2023 UNT Information Science Department Alumni Awards

2023 Information Science Department Outstanding Alumni Award Recipient

Chris Shaffer, University Librarian, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Information Management, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Chris Shaffer is an open science advocate. He joined the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in August 2017. Previously, he was a University Librarian and Associate Professor at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) for nine years. Chris is a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) and has served as President of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) and Board Member of the Medical Library Association (MLA). His other past positions include Assistant Director for Technology and Outreach at the University of Iowa Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, Technology Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region, and Resident Librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Texas A&M University and an MS in Information Science from the University of North Texas.

2023 Information Science Department Outstanding Early Career Alumni Award

Sahar Behpour, Data Scientist at Deloitte

Sahar Behpour is a highly accomplished data scientist with a passion for using data-driven approaches to solve complex problems. In 2017, Sahar began her Ph.D. in Physics at the University of North Texas, where she focused on data-driven approaches in statistical physics and complex networks in the Center of Nonlinear Science. However, she found herself interested in crossing borders between disciplines, which led her to pursue the Data Science program in the Information Science department at UNT, working with Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh. Sahar quickly showed great progress in her coursework and research, becoming part of the Biomedical AI lab and working under the supervision of Dr. Ting Xiao and Dr. Mark Albert. Throughout her Ph.D. journey, Sahar made numerous collaborations across UNT and outside, presenting her research works through 8 conference proceedings and posters, such as ASIS&T, JIKM, ALISE, and ACM-TAPIA, in both computer science and information science fields. She was recognized as an outstanding student at the College of Information and received 12 awards and scholarships, including the prestigious UNT Golden Eagle Award 2021, for her leadership and co-curricular activities.