Dr. Burgess received her BA(Hons) and MA(Dist.) in English Language and Literature from Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand, and her PhD in English from West Virginia University. She is active in the new media research community as editor of the online journal Hyperrhiz: new Media Cultures, and technical editor of Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge. Dr. Burgess is coauthor of "Red Planet: Scientific and Cultural Enounters with Mars and Biofutures: Owning Body Parts and Information", both titles published in the "Mariner10" interactive DVD-Rom series at the University of Pennsylvania Press.