Crowston to Receive Research in Information Science Award
The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Professor Kevin Crowston is the 2019 recipient of the ASIS&T Research in Information Science Award. The award’s purpose is to recognize an individual or individuals for an outstanding research contribution in the field of information science. The award is for a systematic “program of research” in a single area that has significant impact in the field at a level beyond a single study, but not at the level of a lifetime’s work.
Professor Crowston was selected as the winner from among a pool of outstanding candidates who were judged based on the following criteria: Intellectual Merit (intellectual quality of the contribution); Broader Impact (impacts of the contribution to theory, practice and society); Coherence of the Contribution (degree to which the contribution forms a coherent whole); Methodological Innovation (contributions to methodology, including the development and evaluation of software, corpora, and other research tools); and Transformation and Transcendence of the Information Field (degree to which the contribution helps to shape and reshape the information field and connects the information field with related research areas).
Kevin Crowston is a Distinguished Professor of Information Science in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and currently serves as Associate Dean for Research. He received his Ph.D. (1991) in Information Technologies from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From 2012 to 2014, he was a Program Director for the US National Science Foundation (NSF) program on Cyber-Human Systems. His research examines new ways of organizing made possible by the extensive use of information and communications technology. Specific research topics include the development practices of Free/Libre Open Source Software teams and work practices and technology support for citizen science research projects, both with NSF support. His most recent project is a research coordination network on Work in the Age of Intelligent Machines. He is currently Editor-in-Chief for the journals ACM Transaction on Social Computing and Information, Technology & People.
In nominating Dr. Crowston, Caroline Haythornthwaite and Carsten Oesterlund, both of Syracuse University, wrote, “Professor Crowston’s outstanding record comprises over 20 years of research on the new forms of work, organization, and coordination emerging with the use of information and communication technology. His empirical studies of real estate agents, virtual work arrangements, Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development, citizen science, and the impact of artificial intelligence have been a guiding voice for many subsequent studies; and his theoretical work on document genre and stigmergic coordination have likewise shaped academic debates. He not only studies the future of work; he is also actively engaged in system building and experimentation that facilitates and shapes these areas. With colleagues he has built several citizen science projects and the FLOSSmole.org repository, and he has three patents associated with his work on coordination. His work has also guided and shaped the research of others, from doctoral student supervision to his years as NSF program officer for Cyber-Human Systems and Human-Centered Computing, and as a member of the Steering Committee of the National Research Program on Digital Transformation for the Swiss National Science Foundation. Professor Crowston is ideally suited for this award in recognition of his sustained and influential work in information science.”
Upon learning of his selection as the 2019 Research Award winner, Professor Crowston said, “It is a great honour to be chosen to receive the ASIS&T Research in Information Science Award, knowing the many fine researchers in our field. I strive to connect information science research to other research areas and to show how it enriches interdisciplinary projects. It is gratifying for these contributions to be recognized.”
Professor Crowston will receive his award at the 2019 meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) which will be held in Melbourne, Australia, October 19-23, 2019.