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Janice Del Negro named Illinois Library Luminary

Janice M. Del Negro (PhD '07) has been named an Illinois Library Luminary by the Illinois Library Association (ILA). This distinction honors individuals whose efforts have made a significant contribution to Illinois libraries.

Janice Del Negro

Nikolich re-elected to ARIN Advisory Council

Anita Nikolich, director of research and technology innovation and research scientist, has been re-elected to a three-year term on the American Registry for Internet Numbering (ARIN) Advisory Council. ARIN is a nonprofit organization that manages Internet numbering resources and policy within Canada, the United States, and many Caribbean and North Atlantic islands, and advances the Internet through informational outreach. ARIN's Advisory Council serves in an advisory capacity to the Board of Trustees on Internet number resource policy and related matters.

Anita Nikolich

Diesner lab presents research at Maritime Risk Symposium

Members of Associate Professor Jana Diesner's Social Computing Lab will present two posters at the 11th Annual Maritime Risk Symposium, which is being held virtually from October 26-30. The symposium, hosted by the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI), will focus on maritime resilience and the impact of COVID-19 with regard to resiliency for future global upsets.

Chu receives IMLS grant to develop the IDEA Institute on Artificial Intelligence

iSchool Affiliate Professor Clara M. Chu, director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and Mortenson Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois, along with collaborators from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and the University of Texas at Austin, have received a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The $208,142 grant will fund the IDEA (Innovation, Disruption, Enquiry, Access) Institute on Artificial intelligence (AI).

Clara Chu

Rezapour to present at consortium for data scientists in training

Doctoral candidate Rezvaneh (Shadi) Rezapour will present her research at the 2nd Annual Michigan Institute Consortium for Data Scientists in Training, a virtual event held from October 29-30. Rezapour is part of the Institute’s 2020 cohort, which includes researchers from 28 universities. The competitive program offers graduate students and postdocs the opportunity to participate in research talks, networking sessions, and mentoring opportunities.

Shadi Rezapour

He receives grant to study how risk of foreign influence on media can be mitigated

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded Associate Professor Jingrui He a two-year, $319,568 grant to study how the risk of foreign influence on news media can be mitigated. Her project, "Towards a Computational Framework for Disinformation Trinity: Heterogeneity, Generation, and Explanation," will lead to a new suite of algorithms and software tools to detect, predict, generate, and understand disinformation dissemination. Hanghang Tong, associate professor of computer science at Illinois, will serve as co-principal investigator.

Jingrui He

Keefer and Wickett receive ASIS&T best short paper award

A paper authored by Informatics PhD student Donald Keefer and Assistant Professor Karen Wickett, "Adapting Research Process Models for the Design of Knowledge Engineering Applications," has received the Best Short Paper Award at the 2020 Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) Annual Meeting.

Karen Wickett

Leep student prepares children for responsible citizenry

For Julie Knutson, the iSchool's online MS/LIS program is "incredibly convenient," allowing her to continue authoring children's nonfiction while working toward her goal of becoming a school librarian.

"My first job out of college was at Temple University's Paley Library. After that experience, I kept returning to the idea of school librarianship. Really, the best I can describe it is as an unshakable drive to work in this space—with kids—to help them not just find books they love, but also to develop into discerning consumers of information, passionate researchers, and empowered makers," said Knutson.

Julie Knutson

Spectrum Scholar Spotlight: Krystal Madkins

A record fifteen iSchool master's students were named 2020-2021 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 Krystal Madkins holds a BA in sociology from Bryn Mawr College and an MPH in epidemiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Krystal Madkins

New publication, upcoming workshop highlight importance of reducing spread of retracted science

When retracted papers are cited both before and after retraction, the scientific publication network inadvertently propagates potentially faked data, fundamental errors, and unreproducible results. Assistant Professor Jodi Schneider is working on reducing the spread of retracted science, receiving a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for this research.

Jodi Schneider