study and interact with nature. His groundbreaking explorations are about to gain widespread media exposure through a new program on the Science Channel called “Hacking the Wild,” which airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. EST.

Inspiration for the series came from Quitmeyer’s “hiking hacks,” expeditions leading students to explore novel applications of digital technologies in nature. We spoke with Andy, an assistant professor in the Communications and New Media Department at the National University of Singapore, who was back home after filming the six-episode series:

http://www.iac.gatech.edu/news-events/features/andy-quitmeyer-hacking-the-wild