'Dynamic combination': Course bridges data science, librarianship

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Information School Assistant Professor Melanie Walsh describes the bridge between librarianship and information science as a “dynamic combination.” Through the Master of Library and Information Science course LIS 572: Introduction to Data Science, Walsh is able to lead her students across this bridge. Walsh (pictured at top) earned her Ph.D. in English Literature at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. During her Ph.D. program she learned to code, which inspired an interest in the intersection of humanities and data science. Before Walsh arrived at the Information Sc

Professor's new book weighs costs, benefits of AI

Monday, June 15, 2026

Information School Professor Chirag Shah recently published “Agent Nation,” a book concerning how autonomous AI is affecting society — and what we, as individuals, can do about it. As artificial intelligence has been integrated into commercial practices, Shah has noticed that people tend to rush into building, buying and utilizing autonomous AI without considering potential long-term effects. Sacrifices may be made by utilizing artificial intelligence for short-term gain.“Agent Nation” provides a humanistic perspective on these effects. As they delegate tasks to artificial

Conrrado Saldivar, MLIS '21, named among 'Movers and Shakers'

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Information School guest faculty member Conrrado Saldivar, MLIS ’21, is passionate about information access. For years, he has pushed back against censorship and adverse legislation targeting library collections. That work has gotten him noticed and now named among Library Journal’s 2026 Movers and Shakers in the “Innovators” category. Saldivar teaches LIS 522: Collection Development, preparing his students to effectively manage censorship in libraries. The course explores intellectual freedom and censorship, educating students about literary restrictions happening

25th Convocation is Information School's biggest yet

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Nearly 700 graduates were recognized at the University of Washington Information School’s 2026 Convocation ceremony as they crossed the stage in Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Saturday, June 6. Marking the largest graduating class yet and the 25th anniversary of the iSchool, the ceremony honored graduates of the Ph.D., Master of Library and Information Science, Master of Science in Information Management, Master of Arts in Museology and Bachelor of Science in Informatics programs.Dean Anind K. Dey began with his remarks about seasons of

Alumni are the heartbeat of our growing community

Monday, June 8, 2026

In 25 years, the Information School has grown from 150 students in one librarianship program to more than 2,000 students across five academic programs. Our research and teaching extends to topics we wouldn’t have dreamed of in 2001, including data sovereignty, digital youth, and ethical applications of artificial intelligence. Our size and scope are a lot bigger now, but this is still the same tight-knit Information School community I found when I arrived in 2018. And it still depends on you.At the Information School, we are the ones who take on the hard questions that new technologies raise

Tracie D. Hall ready for her next challenge

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Tracie D. Hall’s career has taken several turns since she earned her Master of Library and Information Science in 2000, most recently including a two-year appointment as the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Information School. Now, she has started her next chapter. Hall has begun her new position as the Executive Director of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Library Alliance. The Library Alliance works to nurture library leadership and preserve historic collections within these academic institutions. HBCUs graduate a significant number of Black s

42 Informatics students take part in research symposium

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

More than 40 Information School undergraduate students presented their research projects recently at the 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium.Held on May 15, the 28th annual University of Washington Undergraduate Research Symposium showcased interdisciplinary undergraduate research from across the three UW campuses. More than 1,500 students participated in the event, including 42 Informatics students who presented oral presentations, poster sessions, visual arts and performances.Senior Hamza Eqbal presented his research, "Practical and Policy Challenges in Enterprise Cybersecurity," analyzing

More than 300 students shine at Showcase

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Students, faculty, staff, project partners, families and friends gathered at the University of Washington HUB ballroom to share Capstone projects, culminating experiences and more at the Information School Showcase on May 28.Professor and Associate Dean for Academics Amy J. Ko welcomed the crowd of approximately 700 people, including more than 300 students from all five Information School degree programs who presented their work. “I’m so excited to welcome all of you to this evening of recognition and celebration for our students’ learning and impact,” she said. “I can’t think

MSIM team designs guardrails for mental-health chatbot

Monday, June 1, 2026

You’re a teen, hurting and confused, certain no one in the world has ever felt so low. You’re too embarrassed to talk to friends about it or go to the school counselor, and your parents are … well … your parents. Therapist? No way. Who are you going to turn to?An AI-powered chatbot now in development may provide teens some needed solace and advice. It’s called He@lio and it’s being vetted by two Capstone teams from the UW’s Information School: team Infomaniacs (Rebecca Ko, Amber Lee, Veronica Lee, Koching Lu and Saba Ziadlou) and team Insight Innovators (Jaspreet Bhamipuri,

MLIS student's archive to help track ecological change

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Scientists at the National Ecological Observatory Network, or NEON, study how ecosystems change over time. But their field instruments and low-altitude aircraft capture only short windows of data, and NEON does not have a standing satellite imagery archive of the same sites.For his Information School Capstone, MLIS student John Adler is helping NEON address these limitations. His project, “Archiving a Large Satellite Ecological Dataset,” will create a large, offline archive of satellite imagery to help researchers develop more complete pictures of ecological change. The archive will includ

Informatics team helps get WSDOT's app in gear

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

The Washington State Department of Transportation app features extensive transportation information such as schedules, traffic alerts and weather reports, but it hasn’t been updated in about seven years. A team of Informatics students has kickstarted a redesign to help users take full advantage of the state’s public transportation. Seniors Arohee Kumar, Jules Braun, Keilani Uehara, Audrey Phan (pictured above, from left) and Daniel Bejar are developing a modernized version of the iOS Washington State Department of Transportation app, aiming to improve the user experience and create a

MSIM team helps media company harness its archive

Monday, May 25, 2026

Converge Media is an Emmy-winning video producer based in Seattle. For 10 years, it has been telling and uplifting the stories of the Black community in the Northwest. In that time, it has collected a massive archive of videos and photos — 160 terabytes. But when Converge was first beginning its work, it didn’t have a great system for labeling its content. It has a wealth of content featuring members of the Black community. What it doesn’t have is a great way to find that content. A group of University of Washington Information School students are working to help solve that pro

For Capstone, MLIS students help rural archives thrive

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

As residents of rural communities, Sophie Cade and Emily Prines understand that small archives and museums are often under-resourced. The two saw an opportunity to use their Master of Library and Information Science Capstone project to help their local archives. The online MLIS students are conducting research on the practices of rural community archive centers and museums for their Capstone project. Cade and Prines plan to provide management recommendations to enhance the capabilities of these small institutions. Cade, who lives in Olympia, focused on archives in rural Was

Student group's startup career fair attracts 200

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

The Association of Information Management Students recently hosted a startup career fair. With a turnout of around 200 students and 11 startups, conversation among employers and students could be heard echoing outside the HUB’s Lyceum. The Association of Information Management Students, or AIMS, advocates for student interests and promotes leadership by strengthening the bond between information, technology and people. AIMS President Elisheba Choppala has been leading AIMS for the past year. Two fellow AIMS leaders, Moniyat Chowdhury and Vedica Bafna, worked with Choppala

Impact awards honor 2 alumni working on frontiers of AI

Monday, May 11, 2026

The 2026 UW Information School Alumni Impact Awards honor a startup entrepreneur and an expert in value-sensitive design, both working at the forefront of the AI revolution.Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Prem Kumar, Informatics ’06, is the CEO of Humanly, a startup he founded in 2020. Humanly is a job candidate recruitment platform that uses artificial intelligence to automate candidate evaluation for employers, as well as to aid job seekers in their job search and career development. Humanly has grown rapidly in the past few years, serving more than 200 companies and raising $48