Bilal to receive 2026 Watson Davis Award for Service
The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Dr. Dania Bilal is the recipient of the 2026 Watson Davis Award for Service. The award recognizes an individual member of the Association who has shown continuous dedicated leadership in and service to ASIS&T and made substantial and lasting contributions to ASIS&T governance, chapters, SIGs, committees, and publications.
Since 2007, Bilal has been a Professor at the University of Tennessee School of Information Science. She has authored/co-authored 5 books, 7 book chapters, and over 70 peer-reviewed publications. Bilal has received awards and recognition from ASIS&T, the University of Tennessee, and ALISE over the years.
As a member of ASIS&T for over 35 years, she has reviewed many Annual Meeting submissions over the years. Bilal has served as the member of the Board of Directors, participated in several juries, co-founded the Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence (SIG-AI) and the Middle East Chapter, served on the Education Committee, served in a variety of positions in the Special Interest Group on Information Needs, Seeking and Use (SIG-USE), and has been a reviewer of the Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology (JASIST) since 2000.
In his endorsement of Bilal, Abebe Rorissa, an ASIS&T Past-President and a University of Tennessee, Knoxville colleague, writes, “Dr. Bilal is an internationally renowned, award‑winning scholar and educator, as well as an exceptional contributor to her institution and to the profession—particularly through her longstanding service to ASIS&T and its wider community. Her extensive achievements through research, teaching, and service, coupled with her exemplary leadership, embody the core values and mission of ASIS&T, which seeks to advance the field by empowering information professionals, strengthening organizations, and fostering broad access and engagement. Considering her remarkable record of service, the clear alignment of her contributions with these principles, and our understanding of the purpose of the Watson Davis Award for Service, we are honored to nominate Dr. Dania Bilal for this outstanding recognition.”
Upon learning of her selection as winner of the Watson Davis Award, Bilal responded, “I am incredibly humbled and honored to have received the 2026 ASIS&T Watson Davis Award. It is a great privilege to be among the esteemed colleagues who have received this award over the past years. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the writers of the nomination and letters of support. I thank the members of the jury for recognizing my service contributions and commitment to the ASIS&T professional community. ASIS&T is my primary professional home, and receiving this award marks an unforgettable milestone in my career.”
Bilal will receive the award during the 2026 meeting of ASIS&T which will be held 6-10 November 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.
About ASIS&T
The Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) is the only professional association that bridges the gap between information science practice and research. For nearly 90 years, ASIS&T has been leading the search for new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information.