Palmer, Weber to present at John Deere Big Data Summit

Carole Palmer
Carole Palmer, Professor Emeritus

Carole Palmer, GSLIS professor and director of CIRSS, and Nicholas Weber, GSLIS doctoral candidate, will share their expertise in data curation at the upcoming John Deere Big Data Summit, which will be held in Champaign on October 1 and 2. The summit is intended to bring together analytic and big data thought leaders from inside and outside the company to showcase cutting edge academic thinking, applications, and real-life examples.

Palmer will present, “Data Curation: Investing in the Reuse Value of Digital Data”:

Digital research data are now widely recognized as valuable assets—research resources with tremendous potential for reuse in new and innovative ways. Advances in the storage, archiving, and preservation of digital data are proceeding apace, but curation services are needed that extend to the identification of high-value data and provision of data resources fit for new purposes. In this presentation I will discuss our studies of data practices in the sciences, focusing on indicators of reuse value and curation approaches for data consumers vs. data producers. We will also consider the broader implications of curatorial awareness on the cultures of research operations and for institutions committed to investing in high-value, reusable data resources.

Weber will present, “Curating and Profiling Enterprise Data @ John Deere”:

This presentation summarizes the findings of a pilot project between John Deere & Co. and the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship (CIRSS). This work was focused on gathering requirements for the development of new data curation infrastructures and services to support the analysis of big data, as well as the sharing, reuse and sustained archiving of “small data” produced at John Deere.

“The data curation research taking place at CIRSS is critical to the effectiveness and competitive success of twenty-first century corporations. We are very pleased to be participating in this summit,” said Allen Renear, GSLIS interim dean.

Research Areas:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

New handbook offers in-depth exploration of information history

A new book co-edited by Professor Emeritus Alistair Black and Associate Professor Bonnie Mak, along with Toni Weller (De Montfort University) and Laura Skouvig (University of Copenhagen), provides a field-defining, comprehensive study of information history. The Routledge Handbook of Information History, released last month by Routledge, examines how society, politics, culture, and technology have shaped information practices over millennia. The 638-page volume features more than forty contributors from around the world.

Pila awarded Ruth Fine Memorial Student Loan

MSLIS student Nathaniel Allen (Nat) Pila has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Ruth Fine Memorial Student Loan, awarded annually by the District of Columbia Library Association (DCLA). The award will support Pila as he begins his studies in the iSchool at the University of Illinois. 

Nathaniel Allen Pila

New grant to help Multiple Sclerosis patients manage depression

Associate Professor Jessie Chin has received a $215,000 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS grant RFA-2411-44091) for a two-year project to improve how people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) manage depression. 

Jessie Chin

Record number of instructors ranked as excellent

Fifty-seven iSchool instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Spring 2025—a record number for the School. The rankings are released every semester, and results are based on the ratings from the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms maintained by Measurement and Evaluation in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. Only those instructors who administered ICES at least once during the semester and who released their data for publication are included in the list. 

The double arched wooden doors at the entrance of the iSchool, a brick building at 501 E Daniel

Knox recognized as a University Scholar

Interim Dean and Professor Emily Knox is among the five professors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who have been named 2025 University Scholars in recognition of their achievements in teaching, scholarship, and service.

Emily Knox