The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) has awarded Steve Witt, Head of International and Area Studies (IAS), Director of the Center for Global Studies, and Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the IFLA Scroll of Appreciation for his distinguished service. Continue reading
The Illinois Library Association (ILA) announces JJ Pionke, Applied Health Sciences Librarian & Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UICU), as the 2019 Crosman Memorial Award Winner. The Crosman Award is named in memory of Alex Crosman, director of the Peoria Public Library at the time of his death in 1986. The award recognizes the achievements of library workers who are new or relatively new to the field and encourages continued involvement in the profession. Other awards honor those who have accomplished a great deal over a long period of time; this award honors someone who has accomplished a great deal in a short time.
Professor Bruce R. Schatz receives full funding for his recently submitted project: “Predicting Mortality from Wearable Devices” from the Campus Research Board. This is a great achievement for Schatz as the Campus Research Board receives requests totaling approximately $5,000,000 annually—and generally awards only one-third of that amount.
The Board has designated Schatz’s project as an Arnold O. Beckman Award. These awards are funded from the endowment given to the university by Dr. Beckman, and only the projects of special distinction or promise are selected to receive this designation. The award will be used to purchase unique datasets on physical activity from the UK Biobank. Schatz will develop predictive models of 5-year mortality from sensor data provided by 100,000 participants from this national UK health resource.
Heidi J. Imker has been invited to serve on the Steering Committee as an advisor to the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) to share her expertise and perspective on research data sharing and public access.