The Luddy School successfully hosted the mid-March prestigious iConference 2025, one of the world’s top global conferences for informational professionals. ILS Chair Noriko Hara’s long-time vision paid off in a big way, drawing more than 250 professors, students and information professionals. Some traveled more than 8,000 miles to attend.
Noriko Hara dared big and won. The Information and Library Science chair and professor of Information Science aimed to host one of the world’s top global conferences for informational professionals and that vision became last week’s iConference 2025 “Living in an AI-gorithmic World” at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering.
Howard Rosenbaum, director of Graduate Programs for Information and Library Science, and professor of Information Science, shared Hara’s vision and worked to enable the Luddy School to host the 20th anniversary of this internationally renowned conference.
Luddy School Dean Joanna Millunchick’s support ensured the Luddy School would host for the first time, showcasing the school’s impressive academic opportunities (including an ILS program ranked No. 9 nationally) and facilities, including the Luddy Artificial Intelligence Center. Millunchick opened the conference by welcoming attendees to Indiana University and Bloomington.
“Where else could the 20th anniversary of the iConference be but Luddy, said Rosenbaum, who served as a co-conference chair along with Hara, Devan R Donaldson, associate professor of Information Science and MLS program director, and Carol Choksy, senior lecturer of Information Science. “We’re at the cutting edge of so much information research. It really made sense for us to host.”
More than 250 professors, students and information professionals from around the world attended the four-and-a-half-day event, which was mostly held at Luddy Hall and the Luddy AI Center. Some traveled more than 8,000 miles to attend.
“We wanted the international audience to see what we’re doing here,” Rosenbaum said. “People could see our building, could see the sculpture (Amatria, a sculpture found on Luddy Hall’s fourth floor), see the technology assisted classrooms we have and see where we work.”
Luddy faculty from the Informatics, Information and Library Science, Computer Science and Intelligent Systems Engineering departments participated, as did some Luddy doctoral students.
“Every department participated,” Rosenbaum said. “This was another way to showcase the strength and diversity of our faculty, students and school.”
The conference’s AI theme resonated through a series of papers, workshops and panels that explored the implications of collecting, storing, receiving and distributing information influenced by AI, machine learning, data analytics and similar technologies.
During her opening- day talk, Millunchick said the AI theme “perfectly captures the groundbreaking work being done at Luddy and across the world at your institutions. I’m confident that this conference will be time well invested.”
Mahdieh Nazari, a Ph.D. student in Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma, proved that. She presented at the conference’s annual doctoral colloquium and received invaluable feedback from faculty and other professionals to improve her dissertation research. She also took advantage of the conference’s numerous networking opportunities.
“I’ll be hunting for academic jobs next year around this time,” she said, “and I need to make connections, meet as many people as possible and tell them about my research areas.”
Beyond that, she said, “This is my first conference in the U.S. This community is very nice.”
The iConference is part of iSchools, an international organization of more than 130 universities from around the world focused on all aspects of research and teaching about information. It’s rotated among locations in North America, Europe and Asia.
The Luddy School’s compelling vision for the conference and its strong international reputation, said Slava Sterzer, executive director at iSchools Inc., made it an ideal host choice. He said the conference showcased the spirit of the school’s faculty and students.
“We got to see how they work, how they live, what their daily lives are like. Inviting us to witness their story is the uniqueness I appreciate so much.”
The campus’s beauty, he added, was a special bonus.
“I was in awe looking at this campus,” he said. “It was a basically a campus city. It was something unique.”
Vera Hillebrand, iSchools business manager, said the Luddy School, “has a great reputation for being very good at what it does,” and proved it.
That includes Luddy’s interdisciplinary approach and strong Information and Library Science program, she added.
“For us, Information Science has to be where people know what they’re doing and be very inclusive,” Hillebrand said. “Information Science is so much more than it was 10 to 20 years ago. We now have AI and engineering programs and it’s all at Luddy. That’s how interdisciplinary information science is. That’s good to make it public, that it’s so much more than libraries or archives. Luddy represents that very well because it’s so interdisciplinary.”
Hara said she hoped IU and the Luddy School would become one of the leading centers for the iSchools community. The conference culminated her years-long quest that was made possible when she became the ILS chair and had the necessary resources. A receptive Millunchick clinched it.
“The dean was very supportive,” she said. “That’s why it was the right time.”
Added Rosenbaum: “All the credit goes to Noriko. She had the idea. When Dean Millunchick supported it, we knew we had a good shot.”
The keynote speaking tone was set by Beth Plale, Michael A and Laurie Burns McRobbie Bicentennial Professor of Computer Engineering and Intelligent Systems Engineering chair, and David Crandall, Luddy Professor of Computer Science and director of the Luddy Artificial Intelligence Center.
Plale spoke in person. Crandall spoke during the previous week’s virtual iConference. Crandall also was a key in-person presenter at a major workshop, “Rethinking Relationship between Academic and Industry Research on AI: an interdisciplinary Perspective from iSchools.”
Plale’s keynote talk, “AI in Academic Research: Democratizing AI,” centered on Intelligent Cyber Infrastructure Computational Learning and Environment (ICICLE), a National Science Foundation-funded AI institute that aims to build the next generation of cyberinfrastructure to make AI more accessible to everyone and drive more AI democratization.
Plale said ICICLE research is carried out in three areas: new software tools and systems to support AI (called cyberinfrastructure for artificial intelligence), new AI tools and the integration of advanced AI tools and intelligence into existing cyberinfrastructure systems.
Plale is among the researchers working to improve the trustworthiness of AI, and develop new AI models that make cyberinfrastructure for AI run smarter and faster.
An international highlight came from the keynote talk of Tshiamo Motshegwa, the director African Open Science Platform, a member of the National Research Foundation and a professor of Computer Science at the University of Botswana.
He focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence, open science and research cyber infrastructure. He discussed the African Open Science Platform and implementing its science vision, promoted the 2027 International Data Week Conference in South Africa, and highlighted the Africa Agenda 2063, a plan for where African science could be in 40 years. He also stressed the importance of scientific collaboration.
Another keynote talk, by Jens-Eric Mai, the head of the department of Information Studies and professor of Information at the University of Copenhagen, targeted the conference’s AI theme with his “Information in the AI-gorithmic World: Privacy, Identity, Chatbox. It provided a critical conceptual analysis of the concepts of information and privacy in the context of the increasing ubiquity of algorithms on our work and social lives.
Rosenbaum said the conference had a near record 434 submissions by authors representing 26 countries. He praised the high-quality workshops and presentations provided by Luddy School faculty.
“Their work addresses the implications of AI and algorithms on daily life, social life and organizational life,” he said.
The conference featured student symposiums and doctoral colloquiums, along with short and full papers. Workshops addressed topics such as “Information Scandals in the AI-gorithmic World: A Way Forward,” “Envisioning Critical Digital Futures for Archives,” “Repatriating Indigenous records and archives, a research agenda,” “Libraries’ response to book challenges: digging into the data” and “Creativity or Generative: Navigating Authenticity of Visual Forms in the Digital Age.”
Hara and Rosenbaum said the spring-break timing was intentional because it freed up Luddy Hall and the Luddy AI Center. They said they figured the campus would be quiet, allowing them to fill Luddy Hall with conference participants.
Mission accomplished.
“We thought it would be the ideal time,” Hara said. “We hoped for good weather and that the campus would look its best.”
Tours also were set up for Lilly Library and the IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and more.
“We wanted to take them around the campus,” Rosenbaum said.
Luddy’s Donaldson was instrumental in getting a record 19 iConference sponsors, highlighted by ServiceNow, California software company founded by Fred Luddy, a serial entrepreneur and the Luddy School’s major contributor.
Other sponsors were:
- Cornerstone
- University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information
- Rutgers University School of Communication and Information.
- University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences.
- University of South Carolina College of Information and Communications.
- University of Tennessee Knoxville School of Information Sciences.
- University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science.
- Florida State University College of Communication and Information.
- Syracuse University School of Information Studies.
- University of Toronto Faculty of Information.
- Université de Montréal École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information.
- Simmons University School of Library and Information Science.
- University of South Florida School of Information.
- University of California at Berkeley School of Information.
- University of Texas at Austin School of Information.
- Figshare.
- ViVUM.
- O'Reilly.
Donaldson credited the record number of sponsors to their increased recognition of the importance and impact of AI on society.
“iConference 2025 would not be possible without their generous support,” he said. “I was happy to reach out to these organizations and am pleased with the record number of sponsors.”
Added Rosenbaum: “We were very successful in getting sponsorship. That really helped us.”
Visiting students took advantage.
Jing Zhou, who is working on her Library Science Ph.D. from China’s Wuhan University, said the conference was, “a good opportunity to meet scholars from different domains and research areas. I wanted to gain different kinds of insights from different kinds of researchers.”
That included networking.
“I really enjoyed the time here,” she said. “I met a lot of new friends and contacts.”
Shamim Shoomali, a second-year Ph.D. student in digital media from the Georgia Institute of Technology, praised the opportunities to make connections and explore new ideas.
“There are so many important and interesting researchers here,” said Shoomali, who also presented a poster designed to help communities address key issues. “I like to listen to new topics and research, and maybe add that research to mine.”
Overall, Luddy School faculty and students were major contributors. Here is the list.
In the end, Hara and Rosenbaum said, the conference accomplished the goals set out by the iConference organizers – the iSchool community gathered in Bloomington for four and a half days and got to know and appreciate that the Luddy School is one of the premier iSchools in the world.
“Many conference attendees shared their positive feedback about the event,” Hara said. “Numerous Luddy staff members also contributed their efforts from IT to Facilities, with (Event Services Specialist) Jill Clancy’s exceptional support being crucial and (ILS Chair Assistant) Gillian Dunn’s tireless work truly remarkable. I am thankful to all. It was team Luddy along with the iSchools Inc., that made iConference 2025 in Bloomington successful.”