View source for Biography:Kit Parker

{{Infobox military person
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| birth_name              = Kevin Kit Parker
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| image         = File:Captain Kevin Kit Parker hands out hygiene pack in Kandahar.jpg
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| caption       = Captain Kit Parker hands out a hygiene pack to a boy in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan (2007 or earlier)
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| branch        = United States Army Reserve
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| rank          = Lieutenant colonel
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| laterwork     = Faculty at [[Organization:Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering|Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering]], [[Organization:Harvard University|Harvard University]]
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| website       = {{URL|diseasebiophysics.seas.harvard.edu}}
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'''Kevin Kit Parker''' is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/business/learning-to-engineer-a-better-brisket.html|title=Learning to Engineer a Better Brisket|date=19 July 2015|work=The New York Times}}</ref> and the Tarr Family Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics at [[Organization:Harvard University|Harvard University]].<ref name="bu">{{cite news|url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/professor-and-paratrooper/|title=Professor and Paratrooper: ENG alum pinpoints cause of traumatic brain injury|last=Dwortzan|first=Mark|date=28 November 2012|work=BU Today|publisher=[[Organization:Boston University|Boston University]]|accessdate=8 June 2016}}</ref> His research includes cardiac cell biology and tissue engineering, [[Medicine:Traumatic brain injury|traumatic brain injury]], and biological applications of micro- and nanotechnologies. Additional work in his laboratory has included fashion design, marine biology, and the application of counterinsurgency methods to countering transnational organized crime.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kit Parker|publisher=Harvard University|url=http://www.seas.harvard.edu/directory/kkparker}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Parker attended [[Organization:Boston University|Boston University]]'s College of Engineering and graduated in 1989.  He earned a Master of Science degree in 1993 and a doctoral degree in applied physics in 1998 from [[Organization:Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/professor-and-paratrooper/|title=Professor and Paratrooper – BU Today – Boston University}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seas.harvard.edu/directory/kkparker|title=Kit Parker|date=14 July 2016}}</ref>

== Military career ==
Parker is a paratrooper who has served in the United States Army since 1992. After the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]], he served two tours of duty in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lelaboratoirecambridge.com/kevin-kit-parker|title=Le Laboratoire Cambridge – Art and Design Center}}</ref>

In addition to his combat tours, Parker conducted two missions into Afghanistan as part of the Gray Team in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/06/10/481568316/how-a-team-of-elite-doctors-changed-the-military-s-stance-on-brain-trauma|title=How A Team Of Elite Doctors Changed The Military's Stance On Brain Trauma|website=NPR }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://science.sciencemag.org/content/335/6064/news-summaries|title=News this Week|first=American Association for the Advancement of|last=Science|date=6 January 2012|volume=335|issue=6064|pages=18|via=science.sciencemag.org}}</ref>

== Civilian career ==
Initially, at Harvard the focus of his research was heart muscle cells.  He turned to traumatic brain injury in 2005 after realizing that an Army friend of his, who had received injuries in an IED blast in Iraq in 2005, was suffering from an undiagnosed medical condition rather than a psychological problem.<ref name="npr">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/06/08/480608042/an-army-buddys-call-for-help-sends-a-scientist-on-brain-injury-quest|title=Shots: An Army Buddy's Call For Help Sends A Scientist On A Brain Injury Quest |last=Hamilton|first=Jon|date=8 June 2016|work=NPR|accessdate=8 June 2016}}</ref><ref name=Geo>{{cite news |first=Caroline |last=Alexander |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/healing-soldiers/blast-force.html |title=Blast Force: The Invisible War on the Brain |newspaper=National Geographic magazine |date=February 2015 }}</ref>

Other research of Parker's includes designing camouflage using skin cells of [[Biology:Cuttlefish|cuttlefish]] and the use of a cotton candy machine to make dressings for wounds.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/where-science-meets-war-kit-parkers-lab/|title=Where science meets war: Kit Parker's lab|date=4 August 2013|work=CBS News|accessdate=8 June 2016}}</ref>

Parker served on the Defense Science Research Council for nearly a decade,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wyss.harvard.edu/team/core-faculty/kevin-parker/|title=Kevin Kit Parker, Ph.D.|date=5 August 2016}}</ref> the Defense Science Board Task Force on Autonomy, and has consulted to other US government agencies as well as the medical device and pharma industry.

In 2011, Parker headed Harvard's committee for reintroducing ROTC at the university.<ref>{{cite news |first=Stacy Teicher |last=Khadaroo |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0330/ROTC-returns-to-Harvard-Does-officer-training-program-need-Ivy-League |title=ROTC returns to Harvard: Does officer training program need Ivy League? |newspaper=Christian Science Monitor |date=30 March 2011 |accessdate=10 June 2016 }}</ref>

In July 2016, it was announced that The Disease Biophysics Group at Harvard, led by Kit Parker, created a tissue-engineered soft-robotic ray that swims using wave-like fin motions, and turns according to externally applied light cues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://diseasebiophysics.seas.harvard.edu/research/living-soft-robots/|title=Living Soft Robots « SEAS DBG}}</ref>

== C3 course controversy ==
In January 2021, students at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences created a petition objecting to Parker's course on C3 policing. Titled "ENG-SCI 298R: Data Fusion in Complex Systems: A Case Study," the course promised to engage graduate student researchers to analyze the efficacy of a C3 techniques in Springfield, MA. The petition objected to the lack of analysis of structural racism, political economy, inequity in criminal justice, residential segregation resulting from the practice of C3, and the failure of C3 in light of repeated investigations into use of excessive force in the Springfield Police Department.<ref name="docs.google.com">{{Cite web|title=Joint Letter & Demands to Harvard SEAS regarding ENG-SCI 298r|url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e-4FxHcloNeTlw_bWakaw4bGQ2ZzujIPsevdVxaXCWo/edit?usp=embed_facebook|access-date=2021-02-01|website=Google Docs|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/1/26/seas-cancels-policing-course/|title = SEAS Cancels Class on Controversial Policing Strategy After Student Petition &#124; News &#124; the Harvard Crimson}}</ref>

Signatories demanded canceling the class and a wide variety of other actions, including "a full independent, third-party review of Prof. Kit Parker".<ref name="docs.google.com" />

The dean of the engineering school soon announced the class was canceled,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-26|title=Harvard Cancels Course On Policing Techniques After Uproar|url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/education/2021/01/26/harvard-cancels-course-on-policing-techniques-after-uproar|access-date=2021-02-01|website=News|language=en}}</ref> and committed to reviewing the process of vetting class offerings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Harvard calls off course amid petition campaign|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/01/27/harvard-calls-course-amid-petition-campaign|access-date=2021-02-01|website=www.insidehighered.com|date=27 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

== Awards ==
*Bronze Star<ref name="harvard.edu">{{cite web|url=http://belfercenter.hks.harvard.edu/experts/3033/kevin_kit_parker.html|title=Kevin Kit Parker – Harvard – Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs}}</ref>
*Army Commendation Medal with V device<ref name="harvard.edu" />
*Combat Infantryman Badge<ref name="harvard.edu" />
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http://www.stripes.com/news/groundbreaking-research-looks-at-how-blasts-injure-brain-1.161678
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/healing-soldiers/blast-force.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0330/ROTC-returns-to-Harvard-Does-officer-training-program-need-Ivy-League
http://www.toryburch.com/blog-post/blog-post.html?bpid=120752
http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/professor-and-paratrooper

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== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.seas.harvard.edu/directory/kkparker Kit Parker] at Harvard

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Kit}}
[[Category:Biological engineering]]
[[Category:American physicists]]

{{Sourceattribution|Kit Parker}}