The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) announced that Professor Naresh Agarwal, a faculty member at Simmons’ School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) and Director of the Information Science and Technology Concentration, has received the 2025 Bob Williams Research Grant.
This grant is “awarded to an outstanding research proposal exploring the history of information science and technology.” Agarwal’s proposed project, entitled “Weaving the History of the Information Science Field Through the Life Journeys of ASIS&T Past Presidents,” will explore how their life journeys helped shape the information science field. The award is named after Dr. Robert V. Williams (1938–2017), the architect of numerous library and information science and archival studies programs at the University of South Carolina.
Upon learning about his award, Agarwal said, “I had the privilege of interacting with Dr. Bob Williams from 2012 to 2015 and helping with an interview for his Oral History Project. I am honored to receive this grant in his name. I would like to thank the jury and am looking forward to carrying out the interviews.”