Dr. John Talburt, professor of information sciences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, was recently recognized with the 2014 Distinguished Member Award by the International Association for Information and Data Quality (IAIDQ).

The award recognizes members who have distinguished themselves through their outstanding contributions in the field of information and data quality.

Talburt’s award is a testament to his outstanding contributions to the information quality discipline and profession worldwide, according to IAIDQ officials.

“In addition, his academic leadership and research have significantly advanced the disciplines of information quality and entity resolution both nationally and internationally,” the IAIDQ press release stated.

Dr. Talburt was instrumental in establishing the Master of Science degree in information quality at UALR, the first such program in the nation. He also helped create the doctoral program that followed.

As a professor and coordinator of the information quality graduate program, he has guided the research, academic excellence, and professional success of countless students from across the globe.

He serves as executive director of the UALR Center for Advanced Research in Entity Resolution and Information Quality and is chief scientist at the startup, Black Oak Partners LLC.

He also co-authored IAIDQ’s seminal 2011 study the “Job Analysis Report: The Job of the Information/Data Quality Professional.”

Talburt serves as an advisor to the IAIDQ Board of Directors, where he contributes to the strategic direction of the organization and has played a vital role in the development of IAIDQ’s Information Quality Certified Professional (IQCP) credential.

Talburt invented several patents related to customer data integration. His current research interests are at the intersection of information quality and information integration, focusing in the areas of entity resolution and entity identification.

He has authored or co-authored a long list of research papers and four books on various aspects information quality and entity resolution.

Additional contributions include serving as a frequent chair or co-chair of the annual International Conference on Information Quality. Prior to his appointment at UALR he was a leader for research and development and product innovation at Acxiom Corp.

About IAIDQ

The International Association for Information and Data Quality is a nonprofit, vendor-neutral professional society of people who strive toward increasing the trustworthiness of information by promoting data quality as well as its governance. IAIDQ is a leading source of credible and unbiased best practices on how to improve information quality to deliver great business results. The mission of IAIDQ is to advance the quality of information around the world by building a community, supporting learning and sharing knowledge for the benefit of the profession and information consumers. Its members hold a wide range of positions, live across the globe, and work in all business-sector industries.