Tony Kent Strix Memorial Award lecture, Friday 30th January 2026, 10am - 11.30am GMT/UTC

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The UK electronic information Group (UKeiG) is pleased to announce that the=
 worthy recipient of the international Tony Kent Strix Memorial Award for 2=
025 is Professor Noriko Kando of the National Institute of Informatics (NII=
) in Japan for her pioneering role in information retrieval (IR) research, =
development and systems evaluation. The award celebrates her distinguished =
research record, dedication, impact and excellent scientific contributions =
to the discipline.


Professor Kando is the founder and driving force of NTCIR, the text retriev=
al development and evaluation initiative and service in Asia. NTCIR is reco=
gnised worldwide for its transformational and far-reaching contributions to=
 advancing interactive IR, educating IR researchers and developing IR scien=
ce in many areas including multilingual and multimodal information access, =
natural language processing and IR systems evaluation. Her pioneering leade=
rship has played a fundamental role in building an international IR infrast=
ructure, nurturing the emergence of a vibrant and growing research communit=
y across East Asia and beyond.


The Strix award honours outstanding contributions to the field in memory of=
 Tony Kent, a remarkable IR pioneer. It was inaugurated in 1998 by the Inst=
itute of Information Scientists and is now presented by UKeiG in partnershi=
p with the International Society for Knowledge Organisation UK (ISKO UK), t=
he Royal Society of Chemistry Chemical Information and Computer Application=
s Group (RSC CICAG) and the British Computer Society Information Retrieval =
Specialist Group (BCS IRSG). Whereas at the time of Kent=92s ground-breakin=
g achievements IR was a fascinating sideline for relatively few specialists=
, nowadays the =91search function=92 underpins everyday living at home, at =
work and across the globe. This Strix Award is more widely relevant than ev=
er before.


Professor Kando was delighted to receive the news and will celebrate her aw=
ard in a special free Zoom lecture at 10 am London time on Friday 30th Janu=
ary 2026.


Book here:

https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=3D2025044&group=3D2013=
14


=91I=92m honoured to receive this prestigious international award and thank=
 the Strix judging panel for its generous recognition. This achievement wou=
ld have not been possible without the mentors, collaborators and support I'=
ve encountered throughout my career.=92


Makoto P. Kato, Associate Professor at both the University of Tsukuba and t=
he National Institute of Informatics submitted the nomination.


=91Professor Kando=92s establishment of the NTCIR created a vital research =
hub in East Asia. Her strategic vision has driven advancements across diver=
se information access technologies, including patent and math retrieval, se=
ntiment analysis, lifelog search, and multimodal summarisation. As a resear=
cher whose career was nurtured by the NTCIR community, I am delighted to se=
e her exceptional achievements recognized with the Tony Kent Strix Award.=
=92


The nomination included letters of support from distinguished information s=
cientists Dr. Ellen M. Voorhees (National Institute of Standards and Techno=
logy), Prof. Maarten de Rijke (University of Amsterdam), Prof. Iadh Ounis (=
University of Glasgow) and Prof. Nicola Ferro (University of Padua).


Co-signatories of the nomination were:

  *   Prof. Douglas W. Oard, University of Maryland
  *   Prof. Mark Sanderson, RMIT University
  *   Prof. Charles L. A. Clarke, University of Waterloo
  *   Prof. Tetsuya Sakai, Waseda University
  *   Prof. Yiqun Liu, Tsinghua University
  *   Prof. Hideo Joho, University of Tsukuba
  *   Prof. Zhicheng Dou, Renmin University of China
  *   Assoc. Prof. Takehiro Yamamoto, University of Hyogo

The Strix award judging panel would like to thank all colleagues who submit=
ted nominations, and we look forward to your submissions in 2026. The excel=
lence and quality of the entries is proof positive that the information ret=
rieval community is not just thriving but expanding.


Book here for a free place at the memorial lecture:

https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=3D2025044&group=3D2013=
14


Links

https://researchmap.jp/kando?lang=3Den


https://www.cilip.org.uk/members/group_content_view.asp?group=3D201314&id=
=3D712682



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<head>
<meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3DWindows-1=
252">
</head>
<body>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">The UK electronic information Group (UKeiG) is pleased to announce that =
the worthy recipient of the international
 Tony Kent Strix Memorial Award for 2025 is Professor Noriko Kando of the N=
ational Institute of Informatics (NII) in Japan for her pioneering role in =
information retrieval (IR) research, development and systems evaluation. Th=
e award celebrates her distinguished
 research record, dedication, impact and excellent scientific contributions=
 to the discipline.</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">Professor Kando is the founder and driving force of NTCIR, the text retr=
ieval development and evaluation initiative
 and service in Asia. NTCIR is recognised worldwide for its transformationa=
l and far-reaching contributions to advancing interactive IR, educating IR =
researchers and developing IR science in many areas including multilingual =
and multimodal information access,
 natural language processing and IR systems evaluation. Her pioneering lead=
ership has played a fundamental role in building an international IR infras=
tructure, nurturing the emergence of a vibrant and growing research communi=
ty across East Asia and beyond.</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">The Strix award honours outstanding contributions to the field in memory=
 of Tony Kent, a remarkable IR pioneer.
 It was inaugurated in 1998 by the Institute of Information Scientists and =
is now presented by UKeiG in partnership with the International Society for=
 Knowledge Organisation UK (ISKO UK), the Royal Society of Chemistry Chemic=
al Information and Computer Applications
 Group (RSC CICAG) and the British Computer Society Information Retrieval S=
pecialist Group (BCS IRSG). Whereas at the time of Kent=92s ground-breaking=
 achievements IR was a fascinating sideline for relatively few specialists,=
 nowadays the =91search function=92 underpins
 everyday living at home, at work and across the globe. This Strix Award is=
 more widely relevant than ever before.</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">Professor Kando was delighted to receive the news and will celebrate her=
 award in a special<b>&nbsp;free Zoom lecture</b>&nbsp;at
 10 am London time on Friday 30th January 2026.</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">Book here:</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;"><u><a href=3D"https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=3D202=
5044&amp;group=3D201314" data-outlook-id=3D"ec8a28e7-7dc6-4a0f-84bf-0c7ae7f=
2d7bd" style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">https://www.cilip.org=
.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=3D2025044&amp;group=3D201314</a></u></span>=
</p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">=91I=92m honoured to receive this prestigious international award and th=
ank the Strix judging panel for its generous
 recognition. This achievement would have not been possible without the men=
tors, collaborators and support I've encountered throughout my career.=92</=
span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">Makoto P. Kato, Associate Professor at both the University of Tsukuba an=
d the National Institute of Informatics
 submitted the nomination.</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">=91Professor Kando=92s establishment of the NTCIR created a vital resear=
ch hub in East Asia. Her strategic vision
 has driven advancements across diverse information access technologies, in=
cluding patent and math retrieval, sentiment analysis, lifelog search, and =
multimodal summarisation. As a researcher whose career was nurtured by the =
NTCIR community, I am delighted
 to see her exceptional achievements recognized with the Tony Kent Strix Aw=
ard.=92</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">The nomination included letters of support from distinguished informatio=
n scientists Dr. Ellen M. Voorhees (National
 Institute of Standards and Technology), Prof. Maarten de Rijke (University=
 of Amsterdam), Prof. Iadh Ounis (University of Glasgow) and Prof. Nicola F=
erro (University of Padua).</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">Co-signatories of the nomination were:</span></p>
<ul style=3D"list-style-type: disc;">
<li style=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:=
 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
Prof. Douglas W. Oard, University of Maryland</li><li style=3D"font-family:=
 Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0=
); line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
Prof. Mark Sanderson, RMIT University</li><li style=3D"font-family: Calibri=
, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-=
height: normal; margin: 0px;">
Prof. Charles L. A. Clarke, University of Waterloo</li><li style=3D"font-fa=
mily: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0,=
 0, 0); line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
Prof. Tetsuya Sakai, Waseda University</li><li style=3D"font-family: Calibr=
i, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line=
-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
Prof. Yiqun Liu, Tsinghua University</li><li style=3D"font-family: Calibri,=
 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-h=
eight: normal; margin: 0px;">
Prof. Hideo Joho, University of Tsukuba</li><li style=3D"font-family: Calib=
ri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); lin=
e-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
Prof. Zhicheng Dou, Renmin University of China</li><li style=3D"font-family=
: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, =
0); line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
Assoc. Prof. Takehiro Yamamoto, University of Hyogo</li></ul>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">The Strix award judging panel would like to thank all colleagues who sub=
mitted nominations, and we look forward
 to your submissions in 2026. The excellence and quality of the entries is =
proof positive that the information retrieval community is not just thrivin=
g but expanding.</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">Book here for a free place at the memorial lecture:</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;"><u><a href=3D"https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=3D202=
5044&amp;group=3D201314" data-outlook-id=3D"f3c0154a-af7a-4eb2-be31-4f48487=
38278" style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">https://www.cilip.org=
.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=3D2025044&amp;group=3D201314</a></u></span>=
</p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;">Links</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;"><u><a href=3D"https://researchmap.jp/kando?lang=3Den" data-outlook-id=3D=
"4536f1dd-3622-47dd-bce4-75c741d9d0ca" style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-bot=
tom: 0px;">https://researchmap.jp/kando?lang=3Den</a></u></span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span styl=
e=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; c=
olor: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br>
</span></p>
<p style=3D"line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family: =
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0)=
;"><u><a href=3D"https://www.cilip.org.uk/members/group_content_view.asp?gr=
oup=3D201314&amp;id=3D712682" data-outlook-id=3D"14d4fc00-768a-4cd6-8bf6-42=
f8919253b8" style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">https://www.cili=
p.org.uk/members/group_content_view.asp?group=3D201314&amp;id=3D712682</a><=
/u></span></p>
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