Over the past 12 months, School of Information Technology faculty, staff, and students have distinguished themselves in the areas of research, academics, and civic engagement. A few of the many honors presented are highlighted here.
Civic Engagement Faculty Award
Dr. Will Lewis was honored by Illinois State with the 2023 Civic Engagement Faculty Award. This award recognizes a faculty member who has contributed significantly to incorporate civic engagement into their teaching, scholarly and creative productivity, and/or professional and community service.
Lewis, an assistant professor of information systems in the School of Information Technology, created outstanding opportunities for K-12 students from underrepresented backgrounds to enhance their understanding of the field of science, technology, engineering, and math. He developed workshops with Bloomington Junior High School on mobile application development and 3D printing and with the Boys & Girls Club robotics club.
He designed experiences for teen girls from minoritized backgrounds at the Western Avenue Community Center that will be used in the future for a summer camp. In the pilot program, teens were given Illinois State student peer mentors and campus tours and built an electronic picture frame by programming a Raspberry Pi and using 3D printers.
OSF-Illinois State partnership
Programs involving School of IT faculty Dr. Rishi Saripalle and Dr. Dmitry Zhdanov are among those chosen for an OSF-Illinois State partnership. OSF HealthCare and Illinois State University signed an agreement to foster research, innovation, and economic development across Illinois. The program, called Connected Communities Initiative (CCI), was designed to bring together clinicians, researchers, and students to focus on innovation in clinical and patient education, health care engineering, data science, and cybersecurity. During fall 2023, five research projects were chosen to receive support from this new program, including:
Semi-automated tool for health care data structure alignment
• Roopa Foulger, OSF HealthCare, and Rishi Saripalle, Ph.D., M.S., Illinois State University School of IT
GAI-Secure: Transforming Cybersecurity Training with Cutting-Edge AI
• Tom Caldera, M.S., OSF HealthCare, and Dmitry Zhdanov, Ph.D., MBA, Illinois State University School of IT
Chizmar and Ostrosky Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award
Dr. Elahe Javadi was awarded the 2023 Dr. John Chizmar and Dr. Anthony Ostrosky Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award. The award recognizes and encourages high quality and quantity of scholarship of teaching and learning work at Illinois State and in the discipline beyond Illinois State that contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) field, the SoTL body of knowledge, improved teaching, and enhanced student learning.
Javadi was honored for her extensive work in the field and projects that have made differences in the classroom, have been shared at international and national research forums, and have been consistently shared at the Illinois State University Teaching and Learning Symposium.
Research Initiative Award / CAST Outstanding Faculty—Pre-Tenure
Dr. Rosangela Follmann was honored with the Illinois State Research Initiative Award. The Research Initiative Award recognizes new faculty members (within their first five years) who have initiated a promising research agenda early in their academic careers. Much of her work has been on developing methods and algorithms for data analysis, information processing, pattern recognition, and prediction of behaviors in the fields of neuroscience and nonlinear dynamics.
Follmann was also honored by the College of Applied Science and Technology (CAST) with the Outstanding Faculty—Pre-Tenure Research Award. The CAST Outstanding Pre-Tenure Researcher Award recognizes individuals who have conducted research at an outstanding level among peers in the College who have not yet earned tenure.
Outstanding Graduate Student Project
Daniel Freburg was recognized with the College of Applied Science and Technology (CAST) Outstanding Graduate Student Project Award. The CAST Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher Award project category recognizes a significant research project conducted by CAST graduate students (individual or team). Freburg conducted research and experiments utilizing CubeSats, which are small satellites deployed from the International Space Station.
Since receiving the award, Freburg has graduated and joined the School of Information Technology (IT) as director of the School of IT Student Learning Center.
Williams Outstanding Technology Service Award
Todd Thomas was honored with the Williams Outstanding Technology Service Award for his exceptional service and support to faculty, staff, and students. The Williams Outstanding Technology Service Award recognizes commitment to building a “technology-friendly campus” in support of learning, teaching, research, and creative activities.
Thomas’ peers who submitted his nomination praised his professionalism, skill, and passion, as well as highlighting his ability to understand the needs of users and plan long-term solutions to complex challenges.
Association of Information Systems (AIS) Fellow Award
Dr. Traci Carte, director of the School of Information Technology (IT), was presented the Association of Information Systems (AIS) Fellow Award. The AIS Fellow Award is designed to recognize “individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the information systems discipline in terms of research, teaching, and service.”
Carte has been part of the AIS community for more than 20 years and was cited for her publication record and her time serving in editorial roles, which are both extensive; in addition, her service to the AIS community has been incredibly impactful. Only 3% of information systems academics have been named fellows by AIS
