About the IRI

IRI, room 323 of the School of Informatics Building

The Informatics Research Institute is located in room 323 of the School of Informatics Building in Bloomington, Indiana.

The Informatics Research Institute has a mission to serve as the interdisciplinary center of collaborative activity for the School of Informatics.

Founded in 2002, the IRI is Co-Directed by Matthew Palakal (Professor, Department of Computer and Information Science, IUPUI) and John C. Huffman (Senior Scientist in Chemistry, IUB).

The Informatics Research Institute identifies domains where routine information technology tools are inadequate or inappropriate, and works to establish collaborations among information technology specialists and practitioners in those domains.

Student Work at the IRI

The IRI provides a place for Informatics students to participate in research activities at the earliest possible stage of their education.

By working on Institute projects, some students have opportunities to complete the senior capstone projects of their degree requirements in the IRI.

Areas of research emphasis include the following:

• Fundamental research in human-computer interaction
• Fundamental research in capturing, managing, analyzing, and explaining information and in making it available for its myriad of uses
• Expanding research into policy and socioeconomic issues arising from information technology
• Informatics applied to various subject areas such as health, biology, chemistry, and fine arts

Other Research Programs

The Informatics Research Institute is also actively cultivating relationships with other programs in research. Below is a select list of relevant research efforts.

• Pervasive Technology Labs
• Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics
• Central Indiana Life Sciences Initiative