Like the character in his latest book, Mr. Watson's Chickens, Jarrett Dapier (MS/LIS '15) has three chickens. Dapier, a librarian-turned-author, writes at his home in Evanston, Illinois, where he lives with his wife, two children, and pets (including a dog and two cats as well as the chickens). Mr. Watson's Chickens, illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was chosen by NPR and BookPage as one of the best books of 2021.

Cora Thomassen passed away on December 23, 2021. Thomassen earned her MS/LIS degree from the University of Illinois in 1955. She became the librarian at South Haven, Michigan, public schools, and then librarian to an extension of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. In 1961, she accepted an assistant professor of library science position at the U of I, becoming a tenured associate professor in 1969.

Mary Schiavone joined the iSchool on November 29 as an office support specialist. She serves as the primary receptionist on the fourth floor at 614 E. Daniel Street and provides administrative support to the Undergraduate Affairs Office.

Members of Associate Professor Dong Wang's research group, the Social Sensing Lab, will present papers at the 2021 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (IEEE BigData 2021), which will be held virtually from December 15-18.

MS/LIS students Samantha Lynn and Savannah Adams are earning course credit while exploring their interests through the iSchool's apprenticeship program with The Urbana Free Library. In the two-semester program, apprentices work 15 hours per week at the library and earn up to six credits through both a practicum and an independent study. The apprentice has both a faculty supervisor and library supervisor, who meet to discuss the student's progress in the program. Each student receives tuition support in the fall and a fellowship in the spring to complete the independent study.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences, iSchool at Illinois, is pleased to announce that Sage will serve as cosponsor of the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award.

In the spring, MS/LIS student and school librarian licensure program graduate assistant G Trupp will graduate from the school librarian licensure program, having received their master's, an Illinois Professional Teaching License, and in-depth experience working among other library information specialists. Trupp enrolled in the iSchool with a focus on public libraries and archives but, after working at a school library as a library assistant, decided to switch to the school librarian licensure program. This program gave them the skills to serve young people in library spaces and helped them prepare for a future career as a middle school librarian.

In addition to killing insects and weeds, pesticides can be toxic to the environment and harmful to human health. A new project led by Associate Professor Dong Wang and Huichun Zhang, Frank H. Neff Professor of Civil Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, will help scientists mitigate the environmental and ecological risks of pollutants such as pesticides and develop remediation strategies for cleaner water, soil, and air. The researchers have received a three-year, $402,773 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for their project, "Machine Learning Modeling for the Reactivity of Organic Contaminants in Engineered and Natural Environments."

The iSchool has introduced a new course for undergraduate students who are interested in gaming. Social History of Games & Gaming (IS 199 SHG) is a survey of the history of gaming from the ancient world through the twentieth century and its impact on science, society, and culture. Taught by Teaching Associate Professor David Dubin, the course fulfills a general education requirement for students majoring in information sciences. It is taught in a lecture and discussion format, engaging students with the material and promoting participation.

Andres Perez is preparing for a career in cybersecurity through a combination of the iSchool's MS in information management (MS/IM) program and the Illinois Cyber Security Scholars Program (ICSSP), a CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program funded by the National Science Foundation. Perez applied for the ICSSP—which provides full tuition, a stipend, and development opportunities for students who want to specialize in cybersecurity and privacy—to "grow as a professional and contribute to a greater mission."