In its fourth year, the research seed grant program at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology will fund one research project beginning in 2026. Led by Assistant Professor Haohan Wang; Nien-Pei Tsai, professor of molecular and integrative physiology and neuroscience; and Aleksei Aksimentiev, professor of bioengineering and physics, as well as the John Bardeen Faculty Scholar for physics; the selected research team will create a Center for Orchestrated Agentic Biology. 

Three iSchool faculty are named on four National Leadership Grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS): Professor Jiangping Chen; Sara Schwebel, professor and director of the Center for Children's Books (CCB); and Assistant Professor Kahyun Choi.

MSLIS student Rasheed Adigun has been awarded the 2026 Helen Knoll Jira Scholarship from the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI). The award supports individuals pursuing education in library or information science in Illinois, especially those focusing on health science librarianship.

Dong Wang, professor and associate dean for research, has received a grant supporting his work in the areas of social sensing and intelligence and human-centered AI. 

Teaching Assistant Professor Nitin Verma is among the 20 faculty from the University of Illinois System who were selected for the 2026–2027 cohort of the Public Voices Fellowship. The program is part of a national initiative led by The OpEd Project to help experts from underrepresented groups to be positioned as public thought leaders in their fields and contribute to the national dialogue around important issues.

MSLIS student Sydney Durst spent the summer of 2026 interning with the Anchorage Museum. "I found myself really pulling from my lessons in my metadata classes," she said. "A big part of the task was identifying what information was important to put in searchable descriptions for researchers!"

The iSchool at Illinois is pleased to announce the open access publication of Library Trends 75 (1) “Cultural Heritage in Crisis.” 

Robert Wedgeworth (MSLIS '61), former University Librarian at Illinois and the iSchool's 1991 Distinguished Alumnus, will deliver the 2026 Windsor Lecture at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9, online via Zoom. Room 126 in 501 E. Daniel Street will be available for viewing.

A research team including professors Jingrui He of the School of Information Sciences and Hanghang Tong of the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received a Phase II award through the US Department of Energy's Genesis Mission to develop a model for electric grid expansion.

Six master's students have been named 2026 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. The Spectrum Scholarships were established in 1997, and this year, the program received four times as many applications as there were available scholarships.