The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named University of Michigan School of Information faculty members Nicole Ellison and Florian Schaub 2024 ACM Distinguished Members. 

The recognition honors significant contributions to the field of computing and information technology. Members are nominated by their peers. 

“I'm very grateful to receive this honor from the ACM community and to see how my scholarship has contributed to our understanding of how online tools can support relationship development and exchanges of information and social support,” Ellison says. “I feel very lucky to have worked with so many amazing colleagues and students over the past two decades. These collaborations have enriched every dimension of the work in countless ways.”

Ellison’s contributions to the field of computing are extensive. Her research has had a notable impact on our understanding of online communication and its impacts on social relationships, identity construction and informational support systems. It has earned her a 2023 Lasting Impact Researcher Recognition award at the 26th ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work And Social Computing. 

Outside of UMSI, Ellison serves as Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication and is a member of the Scientific Leadership Council of the Foundation for Social Connection (F4SC). She is also a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA).

Florian Schaub was named as an ACM Distinguished Member for his contributions to human-centered privacy and security computing practice and its impact on policy. Schaub’s research centers the complex dynamics between technology and privacy, focusing on privacy concerns, needs and behavior, as well as the disparate impacts of privacy issues on exposure-sensitive populations, the shortcomings of privacy regulations and the application of these insights to advance human-centered privacy design and privacy protections for consumers in practice.

“It’s a great honor to receive this recognition from the ACM,” Schaub said. “I’m grateful to my collaborators, mentors and students. I see this recognition as a motivation to continue conducting research that will improve privacy and security for people.”

At UMSI, Schaub has conducted extensive research on effective privacy design, including the design and validation of the opt-out icon for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), privacy and data literacy for children, making privacy-enhancing technologies understandable and data breaches. In 2024, he earned the Michael D. Cohen Outstanding Service Award and in 2019 he earned the Caspar Bowden PET Award for Outstanding Research in Privacy Enhancing Technologies.

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Nicole Ellison is the Karl E Weick Collegiate Professor of Information, a Professor of Information at UMSI and a Professor of Communication and Media at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Learn more about her by visiting her UMSI faculty profile. 

Florian Schaub is an Associate Professor of Information at UMSI, an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the College of Engineering and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Law School. Check out his research by visiting his UMSI faculty profile.