There are approximately 600,000 individuals in the U.S. who are undergoing hemodialysis (HD) therapy for kidney failure. In hemodialysis, a machine filters wastes, salts, and fluid from the blood when an individual's kidneys are no longer healthy enough to do this work adequately. While lifestyle changes such as getting more exercise and making better nutritional choices would benefit HD patients, they are not popular with patients—leading to poor health outcomes. A new project, led by Assistant Professor Jessie Chin, aims to boost HD patients' commitment to exercise through a long-term motivational interviewing conversational agent (LotMintBot).

Five iSchool alumni are included in Library Journal’s 2022 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes 41 professionals who are moving the library field forward as a profession. Jeanie Austin (PhD '17) was honored in the Advocates category, Van McGary (MS/LIS '18) was honored in the Change Agents category, Elisandro Cabada (MS/LIS '17) and Robin Davis (MS/LIS '12) were honored in the Innovators category, and Barbara Alvarez (MS/LIS '12) was honored in the Educators category.

Eight iSchool master's students were named 2021-2022 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MS/LIS student Brandi Hart earned her BA degree in history and classical studies from Denison University.

Anita Nikolich, director of research and technology innovation and research scientist, has been selected to serve a three-year term on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure (ACCI). Comprised of distinguished members representing diverse science, engineering and computational science communities, the ACI helps ensure that NSF-supported cyberinfrastructure is "responsive to changing technology and science landscapes and enables significant advances across all fields of science and engineering supported by the agency."

BS/IS student Luke Emano has been selected as a recipient of a Research Support Grant for his project, "Time is Value: Exploring the Barriers of Scalability for Timebanks." The award, worth $1,000, is sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research.

The Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) is pleased to announce that Sarah Rebecca Velazquez Gaglio and Wardah Mohammed are the recipients of the Building Diversity Graduate Assistantships for the 2022-2023 academic year. The assistantships will ultimately provide experience, mentoring, and networking to participants with the goal of increasing the number of staff members from underrepresented groups at Illinois’ two and four-year public and private college and university libraries.

The Library Awards and Recognition Committee is pleased to announce that MS/LIS students Leah DiCiesare and Jason Larsen have been selected as recipients of the 2021-2022 Outstanding Graduate Student Award. This award recognizes graduate student workers for exceptional accomplishments and service to the University Library.

Chieh-Li (Julian) Chin, research program manager at the iSchool, has received the Employee Excellence Team Player award from Technology Services, where she serves as a data analyst at the Data and Technology Innovation Team. She received the award for exemplifying "the essence of teamwork and collaboration" internally, across Technology Services teams and in the campus community.

Eight iSchool master's students were named 2021-2022 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MS/LIS student Kaila Rain Thomas earned her BA degree in American history from the University of San Francisco, with a focus on African American history, culture, and politics.

Assistant Professor Elizabeth Hoiem has received the Humanities Research Institute (HRI) Prize for Best Faculty Research for her paper, "The Progress of Sugar: Consumption as Complicity in Children’s Books about Slavery and Manufacturing, 1790-2015." The award recognizes outstanding humanities research by a faculty member at the University of Illinois.