MSIM student named a Slade Gorton Leaders Fellow

Monday, May 16, 2022

Nicola Kalderash, a Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) student, was recently named a Slade Gorton Leaders Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). Kalderash is pursuing the Early-Career Accelerated track and is set to graduate with his master's degree this summer. His interest in policy and technology is what drew him to apply for the fellowship at NBR, an independent research institution working to inform and strengthen Asia-Pacific policy and affairs.  Each year, NBR selects six students across the Pacific Northwest for a six-month fellowship. Th

MLIS Capstone team helps kids control the narrative

Friday, May 13, 2022

The three iSchool students were nervous their first day working with Compass Housing Alliance youth. They went in with only a skeletal program itinerary, a bunch of name tags and craft supplies, and a powerful idea. They would use participatory design methods learned in graduate MLIS studies to help these youth co-create a storytelling program.  They’d take their cues from the kids, use their input to shape each step, and put democracy to work in the community room at the housing complex, which serves people who are low-income or experiencing homelessness. “Our goal was to empower

INFO 402 students choose their own adventure

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Dylan Mckone embarked on a supernatural adventure in her INFO 402 class, exploring the intersection of technology and the representation of horror in entertainment. For her final project in the Gender, Race, and Information Technology class, Mckone (pictured above) did a video essay on how older technology is used to heighten fear in horror forms of media. Katherine Cross, the instructor of the course winter quarter, empowered Mckone and her other students to choose their own adventure by asking them to develop a thesis about the cultural impact of information technology and explore the rel

iSchool alumni awards honor 2 digital difference makers

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

The University of Washington Information School’s 2022 alumni awards honor two graduates who advocate for the rights of individuals on the internet — one from within a big tech firm and one as an outsider at a nonprofit. Sunny Consolvo, this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, works as a user experience researcher at Google, where she focuses on security, privacy, safety and prevention of abuse. Meanwhile, Gennie Gebhart, recipient of the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Alumni Impact Award, is the activism director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that

'Your fingers are the keyboard': Ph.D. candidate builds innovative tool

Friday, May 6, 2022

You try to remember the name of that movie, but it just won’t come to you. So you tap your fingers on your thighs and your smart glasses know exactly what you’re seeking. Information School Ph.D. candidate Mingrui “Ray” Zhang imagines a future like that — where we can type anywhere as if there were a keyboard at our fingertips. In fact, TypeAnywhere is the name of a text entry tool created by Zhang and collaborators. TypeAnywhere uses sensors on people’s fingers to simulate the presence of a keyboard wherever they tap. A paper on the project is one of four contributions from Zha

Directed Fieldwork gives MLIS students a head start on careers

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Helene Williams recently received a note from a school librarian who wanted to thank Williams for connecting them with a Master of Library and Information Science student for Directed Fieldwork. The librarian was grateful for the ways the student had helped, including categorizing picture books, researching alternatives for the Dewey Decimal System and setting up for a book fair. “Wow, she is such a gift. I just want to share how delighted I am to have her in the library,” the librarian wrote. It’s a response Williams, the University of Washington Information School’s Directe

iSchool researchers honored for excellence at CHI 2022

Friday, April 29, 2022

UW Information School Professor Amy J. Ko is one of eight scholars who will be inducted into the CHI Academy at this year’s CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.  Conferred by the Association for Computing Machinery’s special interest group for human-computer interaction, the CHI Academy is recognized as the highest honor in the field. Ko expressed her surprise and appreciation for the award, especially given that her research straddles numerous disciplines. “I’ve never been in just one academic community and so my work often falls through the cracks and does

Native American Read-In celebrates Indigenous creators

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Dozens of children and people from across the country joined via Zoom to celebrate the work of Native American creators and enjoy an afternoon of storytelling, poetry, art, music and dance.  The Native American Read-In, a virtual storytime where Indigenous creators shared their work, was jointly hosted by the Information School and the nonprofit Read-a-Rama. The inaugural read-aloud event on April 24, invited all to appreciate and learn more about Indigenous culture and talent, with nearly 200 people viewing on Zoom and more watching at libraries across the country.  Michelle H

iSchool students make up 9 of the Husky 100

Monday, April 25, 2022

The University of Washington recognized nine students from the Information School for the 2022 Husky 100, awarded to undergraduate and graduate students making the most out of their Husky experience. Now in its seventh year, the Husky 100 recognizes students demonstrating a commitment to a set of criteria including leadership, commitment and community impact.   The iSchool honorees this year include five students from the Informatics program, three from the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program, and one Ph.D. student. The students will be given exclusive netw

Online MSIM transforms careers of first graduates

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Marquisha Hicks looked to get a promotion at her work. Kalyan Chakraborty wanted to learn more about information management. These mid-career professionals achieved all they hoped for — and far more — studying in the Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) program at the University of Washington Information School. In March, they became the first graduates of the online delivery mode of the program. Hicks completed her coursework from her home in Sacramento, California, while Chakraborty (pictured at top) took classes online from his Redmond home. “I just feel so

Pandemic shows benefits of telehealth for certain patients

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Going to the doctor isn’t exactly most people’s idea of fun, but for people with motor-neuron diseases and others who use assistive technology to communicate, it can be much more than a minor inconvenience. Packing and transporting themselves and their gear can be an hours-long ordeal. When the COVID-19 pandemic came along, it prompted many health-care providers to embrace a helpful tool for people who have trouble moving and communicating: telehealth. After insurers temporarily relaxed their rules and covered visits over video, patients saved a great deal of time and fatigue, while pro

Winfo podcast helps connect Informatics community

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

It started as a way to keep people connected during the pandemic. Now in its second season, a podcast from Women in Informatics (Winfo) — “Community and Creativity within Informatics” — is a growing set of resources for the Informatics community at the University of Washington Information School.  “With the sudden shift to online school, it was hard to get to know people,” said Gisele Fox (pictured above, center), Winfo’s director of community efforts and creator of the podcast. “I thought with the Winfo podcast there is a way of possibly bringing people together, inter

Online feedback harms women's access to health care, research finds

Monday, March 7, 2022

Unmarried women around the world can face societal barriers in accessing reproductive health care. A study by Information School Ph.D. student Hyeyoung Ryu and Professor Wanda Pratt (pictured above, from left) reveals these barriers are largely rooted in cultural attitudes that foster the prevalence of microaggressions within social and online interactions.  In a paper published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Ryu and Pratt described how social media reveals and reinforces the suppression of women’s health care. Their researc

Batya Friedman gives keynote address at iConference 2022

Friday, March 4, 2022

UW Information School Professor Batya Friedman gave the North American keynote address at this year’s iConference, an annual gathering of faculty representing iSchools from around the world.  In the address, titled “Structure, Scale, and Time: iSchools, Artificial Intelligence, and which Future,” Friedman spoke about multi-lifespan design and how taking a structural, longer-term approach has fundamentally changed her thinking about design and design processes. Friedman introduced the constructs of structure, scale and time and spoke about her first substantive use of them

MSIM graduate wins Presidential Management Fellowship

Friday, February 25, 2022

When he graduated with his master’s in information management, Devin Barich wanted to find work that fulfilled him. He obtained a grant through the Seattle Water and Waste Initiative to build hygiene stations for people experiencing homelessness.   The experience made him want to do more for his community. That is why he applied for the Presidential Management Fellowship, which he won recently. Through the fellowship, he now has the opportunity to put his academic knowledge into practice in public service.  “Learning about the structure of government while working as a