Colin Rhinesmith

Colin Rhinesmith is an Associate Professor and Director of the Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Lab at the School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He holds a PhD in Library and Information Science from the same university and uses he/they pronouns.

• Research Focus: Community informatics, digital equity, engaged scholarship, information policy, and infrastructure studies
• Key Themes: Advancing digital equity through community-government-philanthropy collaborations, participatory research, and policy innovation
• Awards: ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award (2021), Ernest A. Lynton Award Finalist (2019), Mara Dole Innovation Award (2017)
• Funding: U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, Benton Institute, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, Comcast Corporation

Professional Affiliations:

• Research Fellow, Quello Center (2022-Present)
• Senior Fellow, Benton Institute (2021-2022)
• Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center (2016-2018)
• Adjunct Research Fellow, New America's Open Technology Institute