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Applied Data Science alumni Gabriel Wachowski holds NBA championship trophy

Applied Data Science alumna making it rain for Milwaukee Bucks

When the Milwaukee Bucks finished their 2020 season as NBA champs, School of Informatics and Computing graduate Gabriel Wachowski was there courtside to celebrate. Although her “assists” are more behind the scenes—doing data modeling, for example—she is a valuable member of the Bucks organization and contributor to their success. Wachowski is a Research and Innovation […]

Akash Rode, Sarah Nikkhah, and Hinal Kiri pose outside of the School of Informatics

HCI students’ app addresses food insecurity, wins Indy Civic Hack

In Indiana, 1 in 7 Hoosiers is food insecure. This was the premise of the winning concept at the 2021 Indy Civic Hackathon. The challenge to participants this year was to brainstorm and research possible solutions to strengthening neighborhoods, using data and technology. The School of Informatics and Computing (SoIC) at IUPUI team of Akash […]

Participants in a study interacted with 3D globes on a screen, using either a joystick, or controlling data visualization using mid-air gestures and body movements.

Robots, personal safety, and moving to learn: faculty research is far-reaching

In recent publications, human-computer interaction faculty and students from the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI are exploring how technology intersects with artificial intelligence and storytelling robots for children; the role tech plays in managing domestic abuse; and how movement allows us to interpret data using gestures and body movements.

The Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in the hills of Arecibo

Professor helping to preserve Arecibo telescope’s data legacy

There are still discoveries waiting to be made from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Its famous 300-meter radio dish–the world’s largest for decades–sustained damage in 2020, and the telescope shut down. But thanks to an international community of scientists and researchers, including a School of Informatics and Computing faculty member, Arecibo’s thousands of hours […]

Two high school students type on computer keyboards

Summer iDEW workshops offer certifications and career preparation

Fifty Indianapolis high school students attended free e-workshops this summer, funded by JP Morgan Chase, led by staff from the School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI and by local organizations Code Black Indy, beLithe, and Speaking College. Workshops included scrum training (beLithe), game design, A+ certification (Code Black Indy), Net+ certification, character design, and public […]

Capstone projects showcase School of Informatics and Computing students’ technology talents

(original story published May 4, 2021, written by Kirk Johannesen) Graduating students in the School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI recently demonstrated their skills, talent and acquired knowledge to a virtual crowd during the Spring 2021 Virtual Capstone Senior Showcase. The popular, free event, which takes place at the close of each semester, was […]

Informatics grad finds path to success in IT at Salesforce, Indianapolis

Bunmi Akintomide (BS, Informatics, 2013; MS, Human-Centered Computing, 2015) is a Systems Specialist Manager at Salesforce, where he manages the marketing team within their Business Technology space. During his time at SoIC, he served as a student mentor for the Informatics Diversity-Enhanced Workforce (iDEW) program. Bunmi was kind enough to share his remembrances of his […]

Jim Sparks to retire as Polis Center Director of Geoinformatics; Marianne Cardwell appointed successor

The Polis Center at IUPUI today announced that Director of Geoinformatics Jim Sparks will retire at the end of June. Marianne Cardwell has been named to the position, effective July 1, 2021. The Polis Center is a unit in the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI. It collaborates with community partners in Indiana and beyond to develop innovative place-based policies and practices for healthier and more resilient communities. It supports disaster mitigation, population health management, community development, and quality-of-life efforts.

Animation of sea turtle

MAS students create 3D animation; bring international awareness to ocean plastics issue

Students in the fall 2020 NEWM-N441 3D Team Production class taught by Media Arts and Science (MAS) faculty Albert William and Zebulun Wood built a 3-minute animation of a sea turtle, Mr. Bubbles, based on Herminia Din’s book, “Our Plastic Ocean, Our Clean Ocean.” Din is an artist/author at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, currently living […]

Flowers outside the ICTC (Informatics) Building, IUPUI, Wednesday, July 17, 2013.

$1.59 million grant funds computer science workshops to train public school teachers

(originally published May 24, 2021 by IUPUI Newsroom, Kirk Johannesen, reporter) The IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI is using a two-year, $1.59 million grant from the Indiana Department of Education to offer a variety of free workshops to train Indiana public high school and middle school teachers who are passionate about expanding […]

Doctor holding a Digital fingerprint identification and binary code 3d rendering By Production Perig. Adobe Stock image

BioHealth Informatics participants explore evolving health information challenges

BioHealth Informatics graduate students Gopala Krishna Ganta and Vini Khanuja and professor of practice Gary Schwebach spoke about the dark side of biometric data; transforming the evolving field of precision medicine; and telemedicine during the virtual spring regional conference April 14-15, 2021, for the Kentucky and Indiana chapters of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

Students with video cameras work on a Virtual Reality film production in the Emerging Technology Lab using the large IQ wall monitor.

Virtual film production provides real-world skills for School of Informatics and Computing students

(original story by Kirk Johannesen, published May 4, 2021) Hollywood could be a future stop for some IUPUI students who learned skills and technology that have become increasingly important in the filmmaking industry after they teamed up on a unique School of Informatics and Computing project. A team of five students in Zebulun Wood’s N420 […]

Man at computer for online business briefling.

Virtual workplace panel explores how to succeed in an evolving work environment

SoIC students can get practical insight in how to succeed in the virtual workplace through “The New Work Environment: How to Prepare for Remote Employment,” a free Zoom panel discussion from noon to 1 p.m., April 23, sponsored by the school’s BioHealth Informatics Research Center.

Tara Foor, MLS alumna

LIS alumna accepts Indiana Library Federation “Everyone Counts” Award

Tara Foor, MLS 2015, recently accepted the Indiana Library Federation “Everyone Counts” Award on behalf of the Southport High School Media Center (IMC), where she works as the Media Specialist. The award focuses on the efforts of promoting diversity and inclusion in an Indiana library. “I’m proud to accept the award on behalf of the […]

Sports Analytics grad student calls stats for March Madness

Demi Johnson played basketball as an undergraduate and now studies sports analytics at the School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI as a graduate student. Recently she had a unique opportunity to put all her knowledge to work as a live stats caller at the mens’ NCAA basketball tournament in Indianapolis. Johnson was at the […]

Physician and parents with child in hospital room.

Andrew Miller receives National Science Foundation award

Andrew D. Miller, Ph.D., has received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. The assistant professor in the Human-Centered Computing department at the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI is working to design breakthrough technologies that will help families to collaborate during a health crisis.

View of smartphone with someone using a chatbot.

Students can earn Rasa AI Assistant Developer Certificate

Students studying artificial intelligence at the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI now will earn a Rasa AI Assistant Developer Certificate when they successfully complete a course in AI Bots and Cognitive Automation. Plans are in the works that will allow students to earn additional professional AI certificates as part of SoIC’s Bachelor of Arts in AI degree.

Josette Jones named to national informatics forum

Josette Jones, Ph.D., has been named acting chair of the American Medical Informatics Association’s Academic Forum. She also has served as secretary of the forum the last two years. Jones serves as director of Health Informatics in the School of Informatics and Computing’s BioHealth Informatics Department.

Abhinav Sikharam

Abhinav Sikharam continues to demonstrate talent for pitching innovative ideas

Abhinav Sikharam, a master’s student in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) program at the School of Informatics and Computing, has a talent for cultivating new ideas and sharing them with others. In April of last year, he won the 2020 Jagstart Pitch Competition at IUPUI and then in fall 2020 he was runner up in the […]

Cowboy characters from Rockstar video game, Red Dead Redemption.

Rock star informatics grad earns dream gig at Rockstar Games

Silvia Lawson-Vilches, a December 2020 graduate of the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI, is an associate lighting artist for Rockstar Games, a prestigious award-winning studio in the video game industry that’s responsible for highly acclaimed series such as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. A casual gamer growing up, Lawson-Vilches played […]

Image of android

Creativity on display during Informatics’ virtual capstone event

(original story by Kevin Fryling, published January 12, 2021) (feature image created by student Nathan Ekema) Although things looked a bit different from past years’ capstone events, students at the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI recently closed out 2020 with a traditional end-of-semester celebration—despite the challenges of physical distancing due to the […]

Lyndsey Blair

Lyndsey Blair is newest Moore Scholar

Lyndsey Blair had studied history at both the undergraduate and graduate level, so it made sense to continue down that path as she expanded her career as an information professional. After earning a BA in History from Ball State University in 2013 and an MA in Public History with a Museum Studies certificate from IUPUI […]

Award furthers professor’s work with health tracking tools to benefit Black Americans

Exercise equipment, eating plans, sleep trackers—all have their place in promoting a healthy lifestyle. But to be effective, we have to use them. Promoting heart-healthy habits is the goal of Aqueasha Martin-Hammond, Ph.D., who has received a Google Award for Inclusion Research. The $60,000 inaugural award is in partnership with a co-principal investigator, Tanjala S. […]

HCI assistant professor studies casual data sharing errors on social media

“Experts have not yet begun to explore the world of casual visualizations on Twitter,” said Francesco Cafaro, an assistant professor in the School of Informatics and Computing, who led the study. “Studying the new ways people are sharing information online to understand the pandemic and its effect on their lives is an important step in […]

Xiaowen Liu presenting data on overhead screen

Liu receives NIH R01 grant to develop new computational methods for proteoform identification

Xiaowen Liu, associate professor of bioinformatics at SoIC, has received a $1.26M award from the National Institutes of Health to develop new computational methods for proteoform identification. Proteomics is critical to developing new targeted therapies and treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.