Serhiy Polyakov, Ph.D., joins the School of Library and Information Science as its post-doctoral research fellow and fills the first post-doctoral position for the College of Communication and Information. A native of Ukraine, Polyakov completed both his master’s and doctoral degrees in information science at the University of North Texas, focusing his research in the areas of data mining, information retrieval and digital libraries.
“The interdisciplinary team of scholars at 91ֿ was searching for a candidate with a strong commitment to research and with theoretical knowledge and practical expertise in the areas of data sciences, digital humanities and information technology,” Polyakov said. “These requirements perfectly matched my research interests.”
Polyakov has published in journals and books, including the Journal of Library Metadata and the University of Manitoba Press’ Conversations in food studies. He has delivered presentations and poster sessions at conferences across the world, from Australia to Canada to the United States.
At 91ֿ
At 91ֿ, Polyakov will conduct research, design application software, work on grant proposals, publish articles and reports and develop new workshops. He will work with SLIS professors Marcia Lei Zeng, Ph.D., and Yin Zhang, Ph.D., co-principal investigators on a research project that received funding to support a two-year post-doctoral position through the 91ֿ Internal Post-Doctoral Competition in spring 2015. Additional co-PIs include Assistant Professor Xinyue Ye, Ph.D., Department of Geography; Professor Hongshan Li, Ph.D., Department of History; and Professor Deng-ke Yang, Ph.D., Liquid Crystal Institute.
The project will address how to use smart big data in constructing a digital representation of innovation history. To encapsulate this, researchers have employed the term “Digital Innovation History.” The proposal blends digital humanities, big data and smart data, all of which are emerging research areas.
Zeng and Zhang said they also will seek collaborations with faculty and students in the School of Visual Communication Design (VCD) who have expertise in visualization.
The project covers new ground, they added, and the research will be consistently reshaped by new theories and technologies throughout the process.
An Integrated Approach
“I prefer an integrated approach to my work, reaching across disciplines and emphasizing balance between information technology and people,” Polyakov said. “I also believe that for any project to have a higher impact, the real working prototypes of applications should be developed and demonstrated.”
Polyakov has experience as an engineer and programmer, having started his professional career as both at the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics in Kyiv, Ukraine.
“I started my career as a programmer developing application[s] for digital signal processing and information visualization,” Polyakov said. “Then I realized that I want to obtain a formal education in a field that studies information as phenomena with its relation to technology and people.”
Now, though, higher education is the perfect place for him, Polyakov said. His career goals include working for a university where he can both teach and continue his research.
“I see myself teaching information science in a university,” Polyakov said. “I am particularly interested in working on courses in the areas of data mining, scientometrics, linked data and semantic web and information visualization. In addition to teaching, I will be building an environment that would allow me to expand my diverse research interests. I am planning to continue research related to my current interests and I see several new interesting directions of future research.”
