Professor and Associate Dean for Research Dong Wang has been invited to join the 2026 Computing Research Association (CRA) Emerging Leaders Cohort. The inaugural cohort will be introduced at the 2026 CRA Summit, which will be held from July 21-23 in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The summit is an exclusive, invitation-only gathering of senior leaders from academia, industry, and government who are shaping the future of computing research.
In addition to participating in the summit, cohort members will receive "expanded opportunities to connect with department chairs, deans, and other senior leaders, as well as opportunities to elevate the visibility of their work and perspectives within the broader computing research community."
"I'm honored to join the inaugural CRA Emerging Leaders Cohort and grateful for the opportunity to engage with colleagues across academia, industry, and government," Wang said. "This recognition also reflects the outstanding students, collaborators, and interdisciplinary research community at Illinois, and I look forward to contributing to conversations about the future of computing research and information sciences."
Wang's research focuses on social sensing, intelligence and computing, human-centered AI, and big data analytics. His work has been applied in a range of real-world applications such as social network analysis, crowdsourcing, disaster response, education, smart cities, synthetic biology, and environmental sustainability. He holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.