How to Find People, Membership Details, or Contact Information for CIIR

The Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval (CIIR) at UMass Amherst publishes its people, membership, and contact information through separate sections of its website. If you want to reach a specific researcher, explore joining as a member organization, or ask about internships, start from the main navigation menu, which links directly to People, Membership, Contact Us, and Join Us. The People section is the right entry point for identifying individuals by role; Membership covers organizational participation; Contact Us and Join Us handle direct inquiries.

Finding people at CIIR

The People section organizes the center's community by role, so you can locate the right person before reaching out:

• Faculty
• PostDocs/Researchers
• Staff
• Graduate Students
• Alumni
• Visitors

This structure matters because CIIR's work spans current researchers, former members, and visiting scholars. If you are looking for a collaborator on a current project, the faculty and postdoc/researcher listings are the most relevant. If you are trying to trace prior work or reconnect with someone who has moved on, the alumni list is the place to check.

The site also shows that CIIR's community stays active beyond the university: a news item notes that CIIR alums gathered with CIIR Director James Allan on September 29, 2026, in Palo Alto, CA, during an event hosted by the UMass Amherst Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences. That kind of item is useful context if you are trying to understand who is connected to the center, but for direct contact details, use the People and Contact Us sections rather than news posts.

Membership and collaboration

The Membership section is aimed at organizations and individuals interested in formal participation. It includes a Members list, so you can see who already participates before deciding whether to inquire. The navigation also includes a Membership entry alongside Research, People, and News, which indicates that membership is treated as a distinct, ongoing program rather than a one-off contact form.

If your goal is collaboration rather than membership, the same section is the logical starting point, since it describes how the center structures external relationships. The site does not publish pricing or eligibility terms in the material available here, so treat membership cost and requirements as something to confirm directly through the contact channels rather than assuming they are free or open.

Contact and joining

Two separate paths exist for getting in touch:

• Contact Us — for general inquiries, questions about the center, or reaching specific people.
• Join Us — for those who want to become part of CIIR, whether as a student, researcher, or participant in a program.

Keeping these distinct helps you pick the right form or address: use Contact Us when you have a question, and Join Us when you are asking to participate.

Internships as an entry point

The CIIR Internship Program appears in the main navigation, which makes it one of the more direct ways to get involved if you are earlier in your career or exploring the center before committing to a longer affiliation. If you are a student or recent graduate, checking the internship program alongside Join Us gives you two concrete routes into the center.

What the news page tells you about staying connected

The Latest News page is not a contact channel, but it is useful for timing your outreach. Recent items include:

• A new generation of real-world AI search technology unveiled on October 7, 2026, tied to the CIIR's 34th anniversary.
• A CIIR gathering in California on September 29, 2026.
• A SIGIR 2026 Test of Time Award Honorable Mention for Jeffrey Dalton, Laura Dietz, and James Allan.
• CIIR alums at SIGIR 2026, including an Early Career Research Award for Keping Bi.

The page also notes that new IR papers are posted on Twitter via Hamed Zamani (@HamedZamani), and it offers a Subscribe to Latest News option. If you want to approach someone about a specific research area, checking recent news first can help you reference current work rather than a generic inquiry.

Quick reference

For anything involving cost, eligibility, or deadlines, confirm directly through Contact Us or Join Us, since those details are not specified on the pages summarized here.