As a result of numerous archaeological expeditions to Egypt, Europe, and the Americas, Parcak has provided new insights into the culture of ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Vikings. For Parcak, most of the expeditions have begun with careful manipulation of satellite images that enhances subtle aspects of the terrain, revealing previously unknown archaeological features. She has been a pioneer in this field of “space” archaeology and wrote the first textbook on the subject, Satellite Remote Sensing.

Parcak shares the passion Andrews had as a communicator about science and discovery, authoring numerous scientific publications. Parcak is the author of Archaeology from Space: How the future shapes our Past, a popular account highlighting archaeologic discoveries that have been aided by using satellite imagery and passionately explaining the importance of archaeology and the thrill of participation in such a field.

She has been featured in three BBC productions focusing on ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, and the Vikings. Parcak is the winner of the 2016 million-dollar TED prize, which she used to establish GlobalXplorer, a platform for crowdsourcing of satellite data that allowed anyone with an internet connection to experience the excitement of identifying potential archaeological sites. The first GlobalXplorer “expedition” was to Peru and produced 700 potential large sites that experts are currently investigating; an expedition to India will be commencing soon.

After receiving her B.A. from Yale University, Parcak earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology at Cambridge University. She is currently a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Parcak is a National Geographic Explorer and Fellow in the Society of Antiquities.