Rate My Professor Steven Baker

Steven Baker is an Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences and Social Work and the Creative Arts Research Institute at Griffith University. His research centres on the use of technology to support human flourishing and address pressing social issues such as poverty and disadvantage, financial and physical abuse, and the health impacts of a warming planet. Leveraging his background as a social worker and human-computer interaction researcher, Baker promotes innovation, interdisciplinarity, and cross-sector partnerships to drive meaningful change. He is a chief investigator on the $2.3 million Extreme Heat and Older Adults (Ethos) project, a transdisciplinary effort developing an early warning system to protect older adults from extreme heat events. Baker's publications feature in high-ranking journals and conferences across computer science, gerontology, and social work, including "A digital heat early warning system for older adults" (npj Digital Medicine, 2025), "Video Calls as a Replacement for Family Visits During Hospitalisation" (CHI Conference Proceedings, 2023), "The Role of Staff in Facilitating Immersive Virtual Reality for Older People in Aged Care" (CHI Conference Proceedings, 2022), "Towards Improvement of Heatwave Warnings for Older Adults" (Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 2024), and "Transforming aged care with virtual reality: How implementation can be optimised" (Australasian Journal on Ageing, 2024).

Baker excels in education, transforming curricula for social work and human services students to confront disadvantage, inequality, and advocate for positive societal shifts. He earned a 2022 commendation for excellence in student experience of teaching and led a teaching and learning grant exploring social virtual reality's role in student education. He supports higher degree by research students via service on the Griffith Human Ethics Committee and the School of Health Sciences and Social Work Research Committee. Through these contributions, Baker's work significantly influences aged care practices, digital technology adoption among older adults, heat health adaptation strategies, and broader social welfare advancements.