RURaymond Uzwyshyn

Research technology leader · academic researcher · IT project manager · author

Raymond John
Uzwyshyn

PhD · MBA (Information Technology Management) · MLIS · MA

Building intellectual and technical infrastructures for research in the era of artificial intelligence.

Research across artificial intelligence, research data, digital scholarship and  emerging technologies. Creating new institutional strategies for  research institutions and libraries with media  and telecommunications infrastructures and successful R&D IT implementation, teaching, and scholarly communication ecosystems.

25+years across research universities, academic technology, and research libraries
148 / 56K+Scholarly research articles,presentation and followers     
Global ReachIFLA · RDA · IMLS · Gates Foundation · NSF-supported research computing · UC / ARL
4 Graduate Degreesgraduate degrees across media, business  research, IT management, and information science

Research profile

A portfolio of consequential questions

01

Agentic AI & research data

Designing transparent, Agentic capabilities  and  persona-based AI systems that support FAIR metadata, schema creation, repository publication, and scientific progress & interoperability.

Related writing & research →
02

AI literacy & research computing

Developing AI library-led approaches that make advanced models, local AI, and computational research more legible and broadly available.

Related writing & research →
03

Digital scholarship & open research

Connecting digital and multimodal repositories, visualization, preservation, scholarly communication, and open-source tools into sustainable research ecosystems.

Related writing & research →
04

Media theory & creative inquiry

Reading technology through ethics, philosophy, psychoanalysis, cultural theory , visual systems and semiotics, and the longer history of human telecommunication  and progress of knowledge.

Related writing & research →

Education

Interdisciplinary formation

PhD, Media Studies

New York University

MBA, Information Technology Management

American Public University

MLIS, Library & Information Science

University of Western Ontario

MA, Media Studies

New York University

BA (Advanced), English / Film

University of Manitoba,  Canada

Certificates & additional study

Multimedia/Web Design, NYU · Business Information Systems · French immersion,  Montreal/Laval  

Experience

Academic leadership across research, univerisities, and technology

2024—present

University of California, Riverside

Acting AUL for Research & Technology; Director of Research Services

Leadership for research services, emerging technology, data-intensive scholarship, AI literacy, research computing partnerships, and program strategy.

2022—2024

Mississippi State University

Associate Dean, Research Collections; Strategy & Research Impact Coordinator

Directed research collections and advanced strategy, assessment, scholarly impact, and technology-enabled research services.

2014—2022

Texas State University

Director, Research Collections & Digital Services

Built digital scholarship, research data, repositories, preservation, learning-space, visualization, and emerging-technology programs.

2011—2014

American Public University System

Director, Online Libraries & eLearning

Led a global online academic library, course-guide infrastructure, analytics, quality assurance, and large-scale learning support.

2006—2010

University of West Florida

Head, Digital & Learning Technologies

Developed digital library, multimedia, web, visualization, and next-generation learning-space services.

2002—2006

University of Miami

Webmaster / Web Services Librarian

Led library web strategy and early digital initiatives, multimedia systems, and visual-information projects.

1996—2000

New York University

Film Library Coordinator, Everson Film Archives

Supported cinema scholarship, archival collections, teaching, and media research.

Publications

Selected scholarship

Categorized publication archive →
  1. 2026
    How Four California Academic Theorists Rewrote the Rules on AI Ethics. AI Leadership Series, Merits. Forthcoming book chapter.
  2. 2026
    Open-Source and Local AI for the Other 95%. Research Computing for Smaller Institutions proceedings.
  3. 2026
    The Research Data Director: A Persona-Based Agentic AI Architectural Blueprint. Microsoft/RDA Collaboration
  4. 2025
    Balnaves, E., Butrini, L., Cox, A., & Uzwyshyn, R., eds. New Horizons in Artificial Intelligence in Libraries. De Gruyter / IFLA.
  5. 2025
    Chapter: Building Library AI Infrastructures: Research Data Repositories, Scholarly Ecosystems and AI Scaffolding. In New Horizons in AI for Libraries, De Gruyter.
  6. 2023
    Developing Technologically Enhanced Learning Spaces for New Millennia Academic Libraries. IFLA World Library and Information Congress.
  7. 2022
    From Research Data and Datasets to Artificial Intelligence and Discovery. IFLA World Library and Information Congress.
  8. 2020
    Developing an Open Source Digital Scholarship Ecosystem. ICEIT proceedings.
  9. 2008
    Repurposing Open Source Software for Agile Digital Image Library Development. D-Lib Magazine.

Edited books · Chapters · Articles · Blueprints

Presentations

Recent invited, national, and international work

Complete presentation archive →

RDA P27 · London · October 2026

The Research Data Director

Persona-based agentic AI for FAIR research data, metadata, schema, and crosswalk workflows.

View presentation / record

UC Tech · Merced · July 2026

Building AI Literacy Infrastructures

UC Riverside Libraries’ multi-unit integration model.

View presentation ↗

RCSI / NSF · Swarthmore · June 2026

Open-Source AI for the Other 95%

A library-led model for accessible research computing.

View presentation / record

CUNY · New York · 2026

The Arc of Experience and Future of Academic Libraries

A strategic view of institutional memory, technological change, and library futures.

View presentation / record

Coalition for Networked Information · 2026

Building Academic Research Library AI Capacity

Strategic multi-unit integration at UC Riverside.

Watch / learn more ↗

Browse the complete presentation archive

AI Coding and Programming · 2025—2026

Prototypes as a mode of research

Research Data Director

Agentic research-data architecture, personas, metadata workflows, build specifications, and prototype interfaces.

AI literacy tools

Curriculum builders, model-comparison frameworks, research assistants, and workshop demonstrations.

Data visualization

Interactive dashboards and visual explanations that translate complex research and institutional evidence.

Experimental applications

Rapid prototyping across education, cultural analysis, research support, and exploratory scientific workflows.

Explore coding & prototypes

AI-related research, social media, and public scholarship · 2022—2026

An open editorial archive

A separate thematic archive of long-form public scholarship on AI, science, education, media, institutions, and technological change.

Enter the writing archive

Complete academic record

Institutional leadership, service, teaching, and continuing inquiry

01

Awards, Grants & Proposals

  • 2026 Wander Rover: Autonomous AI-Driven Planetary Exploration, Amazon Think Big Science Research Awards proposal.
  • 2026 Humanities and AI capabilities proposal, Schmidt Sciences.
  • 2024–25 IFLA Dynamic Unit Award for Quality Impact of Work, Information Technology Section.
  • 2021 Campus Technology Impact Award for Texas State’s digital scholarly research system.
  • 2020 ICEIT Award of Excellence, Oxford, for developing a digital scholarship ecosystem.
  • 2012 IMS Global Learning Impact Gold Medal and NUTN Distance Education Innovation Award.
  • 2009 / 2008 ASIS&T Publication of the Year; Emerald Outstanding Academic Research Paper.
Awards, grants & recognition →

02

Committees

University, system, state, national, and international participation spanning research strategy, AI, research computing, digital oversight, data repositories, collections, learning technologies, and faculty services.

  • UCR Dean’s Research Council
  • UCR Library Dean’s Cabinet & Leadership Team
  • UC Research Computing Leaders Group
  • RAISE@UCR
  • AI Research Librarian Search, Chair
  • GIS Specialist/Librarian Search, Chair
Boards & committees →

03

Volunteer Work & Service

  • 2026— Research Data Alliance; Microsoft/RDA Global Agentic AI initiative and working-group contributions.
  • 2025 NeurIPS reviewer.
  • 2021—25 Elected Standing Committee Member, IFLA Information Technology Section.
  • 2021—24 Editor, Trends and Issues in Library Technology.
  • International review, governance, conference, and professional-association service across research libraries and information technology.
Service, boards & committee archive →

04

Strategy, Infrastructures & Digital Development

Selected institutional initiatives include AI literacy and research-technology programs at UC Riverside; research collections and impact strategy at Mississippi State; open-source digital scholarship, preservation, research-data, and learning-space infrastructures at Texas State; award-winning online course-guide systems at APUS; and early visualization, multimedia, and digital-library platforms at UWF and Miami.

UCR Research Services accomplishments ↗Institutional leadership record →

05

Research and Creative Work

White papers, R&D, interactive multimedia, videography, and creative work

A long-form experimental practice connects technological research with visual culture and humanistic inquiry. Current work includes AI-lab strategy, model evaluation, dashboards, research-data systems, and institutional futures; earlier work spans information visualization, digital image libraries, cinema and media studies, interactive systems, and creative digital scholarship.

Explore the full creative research record ↗Research & publication archive →

06

Teaching, Workshop & Course Development

Recent teaching centers on deep-research models, AI-assisted development, prompt and model literacy, AI video, research visualization, data repositories, and responsible use. Earlier courses and workshops address information design, web development, digital scholarship, visual information, research methods, and academic technology.

Teaching & workshop archive →

07

Training, Professional Development & Certifications

Continuing professional development in cybersecurity, responsible AI, research computing, data stewardship, digital preservation, project and technology management, assessment, leadership, and emerging academic technologies.

Professional development in academic record →

08

MLIS Graduate Coursework

Graduate formation in information organization, reference and research services, information systems, management, collections, digital libraries, information behavior, research methods, and the social foundations of information institutions.

09

Professional Organization Memberships

  • Research Data Alliance
  • International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
  • Coalition for Networked Information
  • American Library Association
  • ASIS&T
  • EDUCAUSE
Professional service & affiliations →

10

Languages

English
Primary

French
Secondary; immersion study

Ukrainian
Secondary

Contact

Research, speaking, teaching & advisory inquiries

A structured inquiry form routes research collaboration, invited presentations, workshops, editorial work, and selected advisory engagements to ruzwyshyn@gmail.com.