Election integrity, misinformation center stage at Town Hall

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Speaking to a crowd of about 300 at Town Hall Seattle, Emma S. Spiro noted the many changes as well as familiar patterns that she and her colleagues at the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public have researched in the five years since the CIP’s founding. The Sept. 11 conversation on Town Hall’s Great Hall stage focused on research, reflections and dialogue on rumors, mis- and disinformation, and different ways of framing topics related to election integrity. Spiro, associate professor at the Information School and incoming CIP faculty director, was joined in conve

iStartup Lab awards first micro grants to students, alumni

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

The iStartup Lab, co-founded by Information School faculty members Mike Teodorescu and Jeremy Zaretzky, has introduced a new micro grant program designed to support student entrepreneurship. After conducting a survey and interviews across the iSchool’s student population, it was clear to Teodorescu and Zaretzky that students sought more than just theoretical coursework — they wanted tangible experiences in entrepreneurship. “Students wanted both the curricular element in terms of classes and the social element of meeting like-minded peers to ideate and potentially co-found

Students go behind the scenes of generative AI

Monday, September 23, 2024

For students such as Nikhil Navkal and Sai Ma, it was about learning a technology that would better their career prospects. But it was more than that. It was also about exploring a technology that they use in their daily lives.The iSchool students took a special topics course last spring called Building and Applying Large Language Models, the Core of the Generative Artificial Intelligence Phenomenon. “If I want to make sure that I continue to be relevant to where business is going, I need to learn about large language models and leverage their power,” said Navkal, who is pursuing a ma

'Warrior librarian' Tracie D. Hall joins iSchool faculty

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

The star power at the Time100 Gala in New York City last October rivaled the bright lights of nearby Broadway. Luminaries from director Steven Spielberg to actor Angela Bassett to rapper Doja Cat took center stage at the magazine’s glittering annual celebration of the 100 most influential people in the world. The spotlight shifted from glamour to grit when honoree Tracie D. Hall, ’00, took the microphone. The widely acclaimed “warrior librarian” had earned national attention for her tenacious fight against censorship during her tenure as executive director of the American Library

iSchool's Caliskan wins award to battle bias in artificial intelligence

Monday, September 9, 2024

Imagine losing out on your dream job due to bias in AI tools used in the resume screening process or having your health care compromised for the same reason.Those are the disturbing scenarios that Aylin Caliskan, an assistant professor in the University of Washington Information School, is dedicated to thwarting.Caliskan was recently awarded a $603,342 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award for her project titled, “The Impact of Associations and Biases in Generative AI on Society.” She is planning to develop computational methods to measure biases in ge

MLIS students make valuable connections through iSTAMP

Monday, September 9, 2024

When Spencer Naar joined the iSchool's Master of Library and Information Science program remotely during a career transition, he was undecided as to which aspect of librarianship to pursue. Lacking prior experience in libraries, he hoped to gain additional insight into the field. That's when iSTAMP (Student-to-Alumni-Mentorship Program) stepped in, pairing him with a mentor who not only helped him navigate the challenges of his new academic journey but also became a lifelong friend."It was invaluable to have a space to continue classroom conversations one-on-one with an experienced librarian,�

4 iSchool MLIS students awarded ALA Spectrum Scholarships

Friday, September 6, 2024

Four University of Washington Master of Library and Information Science students are among the recipients of 2024-25 Spectrum Scholarships, the American Library Association has announced. “We are always so proud to have our students successfully apply for this important scholarship, and these four students speak to the diversity of interests and fields of study inside our program,” said MLIS Program Chair Cindy Aden. “Congratulations to all of them, and thanks to ALA for continuing to support the development of library professionals. We know they will make a differenc

iBuyers are changing real estate racial disparities, iSchool research shows

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Instant buyers, also known as iBuyers, rapidly buy and sell homes using automated models to set prices. These companies, such as Opendoor and Offerpad, can turn around cash offers in a matter of hours, and they’ve captured more than 5% of the real estate market in some U.S. cities.Since new tech often replicates or exacerbates existing societal biases, University of Washington researchers wanted to investigate how iBuyers have affected the well-documented racial bias in home appraisals — particularly bias against Black homeowners.The team homed in on Charlotte, North Carolina, where an est

IMLS awards more than $1.3 million to iSchool researchers

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded a total of more than $1.3 million in grants to University of Washington Information School researchers to support five projects that build on scholarship in libraries and museums and support their roles in communities.Four of the awards are part of the National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program:Supporting the development of youth digital civic engagement in libraries through the co-design of table-top games, awarded $326,495, is a two-year project supporting youth ages 10-15 in digital civic engagement. Led by Associate Prof

UW accessibility research could help make cars safer

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Each year, more than 3,000 people in the U.S. die in distracted-driving accidents as they fumble with the navigation system, send work texts, or try to multitask in other ways, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another 400,000 are injured.Now a team of researchers at the University of Washington is working with the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) to create touchscreen dashboard displays that could lower the risks of driving while distracted.“When you’re driving, we all know that we probably shouldn’t be looking at the phone or attending to something else, but t

Boredom drives teens' Instagram use, research finds

Monday, July 22, 2024

Concern that social media is driving the teen mental health crisis has risen to such a pitch that the majority of states in the country have filed lawsuits against Meta (which owns Instagram and Facebook) and the U.S. surgeon general called last month for warning labels on platforms, similar to those on tobacco.New research from the University of Washington finds, though, that while some teens do experience negative feelings when using Instagram, the dominant feeling they have around the platform is boredom. They open the app because they’re bored. Then they sift through largely irrelevant c

iSchool welcomes new faculty cohort

Monday, July 8, 2024

Six faculty members will join or take on new roles in the University of Washington Information School at the start of the 2024-2025 academic year. These scholars will inform undergraduate and graduate education in the Informatics, Library and Information Science, Information Management and Museology programs. The incoming scholars bring direct experience and teaching expertise, along with leading research applied across fields as diverse as artificial intelligence, project management, computing education, cognitive sciences, digital humanities, librarianship, administr

Students fight 'evil' with ethical tech design

Monday, July 8, 2024

Picture a small park across the street from your home. Normally filled with the sounds of children laughing and playing, it’s now a dedicated zone for drones zipping through the air. One day, a malfunctioning drone spirals out of control and crashes through your window. This is the kind of scenario Professor Ryan Calo asked his students to envision in a series of design challenges during his spring course INFO 198: Technology, Policy, and Ethics. During design-challenge week, students received two prompts to design around. The first prompt asked students to design a drone park whil

ASIS&T honors Chirag Shah with research award

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Information School Professor Chirag Shah is the recipient of this year’s ASIS&T Research in Information Science Award, which recognizes a scholar or team each year for their contributions to the field. ASIS&T — the Association for Information Science & Technology — is a community of researchers and practicing professionals advancing the field of information science and technology through their work. Its members share an interest in improving how society manages and disseminates information. Shah’s research builds and studies intelligent information systems, focusi

Q&A: Why social media rarely leads to constructive political action

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

While social media platforms are rife with problems — from harassment to misinformation — many argue that the platforms also nurture political movements, such as the Arab Spring and #MeToo.But in her new book “Log Off: Why Posting and Politics (Almost) Never Mix,” Katherine Cross, a University of Washington doctoral student in the Information School, argues that social media may not have much political value. Focused on movements on the political left, Cross looks at how platforms like X and Facebook might bring attention to political causes, yet they do little to cultivate lasting cha