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BEST WISHES TO PROFESSOR SPINK
The
faculty, staff, and students at SIS offer their best
wishes to Amanda Spink, who has accepted an Endowed University
Professorship at Queensland University of Technology
in Brisbane, Australia. Dr. Spink, an Associate Professor
in the Department of Library and Information Science
since 2003, took the new position at the Queensland University
of Technology in September of 2005. Here at SIS, Dr.
Spink was known for her work on the Department of Library
and Information Science’s Committee
on Doctoral Studies as well as her prodigious publishing
efforts. Recently, she co-edited two books with Charles
Cole, “New Directions in Human Information Behavior” and “New
Directions in Cognitive Information Retrieval,” which
are published by Springer Publishers. An Australian native,
Dr. Spink received her Master’s Degree in Information
Systems Marketing and Management from Fordham University
and her Ph.D. in Information and Library Studies at Rutgers
University. Congratulations to Dr. Spink on this prestigious
appointment!
A SIS Presence at COSIT
The School of Information Sciences
will be well-represented at the 7th Bi-annual Conference
on Spatial Information Theory to be held at September
14-18, 2005 in Ellicottville, New York. The aim of COSIT
is to bring together researchers from different disciplines
for an intensive scientific exchange on the nature of
geographic and large-scale spaces, which provides a foundation
for the design and construction of geographic information
systems (GIS) and for spatial information systems (SIS)
in general. Professor Stephen Hirtle of SIS has been
a member of the Steering Committee since the inception
of the conference in 1993 and hosted the COSIT meeting
in the Laurel Highlands in 1997. Also attending this
year’s conference
will be SIS alumni, Guoray Cai and Molly Sorrows, who
will each be presenting posters. Graduate students Maria
Harrington and Samvith Srinivas will also be participating
in COSIT. Ms. Harrington will be presenting her research
at the Doctoral Consortium and Mr. Srinivas will be attending
as technical editor of Spatial Cognition and Computation,
which is published at the School of Information Sciences.
TONI CARBO HONORED
Dr. Toni Carbo
will be honored at the “Women
in Science” event hosted by the Women and Girls
Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania. Dr. Carbo is one
of more than 20 who were selected for this annual recognition
of women who are engaged in inspiring and innovative
work in the sciences in the region. The event will be
held on September 14 th at the Carnegie Science Center
in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Carbo’s contributions will
also be highlighted in a “Women In Science” installation
at the Science Center, which will serve as an inspiration
to the young women who visit the museum throughout the
year. Learn more about Dr. Carbo’s achievements
at http://www.pitt.edu/~carbo/.
VISC TO HOST A+ SCHOOLS ON-LINE SURVEY
The Visual Information
Systems Center (VISC) at SIS will work with A+ Schools
to help in determining values and preferences for the
future configuration of Pittsburgh Public School buildings.
A+ Schools, Pittsburgh’s
Community Alliance for Public Education, is a community
advocate for improving student achievement through high
standards, quality teaching, leadership accountability,
financial responsibility, and community involvement.
VISC has designed an on-line questionnaire, which it
also hosts, to garner public input into decisions about
school closings and configurations. The survey asks participants
to prioritize various factors including school offerings,
safety, cost, diversity, and convenience. You can participate
in the survey at http://visc.sis.pitt.edu/aplus/.
The survey results, as well as the discussions at a number
of public meetings, will be used by A+ Schools to create
policy recommendations regarding school reconfigurations
within the Pittsburgh Public School District. Ken Sochats,
Director of VISC, will present at the public meetings,
the next of which is scheduled on September 7 th at the
IBEW Local # 5 on the South Side. For more information
about A+ Schools, visit www.aplusschools.org.
SIS ALUM RECOGNIZED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS AT UNC
Dr.
Stephanie W. Haas, who received her Ph.D. in Information
Science in 1989, was recently named the Francis Carroll
McColl Term Professor for 2005-2007 at the University
of North Carolina’s School of Information and Library
Science. Dr. Haas was selected for this prestigious professorship
based on her contributions to research, teaching, and
service to the School of Information and Library Science.
Haas teaches courses on databases, systems analysis,
information models, organization of information, applications
of natural language processing and information retrieval.
As part of her research program, she is working to create
an integrated model of user access to governmental statistical
information. The McColl Professorship will provide support
for research and travel over a two-year period. Congratulations
to Dr. Haas!
SIS FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Martin Weiss and Rich Thompson
address frustrations in technology in an article in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Technology
has its own hang-ups for users.” You can view their
input at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05177/527550.stm.
Dean Ronald Larsen comments on leadership in the Digital
Libraries field in “ Whence Leadership?” His
article was published in the July/August 2005 edition,
which is available at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july05/larsen/07larsen.html.
SIS ALUM WAS PRESENTER AT “ Memory for Justice” Colloquium
David
Wallace, who was awarded his Ph.D. in Library and Information
Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997, was
one of two keynote speakers at the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s “Memory
For Justice” Colloquium
held on August 18, 2005, at the Mandela House in Johannesburg.
Dr. Wallace, currently a Visiting Professor at the Catholic
University of America, was a doctoral student in Archival
Studies at Pitt’s School of Information Sciences
and was advised by Dr. Richard Cox. David also assisted
former SIS Dean Toni Carbo with her work with the National
Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee. In his
keynote address, Dr. Wallace spoke to the main theme
of the Colloquia: the local and international contexts
for Mr. Mandela’s belief that justice should be
the cornerstone of archival endeavor.
Before joining the faculty at the Catholic University
of America, Dr. Wallace was on the faculty at the University
of Michigan and worked for the National Security Archive
in Washington, DC. He has done work for the ANC archives
at the University of Fort Hare, the South African History
Archive, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Dr. Wallace
and Dr. Cox were co-editors of Archives and the Public
Good: Accountability and Records in Modern Society, a
collection of essays on recordkeeping and accountability
that was published in 2002.
VISC RECEIVES FUNDING FOR VISITING RESEARCHER
The Visual
Information Systems Center (VISC) and the Center for
National Preparedness (CNP) are pleased to announce that
they have been awarded a grant from the United Negro
College Fund (UNCF). This Special Programs grant will
enable VISC to bring in a visiting researcher from an
UNCF-affiliated university.
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