October 20, 2026 Describe your areas of research interest. I study emerging technologies, data and quantification, and persuasion in strategic communication. My research follows two main lines: emerging technologies, focusing on generative AI (GenAI), especially AI-generated summaries, and it also examines the social impact of data and quantification, focusing on numbers in persuasion. My recent […]
October 7, 2026 Keynote: “Advertising as the Invited Guest Who Took Over the Party” Judy Ungar Franks, former agency executive, professor at Northwestern University Medill School, and author of Media: From Chaos to Clarity and Back Again, was the keynote speaker at this year’s symposium. Her address “Advertising as the Invited Guest Who Took Over […]
September 30, 2026 About the Media Expert Shedding light on some of the most exciting new technologies is Christopher Ball, associate professor in the Department of Journalism with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research. An AR and VR expert, Ball teaches courses including JOUR 430: Augmented and Virtual Reality, which examines the importance […]
September 18, 2026 Congratulations to these College of Media students who received campus and college awards and honors, and scholarships and fellowships that were made possible thanks to our donors. AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, & FELLOWSHIPS A-Mark College Journalism Scholarship A-Mark Journalism Master’s Scholarship American Advertising Federation Most Promising Students Anthony J. Petullo Endowment in Design and Advertising […]
September 4, 2026 The Institute of Communications Research is excited to announce their newest cohort! Please learn more about the students’ research interests below and join us in welcoming them to the University of Illinois College of Media community this fall. For more information, see full student profiles. Mark Burbridge’s primary research areas center around film criticism, media […]
Email: markab6@illinois.edu Research Interests My primary research areas center around film criticism, media studies, and digital media studies. My specific research interests center around: Courses Taught Academic Roles Awards and Honors Related Links
Email: chenqiz2@illinois.edu Research Interests Chenqi’s research interests lie in the intersection of media and communication study, history of science and STS. Generally, she’s drawn to how communicative, scientific and technological practices condition and transform each other across historical trajectories, and to their constitutive role in structuring human nature and broader social formations. At a more […]
Email: jiayiw13@Illinois.edu Research Interests Joy is a doctoral student at the Institute of Communications Research (ICR). Her research focuses on artificial intelligence in advertising and consumer behavior, with particular interest in how AI-generated advertising and persuasion knowledge shape consumer responses across digital platforms. She has contributed to multiple research projects examining AI-generated advertising and consumer […]
Email: boramc2@illinois.edu Research Interests AI Creativity, Human–AI Interaction and Collaboration, Persuasion Knowledge, Emerging Technologies and Media in Children and Older Adults, and Ethical AI Use Recent Publications/Presentations Boram Cho, Jiyeon Chang, Michelle Nelson, Joy Wang, “I don’t want ads, I just want information”: When and how persuasion knowledge is activated during product search on AI […]
Email: mh131@illinois.edu Research Interests Matthew Huh is a first-year Ph.D. student in Communications and Media at the Institute of Communications Research. His research focuses on cultural and audience shifts found in contemporary pop culture, animation, and nostalgia, along with the impact of blockbuster media in film culture. Using techniques of historiography, his goal is to […]