College of Information Science Assistant Professor Andrea Thomer Honored With 2023 ASIS&T Best JASIST Paper Award for 2023

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) has selected "Integrative data reuse at scientifically significant sites: Case studies at Yellowstone National Park and the La Brea Tar Pits” by College of Information Science Assistant Professor Andrea Thomer as the ASIS&T Best JASIST Paper Award for 2023.

The paper was published in Volume 73, Issue 8 of the Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology (JASIST).

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The award’s purpose is to recognize the best refereed paper published in the volume year of JASIST preceding the ASIS&T annual meeting. JASIST is published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The article was selected as the winner from among a pool of outstanding submissions that were judged based on these criteria: contribution; professional merit; and presentation quality.

Thomer's paper examines the unique data practices of the researchers and resource managers at Scientifically significant sites. Through case studies of the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park and the fossil deposits at the La Brea Tar Pits, the author develops rich descriptions of site-based research and data curation, and high-level data models of information classes needed to support integrative data reuse. Each framework treats the geospatial site and its changing natural characteristics as a distinct class of information; more commonly considered information classes such as observational and sampling data, and project metadata, are defined in relation to the site itself. This work contributes (a) case studies of the values and data needs for researchers and resource managers at scientifically significant sites, (b) an information framework to support integrative reuse at these sites, and (c) a discussion of data practices at scientifically significant sites.

Thomer is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Information Science. Her research interests include the maintenance and evolution of knowledge infrastructures, scientific data curation, and information organization. Much of her work focuses on the use and curation of natural history collections. Her research has been funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services and the National Science Foundation, and published in JASIST, CSCW, Slate, and more. Dr. Thomer earned her doctorate at the College of Information Science Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign in 2017. Prior to her graduate work, she was an excavator and ad hoc data curator at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California.

"I am truly honored to receive this award," says Thomer. "This paper presents some of the main findings of my dissertation, and I would have given up on publishing it if not for support from colleagues like Katrina Fenlon and mentors like Carole Palmer and Peter Fox. I’m additionally indebted to the rest of my thesis committee, including Michael Twidale, Allen Renear, and Bruce Fouke. This award is especially meaningful because it describes research at the La Brea Tar Pits, my former 'home' and the site that made me want to become an information scientist in the first place. Thank you so much for this recognition."

Thomer will accept the award at the 2023 Meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology, which will be held in London October 27-31.