iSchool at Illinois

Interim Dean Emily Knox gave remarks at last night's iSchool alumni reception at the I Hotel.

Attendees sitting at their tables and mingling at the iSchool Alumni Reception at the I Hotel.

Close-up of flowers at the iSchool Alumni Reception at the I Hotel.

Attendees sitting at their tables and mingling at the iSchool Alumni Reception at the I Hotel.

Last night, we hosted a special alumni reception at the I Hotel during this year’s AISLE conference. It was wonderful seeing so many familiar faces!

iSchool building

Eleven #iSchoolUI instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Summer 2025. Congratulations to our amazing instructors! 👏

See the full list here ▶️ bit.ly/46S4HTV

School Librarian Licensure Coordinator Lauren Ochs and Stewardship and Donor Relations Coordinator Kristin Sexton at the iSchool both (#108) at the AISLE annual conference.

Heading to AISLE? Come say hi at booth 108 in the exhibit hall! 👋
 
And don’t forget our alumni reception is tonight in the Alma Mater Room. We can’t wait to see you there! 🎉

Join us for the Association of Illinois School Library Educators (AISLE) annual conference, held next week at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign, Illinois.
 
We will be at booth 108 in the exhibit hall. Stop by and say hi!  
 
View our #iSchoolUI presenters here ▶️ bit.ly/3VO78ly

Assistant Professor Emily Maemura

#iSchoolUI Asst. Prof. Emily Maemura is the Illinois lead for a project that explores how sociocultural data from historical records are collected, manipulated, stored, visualized, & interpreted, as part of a partnership between the U. of I. System & the University of Toronto. ▶️ bit.ly/47457rA

Executive Associate Dean J. Stephen Downie

We are pleased to announce that #iSchoolUI Professor J. Stephen Downie has been appointed executive associate dean. Downie joined the faculty in 1998 and has served as associate dean for research since 2011.

Congratulations, Stephen! 🎉▶️ bit.ly/4gOmYWS

#iSchoolUI faculty, staff, and students will present their research and be honored at the annual conference of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), which will take place next week in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
See full details on our participation ▶️ bit.ly/4gNUCMm

#iSchoolUI Adjunct Lecturer Jimi Jones will be in Amsterdam to launch his book on Friday, October 24th! Come join the book launch, which will be held at the Eye Filmmuseum and online via Zoom.

For more information and how to attend via Zoom, visit ▶️ bit.ly/4pTTdZ2

Tian Wang, Qiqi Xie, Ece Gumusel, and Bogeum Choi

This year marks the fourth cohort of the #iSchoolUI’s Postdoctoral Research Associate Program. Welcome, Bogeum Choi, Ece Gumusel, Edwin (Teddy) Roland, Tian Wang, and Qiqi Xie! 🎉

Read more about the group and their research interests ▶️ bit.ly/4pNISh5

Pascal Hitzler, University Distinguished Professor and endowed Lloyd T. Smith Creativity in Engineering Chair at the Department of Computer Science at Kansas State University, will present “How Disruptive Is It Really?” as part of “The AI Disruption” series.

All are welcome to attend tomorrow’s “The AI Disruption” talk! @pascalhitzler.bsky.social, University Distinguished Prof. & endowed Lloyd T. Smith Creativity in Engineering Chair at the Dept. of Computer Science at Kansas State University, will present “How Disruptive Is It Really?" ▶️ bit.ly/471ZTg3

The fountain at Hallene Gateway dyed orange for Homecoming week.

Thanks for a great Homecoming, Illini! 🔸💙

BSIS student Lauren Ravury

Group photo of the 2025 Illinois Homecoming Court

We’re proud to see the #iSchoolUI represented on the #ILLINOIS 2025 Homecoming Court through BSIS student Lauren Ravury. Read about her student experience and her passion for tech and data privacy law 🧡▶️ bit.ly/4nr4MoO

Professor Yang Wang

#iSchoolUI Professor Yang Wang has been appointed by
@govpritzker.illinois.gov to the new Autism Data Privacy Advisory Group, which will strengthen protections for the rights of people with autism in Illinois. Congratulations on this honor, Yang! ▶️ bit.ly/3VB4krW

Riddhima Patllollu smiling on the Quad in the fall.

Riddhima Patllollu biking with Illini 4000.

#iSchoolUI BSIS student Riddhima Patllollu biked 4,500+ miles with Illini 4000 to raise awareness & funds for cancer research. As the group’s marketing director, she encourages students to apply for the 2026 team by Sep. 27. More about Riddhima 🚴‍♀️▶️ bit.ly/4njt5F0

Professor Dong Wang (left) and the cover of his new book “Social Intelligence: The New Frontier of Integrating Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence in Social Space”.

#iSchoolUI Professor Dong Wang’s new book, “Social Intelligence,” examines how human and artificial intelligence can be integrated to address complex social challenges through human-centered AI design. ▶️ bit.ly/4gDqNhp

Close-up of iSchool Assistant Professor Meicen Sun giving her talk on AI’s role in spurring innovation.

Side view of the audience listening to iSchool Assistant Professor Meicen Sun's talk at Anthropic's inaugural Economic Futures Symposia.

In her talk at @anthropicai.bsky.social’s inaugural Economic Futures Symposia in Washington, DC, #iSchoolUI Assistant Professor @meicensun.bsky.social focused on AI’s role in spurring innovation and highlighted the importance of cultivating an AI-savvy workforce.

Yesterday, the Informatics Department held its Fall 2025 Welcome Reception and Poster Session, welcoming new PhD students and featuring the diverse, interdisciplinary research of Informatics students. Here’s to celebrating the start of the semester!

iSchool Illinois

✨#iSchoolUI apparel is BACK, featuring a new t-shirt design by our contest winner PhD student Meng Li! The store will close on October 4, and this will be your ONLY chance to order in the fall semester.

Check it out 👉 bit.ly/4gvVVzA

Washington, DC.

#iSchoolUI faculty, staff, and students will participate in the Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy (#TPRC2025), held from September 18-20 in Washington, DC.

More on their participation ▶️ bit.ly/4nDWycK

iSchool MSIM and graduate ambassador Simit Shah smiling in his ILLINOIS iSchool t-shirt

Before joining the #iSchoolUI’s MSIM program, graduate ambassador Simit Shah worked at Deloitte in India. This summer, he put his skills to work as a tech risk consultant at EY. Read more about Simit in this Get to Know story ▶️ bit.ly/42BPi8W

Book cover of "The Routledge Handbook of Information History," edited by Toni Weller, Alistair Black, Bonnie Mak, and Laura Skouvig.

#iSchoolUI Professor Emeritus Alistair Black and Associate Professor Bonnie Mak have co-edited a new book, “The Routledge Handbook of Information History,” that examines how society, politics, culture, and technology have shaped information practices over millennia. ▶️ bit.ly/3I3s6JX

Innovation Law and Technology Program Inaugural Event on Friday, September 19, from 1:30-4:30 PM

Join the Illinois College of Law on Sept. 19 for the launch of their Innovation Law and Technology Program! Faculty, including #iSchoolUI Prof. Bertram Ludäscher, will discuss law, formal methods, and computer science. Free + open to the public. Details ▶️ bit.ly/4pmvGQ6

Close-up of the landing page of ChatGPT on a screen with hands hovering over the keyboard.

The concluding issue in the Library Trends series on AI, 73 (4), “Generative AI and Libraries: Applications and Ethics, Part II,” explores ethics, instruction, and classroom perspectives. Enjoy open access ▶️ bit.ly/4m9g13G

Associate Professor Jessie Chin smiling in front of the iSchool building and a tree.

Congratulations to #iSchoolUI Associate Professor Jessie Chin on receiving a $215,000 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for her project, the Depression Regulation chatbot (DRBot), which aims to help people with multiple sclerosis manage their depression! ▶️ bit.ly/42i38NC

School of Information Sciences sign outdoors.

Fifty-seven #iSchoolUI instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Spring 2025—a record number for the School.

Congratulations to our fabulous instructors! 👏

See the full list here ▶️ bit.ly/46sRQbL

Professor Kate McDowell

Explore how your library can use data stories not just to survive but to thrive, in this webinar with #iSchoolUI Professor @katemcdowell23.bsky.social.

📆 September 10
⏰ 1:00 pm (CT)
Register here ▶️ bit.ly/3I6K4uR

Interim Dean and Professor Emily Knox

#iSchoolUI Interim Dean and Professor @ejmknox.bsky.social has been named a 2025 University Scholar by the University of Illinois System in recognition of her achievements in teaching, scholarship, and service. Congratulations, Dean Knox! 🎉▶️ bit.ly/4nfasla

Xuan Wang, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, will present "Towards Small, Open-Source, Multi-Modal Language Model Agents for Science and Society,” as part of “The AI Disruption” speaker series.

Join us next Wednesday for the first “The AI Disruption” talk of the semester! Xuan Wang, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, will present "Towards Small, Open-Source, Multi-Modal Language Model Agents for Science and Society." ▶️ bit.ly/4mVQV9J

PhD student Owen Monroe wearing a blue button-down with polkadots and smiling in front of a brown backdrop.

#iSchoolUI PhD student Owen Monroe spent his internship with the National Endowment for the Humanities Office of Digital Humanities studying the long-term sustainability of NEH-funded digital projects. His work helped NEH explore a new grant program for maintaining digital projects ▶️ bit.ly/3JKLnAj

📅 Don’t forget! The 35th Annual Mortenson Center Distinguished Lecture is this Thursday. Join us to hear from Amanda Rubin on “The Third Reich of Dreams.” Details and registration ▶️ bit.ly/4fN3kKp