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New faculty profile: Ryan Whalen

Posted by Miriam Breslow on August 30, 2016 in News

Where are you from? What did you do before coming to Dalhousie?

I am originally from the north shore of Nova Scotia, but have lived in a number of places including central Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Taiwan and England. Prior to coming to Dalhousie I spent six years in Chicago doing a JD and a PhD at Northwestern University.

What drew you to the School of Information Management and Dalhousie?

I was drawn to SIM because, as an information school in a faculty of management, it offers a unique interdisciplinary atmosphere. Dalhousie is one of Canada’s best universities, and best places to work. It also didn’t hurt that it is located in one of my favourite places on Earth.

What are your research and teaching interests?

My research interests focus mostly on issues relating to innovation policy, intellectual property law and legal informatics. I approach these issues from a data-driven, information science perspective, with particular interests in both network analytics and natural language processing.

My teaching interests are inspired by my research. I’m excited to teach classes of substantive interest to our information school students, like information policy, as well as more methods-oriented classes like Introduction to Data Science that will help give students the skills they need to be successful in the 21st century workplace.

What were your first impressions of the School/Faculty/Dalhousie?

I was initially impressed with the collegiality and “small town” feel here at Dalhousie. People all seem genuinely friendly, eager to help and curious about what one another are doing.

What’s your favourite thing (so far) about working here?

So far, I’m very excited by the freedom to focus my research interests in the interdisciplinary way that I want to. My work spans multiple disciplinary areas, like law and information science. SIM’s interdisciplinary nature means I don’t have to forgo any area of interest to fit myself within a constrained disciplinary box. I’m instead free to work in a variety of areas that are all relevant in their own way to SIM, and the Faculty of Management more broadly.

Tell me about something you’ve accomplished.

During my time at Northwestern Law, I was elected editor-in-chief of the Northwestern University Law Review, one of the oldest and most well established legal publications in the United States, with over 110 years of continuous publication. The editor-in-chief role has been occupied by some truly inspirational individuals, so to have my peers express their confidence in my research and management capabilities was very humbling.

What advice would you give to a new faculty or staff member?

As a new faculty member, I feel that I should probably be on the other end of the advice giving/receiving relationship. Nonetheless, something I’m going to try to do is connect on a personal level with my students. I want them to feel that I’m available not just as an instructor, but also as an advisor. I’m keen to help them succeed to the extent that I’m able to do so.

What’s something most people here don’t know about you?

I used to work as a professional juggler, actor and entertainer. I performed on four continents for audiences as diverse as second-graders and heads of state. I still juggle from time-to-time, so if you’re ever at the Dalplex and you see a guy absorbed in throwing and catching lots of things, there’s a good chance it’s me trying to get in some practice.