School of Information Sciences

Professor Vandana Singh Selected for Prestigious 3C Fellowship Program

by

Dr. Vandana Singh, professor in the School of Information Sciences and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the College of Communication and Information, was recently selected for the Cultural Competence in Computing (3C) Fellowship program.

The cohort-based program is for faculty, staff, graduate students, and others in the computing field who want to engage in professional development on the topics of DEI and how systemic racism and bias impact students and faculty alike. Singh has been accepted into the program’s third cohort.

“The program is two years long, and the commitment is to produce a deliverable, which is … Read more “Professor Vandana Singh Selected for Prestigious 3C Fellowship Program”

PhD Alum Scott Sikes’ Earns 2022 CCI Outstanding Dissertation Award

by

At the core of Scott Sikes’ work, both research and professional, is observing and analyzing what people can do when they work together to make their communities and the world a better place. His dissertation, In Our Very Blood: The Use of Social media in the 2018 West Virginia Teachers Strike, follows that same thread. It was awarded the 2022 College of Communication and Information Outstanding Dissertation Award.

“My dissertation was ostensibly about the labor movement, the use of information, and an event of collective action around a labor strike. It’s about the larger questions of how we live in … Read more “PhD Alum Scott Sikes’ Earns 2022 CCI Outstanding Dissertation Award”

Bonnie Carroll Honored for Long-Time Support of CCI and SIS

by

Bonnie Carroll, center, at an event recognizing and honoring her commitment to and support of the School of Information Sciences and the College of Communication and Information.

Bonnie Carroll may have recently retired from Information International Associates (IIA), the information and scientific data management company she founded decades ago in Oak Ridge, but the long-time supporter of the College of Communication and Information is not yet done with data or with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She was recently honored by CCI for her various contributions to the college over the years, with her latest achievement being the work she … Read more “Bonnie Carroll Honored for Long-Time Support of CCI and SIS”

MSIS Student Kelsey Badger Named Volunteer of Distinction: Extraordinary Professional Promise

by

Kelsey Badger came into the School of Information Sciences master’s program with the honor of being accepted into the Collaborative Analysis Liaison Librarians (CALL) program, and she will continue that tradition of excellence with the honor of being named a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Volunteer of Distinction: Extraordinary Professional Promise. She’s also already accepted a position at the Ohio State University as a research data librarian, which she will start after she graduates from SIS this May.

SIS Clinical Associate Professor Carolyn Hank nominated Badger for the award, stating that she has exceptional work ethic and outstanding academic … Read more “MSIS Student Kelsey Badger Named Volunteer of Distinction: Extraordinary Professional Promise”

Career Coach Bukky Abdul is Here to Help Undergraduate Students Find Career Success

by

Connecting students with possibilities for their future is truly a passion for Bukky Abdul, career coach for the College of Communication & Information at the Center for Career Development.

“I love working with students to help develop themselves, and after my master’s program, I knew I wanted to do career coaching full time. This is the perfect position for me, I love it here,” Abdul said.

In her role, Abdul provides a variety of services and support to students throughout their college experience to assist with job placement once they graduate. These include organizing and ensuring students are aware … Read more “Career Coach Bukky Abdul is Here to Help Undergraduate Students Find Career Success”

SIS Launches Research Data Management Certificate Program

by

The School of Information Sciences recently added another graduate certificate to its offerings, the Research Data Management Certificate (RDMC).

“At SIS, we tailor our programs to the workforce needs of employers and provide a relevant curriculum that benefits our students,” said SIS Professor and Director Abebe Rorissa. “The new Research Data Management Certificate and our existing certificate offerings in Health Informatics and Youth Informatics will create ample opportunities for students and practitioners to expand their skillsets.”

This certificate combines various courses offered by SIS into a comprehensive program that will showcase student’s ability to manage research data for a variety … Read more “SIS Launches Research Data Management Certificate Program”

Alumni Jill Grogg and Teddy Gray Talk About Working at a Consortium

by

Jill Grogg

Jill Grogg and Teddy Gray were in the same cohort and both graduated from SIS in 2001 and went their separate ways but into the same career path: academic librarianship. Several years later, their paths converged again when both departed their academic librarian positions and began working for LYRASIS. It’s a job that combines their passions for making information accessible with building up communities in information sciences organizations.

Working at a Consortium

LYRASIS is a consortium, which means it does the work for its library, museum, and archives members when it comes to negotiating licenses, getting the … Read more “Alumni Jill Grogg and Teddy Gray Talk About Working at a Consortium”

Phd Student Jessica Barfield & Assistant Prof. Jiangen He Get Award to Fund Diversity in Robot-Human Interaction Research

by

PhD Student Jessica Barfield

CCI doctoral student Jessica Barfield’s recent research with SIS Professor Dania Bilal looked at diversity and how that affected the way people interact with AI-powered voice digital assistants. Now, in collaboration with SIS Assistant Professor Jiangen He, she’s building on that research by taking similar principles and applying it to human-robot interaction. The two will be able to buy a robot for this research with funding they were recently awarded through a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Student/Faculty Research Award.

The aim of this project, “Diversity as a Factor in the Design of Human-Robot Interfaces,” is … Read more “Phd Student Jessica Barfield & Assistant Prof. Jiangen He Get Award to Fund Diversity in Robot-Human Interaction Research”

$737K NSF Grant Awarded to HBCU Research Project that Includes Assistant Professor Jiangen He

by

SIS Assistant Professor Jiangen He is part of a project recently awarded a $737,596 National Science Foundation grant that will take an in-depth, systematic approach to explore why faculty join or leave historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Besides He, there are three other institutions and four other researchers involved in the three-year-long project. They are: Associate Professor Erjia Yan, Drexel University; Assistant Professor Mat Kelly, Drexel University; Assistant Professor Chaoqun Ni, University of Wisonsin-Madison; and Associate Professor Robert Palmer, Howard University. The share of the grant money awarded to UT is $191,102, which will aid He in conducting his … Read more “$737K NSF Grant Awarded to HBCU Research Project that Includes Assistant Professor Jiangen He”

PhD Student Jessica Barfield Named ASIS&T Emerging Scholar for AI Voice Research Done with Professor Dania Bilal

by

A collaboration between the College of Communication and Information PhD student and  School of Information Sciences professor has resulted in innovative research that reaches into the future of AI-powered voice digital assistants and explores how it can be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

This research resulted in a co-authored paper and an award for the doctoral student, Jessica Barfield. Barfield was named the 2021 Emerging Social Informatics Researcher Award from the Association for Information Sciences and Technology (ASIS&T) Special Interest Group in Social Informatics, in part for the paper, “Hey There! What Do You Look Like? User Voice Switching and … Read more “PhD Student Jessica Barfield Named ASIS&T Emerging Scholar for AI Voice Research Done with Professor Dania Bilal”