Book Dedication @ i-fest

 
     
 

Dr. Anthony Debons bookIn honor of Dr. Anthony Debons’ illustrious career, leading scholars in the field of Information Science have contributed to a Festschrift.  The book, “Perspectives on Information Science” will be introduced on Friday, November 9, 2007 from 2:00-4:30 p.m. on the Fifth Floor on the Information Sciences Building.  Additionally, attendees will receive a signed copy of the book for every $15 donation to the Anthony Debons Fund.  This event is being presented in conjunction with i-fest 2007.

The Festschrift incorporates articles and tributes from colleagues, former students, and SIS faculty who have had the honor of working with Dr. Debons. Topics covered range from ethics and policy issues for information professionals to spatial information science to designing voice applications for visually impaired or physically handicapped users.  The Festschrift will be made available to the public and proceeds will benefit the Anthony Debons Award, The Anthony Debons Award is presented annually to an undergraduate student for outstanding contributions to the Bachelor of Science in Information Science program. Authors of contributions to the Festschrift include:

  • Toni Carbo, Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
  • Scott Cronenweth, MSIS alum, 1983, Freelance Copywriter
  • Thomas J. Froehlich, Professor, School of Library and Information Sciences, Kent State University
  • Stephen C. Hirtle, Professor School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
  • Forest Woody Horton, PhD, Consultant for global information literacy (UNESCO)
  • Allen Kent, Distinguished Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
  • Donald W. King, MS, Research Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
  • Kai A. Olsen, MS, Professor, Informatics, Molde College, Norway and Adjunct Professor at SIS
  • Wichian Premchaiswadi, PhD, Assistant President, Siam University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Per. Saetre, MS, Associate Professor, Informatics, Molde College, Norway
  • Michael B. Spring, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
  • Christinger Tomer, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
  • James G. Williams, PhD, Professor Emeritus, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
  • John A. Wise, PhD, CPE, Principal Scientist Human Centered Systems, Honeywell AES
  • Mark A. Wise, PhD. AHFP, Usability and Human Factors, IBM

Dr. Anthony Debons, born in Malta on April 16, 1916, immigrated to the United States in 1923 and became a citizen in 1941.  He served in World War II, and saw action in both the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Bulge.  Following the war, the army detailed him to complete his undergraduate work at Brooklyn College.  After the Korean War, he completed a PhD in experimental psychology at Columbia University in 1954 and held a number of posts working on visual displays, command and control systems and decision support systems before he retired from the military ten years later.

He began his second career in 1964 as a professor and chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Dayton where he became the first chairman of the Department of Information Science in 1967.  Then, in 1968, he moved to the University of Pittsburgh as Vice Chairman followed by Chairman of the Interdisciplinary Department of Information Sciences.

Since Dr. Debons’ retirement in 1986, he has held several visiting professorships internationally.  When not in residence at other universities, he continues to work and produce scholarly materials at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.

 
 

 

 

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