Journalism and computer science Prof. Jessica Hullman received the Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship, a $100,000 reward given twice over two years, according to a Tuesday University release.

Hullman, who researches information visualization and communicating uncertain outcomes, is a faculty member in both the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and the McCormick School of Engineering. Her research focuses on making complex data more accessible through visualization and automation.

“The Microsoft Faculty Fellowship will give my students and me more freedom to explore how our ideas around uncertainty visualization and reasoning can be useful in the world and across scientific domains,” Hullman said in the release. “For example, I’m excited to develop software that can make visualizing uncertainty easier for journalists and authors who may not have deep programming or statistical experience.”

As one of five researchers chosen for the fellowship, the unrestricted grant will allow her to plan research, hire graduate students and purchase equipment. The other recipients work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Washington and University of California, Berkeley.

According to Microsoft, the fellowship is given to relatively new faculty members who demonstrate promise and potential. Medill Interim Dean Charles Whitaker said Hullman is very deserving of the reward.

“Jessica is truly deserving of this tremendous honor,” Whitaker said in the release. “Her innovative research in data visualization and graphic representation of complex concepts helps journalists and researchers engage audiences and tell more compelling stories with data.”

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