The Power of Information 2022-2023 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Leading research at the intersection of people, information, and technology
Degree programs BS in Information Sciences (BSIS) BS in Information Sciences + Data Science (BSIS+DS) MS in Library and Information Science (MSLIS) MS in Information Management (MSIM) MS in Bioinformatics (Information Sciences Concentration) PhD in Information Sciences School Librarian Licensure Certificate of Advanced Study Undergraduate Minor in Informatics
The iSchool is dedicated to shaping the future of information through research, education, and engagement. Our mission is to lead the way in understanding the use of information in science, culture, society, commerce, and the diverse activities of our daily lives.
2 Message from the Dean I am pleased to share this annual report of research highlights. It demonstrates the scope of our School’s contributions to the field of information sciences, our communities, and society as a whole. This academic year marks the 130th anniversary of the iSchool at Illinois and the 75th anniversary of our PhD program. The iSchool is a leader in interdisciplinary research that pushes the boundaries of innovation and imagination. This is evidenced by our continued growth: this fall, our PhD student enrollment increased 30 percent, which reflects the program’s ongoing excellence and value in the field of information sciences. Our new and ongoing grants are supported by prestigious national funders,
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including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the
The iSchool is a leader in interdisciplinary
Humanities, Mellon Foundation, Department of Homeland Security, National Science Foundation, Meta, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, IBM, and National Institutes of Health. They cover diverse areas of interest, and this year’s projects include but are not limited
research that pushes the
to the following:
boundaries of innovation
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Safeguarding government information
and imagination. This is
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Recognizing online scams and disinformation
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Protecting privacy in libraries
evidenced by our continued
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Enhancing accessibility in curricula and makerspaces
growth: this fall, our
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Assisting libraries with data storytelling
PhD student enrollment
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Using AI to improve educational outcomes
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Building trust in computer-generated research results
increased 30 percent, which
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Improving biomedical citation accuracy
reflects the program’s
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Improving accessibility in scientific and technical publishing
ongoing excellence
Our faculty are affiliated and collaborate with several units across campus,
and value in the field of
including the Beckman Institute, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Center for Social
information sciences.
& Behavioral Science, Cline Center for Advanced Social Research, Information Trust
— Eunice E. Santos, Dean and Professor
work with international partners, including institutions in Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
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Institute, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and more. They also China, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. More information about the breadth of our faculty’s research and their noteworthy accomplishments can be viewed at ischool.illinois.edu/people/faculty. I hope you enjoy reading this report. It demonstrates the power of information in advancing discovery, developing solutions, and making a difference in the lives of individuals.
Eunice E. Santos Dean and Professor
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Research Grants
Our faculty and staff serve as principal investigators and co-investigators on 66 projects totaling $106 million.
Examining the reliability of randomized clinical trials for health treatments Associate Professor Halil Kilicoglu was awarded a four-year, $1,328,502 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for “Computational Methods, Resources, and Tools to Assess Transparency and Rigor of Randomized Clinical Trials.” The project will develop datasets, natural language processing (NLP) methods, and software tools to assess and improve reporting quality in randomized clinical trial protocols and result publications.
Developing computational tools to protect Homeland Security data Professor Jingrui He is developing computational tools to protect against leaks and/or unauthorized use of sensitive data held and distributed among Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies and other parties. Her project, “Privacy-Preserving Analytics for Non-IID Data,” received a three-year, $651,927 grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE).
Helping older adults recognize online scams and disinformation Anita Nikolich, research scientist and director of research innovation, is co-leading a twoyear, $5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator phase 2 project to create digital tools that help older adults better recognize and protect themselves from online deceptions and other forms of disinformation.
Exploring the use of conversational AI in libraries Associate Professor Yun Huang was awarded a threeyear, $399,996 Early Career Development grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. “Empowering Libraries with Conversational AI” will explore the potential for using conversational artificial intelligence (AI) in libraries to strengthen engagement between libraries and diverse audiences.
Protecting privacy in public libraries Associate Professor Masooda Bashir and her research group completed the first study to discover how public libraries protect privacy in the digital age, which was supported by a $150,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
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Improving biomedical citation accuracy and integrity A project led by Associate Professors Halil Kilicoglu and Jodi Schneider will assist researchers and journals in evaluating citation behavior in biomedical publications. They recently received a two-year, $300,000 grant from the Office of Research Integrity of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for their project, “Natural Language Processing to Assess and Improve Citation Integrity in Biomedical Publications.”
Building confidence in scientific discovery by curbing retracted research Associate Professor Jodi Schneider received a $249,998 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to lead a project together with the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) to prevent the citation and reuse of retracted research. “Reducing the Inadvertent Spread of Retracted Science II: Research and Development towards the Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern,” will reduce the real and perceived danger to science and society when retracted research is mistakenly circulated within the digital scholarly record.
Examining historical anti-Black violence in newspapers A project to study anti-Black violence in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century U.S. newspapers was funded through a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation. “The Virality of Racial Terror in U.S. Newspapers, 1863-1921” is a multi-institutional partnership led by Associate Professor Ryan Cordell.
Modeling the relationship between extreme weather and the economy Professor Jingrui He received $75,000 in seed funding from IBM for a project to model the complex relationship between the local economy and extreme weather events, such as hurricanes. The research aligns well with IBM’s technology and product vision for advancing artificial intelligence to accelerate the ability of clients, policymakers, and communities to address climate change.
Providing access to marginalized materials and experiences
Building trust in computer-generated research results The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $600,000 to “TRAnsparency CErtified (TRACE): Trusting Computational Research Without Repeating It,” an NSF/Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI) collaborative research project, led by the iSchool at Illinois ($350,000) with partners at Cornell University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The project is co-led by Professor Bertram Ludäscher and iSchool colleagues Timothy McPhillips, senior research scientist, and Craig Willis, teaching assistant professor. TRACE solves the problem of trusting computational research without repeating it by certifying the authors’ original execution, i.e., generating a trustworthy record of computations, signed by the system within which computations were performed.
J. Stephen Downie, professor and co-director of the HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC), and Glen Layne-Worthey, associate director for HTRC Research Support Services, received a $17,456 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to contribute to “Building Literacy and Curating (Critical Cultural) Knowledge in Digital Humanities (BLACK DH).” The three-year project will create an online platform for African American literature as well as digital projects related to the Black experience.
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Research Grants
iSchool researchers leverage the power of information to inform decision making and develop solutions to society’s pressing challenges.
Improving accessibility in scientific and technical publishing Assistant Professor JooYoung Seo received a $54,000 grant from RStudio, PBC to make its open-source scientific and technical publishing system Quarto more accessible. For the project, “Improving Accessible Reproducibility for Data Science Publishing System,” Seo will collaborate with RStudio, PBC to develop and improve accessibility components of Quarto for people with and without dis/abilities.
Assisting libraries with data storytelling Associate Professor Kate McDowell and Assistant Professor Matthew Turk received a two-year, $99,330 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. “Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians” will provide a set of easy-to-adapt templates for generating data visualization and narrative structure options, which librarians can use to move quickly from data to story to storytelling for their audiences.
Creating accessible library makerspaces Assistant Professor JooYoung Seo and Associate Professor Kyungwon Koh received a three-year, $498,638 National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for their project, “Promoting Computational Thinking Skills for Blind and Visually Impaired Teens Through Accessible Library Makerspaces.” The goal is to create accessible maker programs for blind and visually impaired (BVI) learners and develop training materials on accessible making for librarians and maker professionals.
Enhancing accessibility in curricula Assistant Professor JooYoung Seo was one of nineteen faculty nationwide to receive a $5,000 grant from the nonprofit organization Teach Access to develop and implement an accessibility module with the goal of infusing accessibility into curricula.
Using AI to improve educational outcomes Associate Professor Dong Wang and Assistant Professor Nigel Bosch were awarded a three-year, $850,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for “A Metacognitive Calibration Intervention Powered by Fair and Private Machine Learning.” The project aims to improve students’ ability to estimate their knowledge using AI methods.
Featured News
iSchool researchers are leaders in the information sciences who are recognized for their expertise and contributions that address key societal challenges.
Santos named IEEE Fellow Dean and Professor Eunice E. Santos was named a 2023 Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This recognition, the highest grade of membership, is bestowed on fewer than 0.1 percent of voting members each year. It is given to eminent scholars and scientists whose outstanding accomplishments in engineering, science, and technology have shown significant value to society. Santos was honored “for leadership in computational social networks.”
McDowell presents keynote on data storytelling
Blake delivers keynote at HSLI Professor Catherine Blake presented “Evidence-Based Librarianship and the Case for Quality Over Quantity,” the keynote for the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI) Annual Conference. HSLI promotes the professional and educational development of Illinois librarians, information professionals, and library students in the health sciences.
Associate Professor Kate McDowell presented “Data Storytelling Strategies,” the closing keynote of the Measures of Success Educator Impact Series held at Western Michigan University. The virtual series focuses on equity and educator impact.
Downie presents keynote at CHIIR 2023 Professor J. Stephen Downie was the keynote speaker for the 2023 ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval (CHIIR 2023). In his presentation, “Why We Retrieve: An (Im)precise Recalling of 30 Years Leading from Behind,” Downie reflected on key similarities between Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and retrieval tasks within the HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC), which he codirects.
Knox receives Oboler Memorial Award for book on intellectual freedom Associate Professor Emily Knox received the 2023 Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award from the Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IRRT) of the American Library Association (ALA). She was selected for the award, which recognizes the best published work in the area of intellectual freedom, for her book, Foundations of Intellectual Freedom (ALA Neal-Schuman, 2022).
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Featured News
iSchool faculty are leaders in the information sciences, recognized for their expertise through scholarly contributions and engagement that advance the field.
Researchers receive Lee Dirks Award for Best Paper “Research with User-Generated Book Review Data: Legal and Ethical Pitfalls and Contextualized Mitigations,” coauthored by PhD student Yuerong Hu, HTRC Associate Director for Research Support Services Glen Layne-Worthey, Alaine Martaus (PhD ‘19), Professor J. Stephen Downie, and Associate Professor Jana Diesner, received the Lee Dirks Award for Best Paper at iConference 2023. The award recognizes the most exceptional completed research paper presented at the iConference each year. Yuerong Hu
Alaine Martaus
Jana Diesner
Knox elected chair of NCAC Board Associate Professor Emily Knox has been elected chair of the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) Board of Directors. NCAC is an alliance of 59 national nonprofit organizations that is committed to the non-partisan defense of free expression and guides the development of resources and tools needed to defend freedom of expression.
Santos elected chair of CRA Deans Group Dean and Professor Eunice E. Santos has been elected chair of the Computing Research Association (CRA) Deans Group. During her two-year term, she will have a seat on the CRA Board of Directors and externally represent the Deans Group as needed.
Wang research group receives ASONAM Best Paper Award A paper coauthored by PhD student Lanyu Shang and members of the Social Sensing and Intelligence Lab, led by Associate Professor Dong Wang, received the best paper award in the research track during the 2022 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Network Analysis and Mining (ASONAM 2022). “A Knowledge-driven Domain Adaptive Approach to Early Misinformation Detection in an Emergent Health Domain on Social Media” addresses an important problem of how to accurately detect misinformation in emergent health domains.
Dahlen selected as judge for National Book Award Associate Professor Sarah Park Dahlen was selected by the National Book Foundation to serve as one of five judges for the 74th National Book Awards in the category of Young People’s Literature.
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