Alum leads Microsoft's efforts to 'get it right' on AI safety

Thursday, September 3, 2026

As AI models continue to grow more capable, some are beginning to behave unpredictably outside their testing environments. It is a pattern that raises concerns among those responsible for overseeing the rapid pace of AI development.Microsoft is at the forefront of that safety effort and UW Information School graduate Steph Ballard, as director of responsible AI practice at the company, is one of the major players helping to build baseline security requirements for the teams building AI. For Ballard, Ph.D. ’23, MLIS ’17, “responsible AI” means putting trustworthy artifici

New professor seeks to make AI safer for youth

Monday, August 31, 2026

The world of artificial intelligence is growing and evolving every day. AI is so new, and so complex, that it’s hard even for experts to understand the benefits and risks it poses. Yaman Yu, who recently joined the Information School as a tenure-track assistant professor, wants to broaden people’s understanding of AI and how at-risk users, in particular youth, could be protected and empowered in their interactions with it. Yu comes to the University of Washington from the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she earned her Ph.D. Her

AI nearly erases female animal characters in kids' stories

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Last year, Melanie Walsh, a University of Washington assistant professor in the Information School, wrote an article examining how 300 popular children’s books gendered their animal characters. Of the 13 most common animals, most were male — unless they happened to be cats, ducks or birds, which trended slightly more female. But a frog, a wolf? Over a 90% shot it was a “he.” Walsh and journalists from The Pudding also had 1,300 participants complete stories about various talking animals — for example: “And then the bear said, ‘I must go to the river.’ Upon arriving…” I

GovScape lets you easily search millions of government documents

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

At the end of every presidential term, the End of Term Web Archive preserves that administration’s web presence as a vast trove of documents and webpages. The archive began in 2008, with George W. Bush’s second term, and runs up to 2024, collecting images, text, graphs, redacted pages and other media. So while it contains important public information, finding that information in the glut can prove difficult.A University of Washington-led research team created GovScape, an efficient search system for PDFs from the End of Term Web Archive. Users can look up exact keywords, like “FAFSA,”

Information School welcomes new faculty cohort

Monday, July 13, 2026

The University of Washington Information School is honored to welcome four faculty members who are joining or taking on new roles in the school. These scholars will inform undergraduate and graduate education in the Informatics, Library and Information Science, Information Management, Museology and Doctoral programs.The incoming faculty cohort brings expertise and research interests including artificial intelligence, leadership, cataloging, human-computer interaction, knowledge organization and ethics.“The Information School is committed to solving the world’s biggest information challenge

Informatics team delivers video search app for Microsoft

Thursday, July 9, 2026

If you were a travel vlogger who had just gotten back from, say, a trip to Seattle to watch the U.S. men's World Cup soccer team trounce Australia, and you wanted to create a video about the experience, what would your first step be?A new tool called Obby, created by a team of five Informatics students for their Capstone project, enables videomakers to use natural language to search for the specific clips they want to feature. For example, a user could search for “U.S. scores goal” and find that clip amidst all of the footage they had uploaded to Obby, saving valuable time.Rising seniors C

Beach volleyball player digs for her MSIM

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Katarina Pantovic spent her undergrad years playing indoor volleyball in California and British Columbia, then switched sports in 2024 because she wanted to feel the sand under her feet.“In indoor volleyball, there are six players on the court, but in beach volleyball, there are only two, and you kind of have to do everything yourself,” she said. “I really fell in love with the challenge.”Pantovic, who is working on her Master of Science in Information Management, enjoyed the strategic side of beach volleyball. “The more I played, the more I realized that I loved the freedom that cam

'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