A Northwestern University joint initiative of Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Science. Northwestern University joint initiative of Medill & McCormick School of Engineering.

Advancing news media innovation through exploration & experimentation.

About us

Northwestern University Knight Lab is a team of technologists, journalists, designers and educators working to advance news media innovation through exploration and experimentation. Straddling the sciences and the humanities, we agree that there has never been a more exciting time to be working at the intersection of media and technology. Every bit of what it means to be a journalist is being reassessed, redefined. While traditional news outlets are cutting back, many leading companies, digital-first organizations and startups are inventing the future of journalism. As an industry, we are witnessing a rebirth. As the Knight Lab, we are participating in a revolution.

The Lab develops prototypes, projects and services that help make information meaningful, promoting quality journalism, storytelling and content on the internet. Lab projects arise in response to ideas from news consumers, students, and faculty as well as in collaboration with news publishers of all sizes. As our technology becomes more realized, we work with publishers to install prototypes, gather feedback and iterate on the ideas that have momentum. We strive to make a difference no matter the project’s scale.

Located just outside Chicago, Northwestern University Knight Lab is a joint initiative of Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. The Lab was launched and is sustained by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, with additional support from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

Read the full history of Northwestern University Knight Lab >

Jump to professional staff

Founding faculty

  • Larry Birnbaum

    Associate Professor, McCormick School of Engineering

    Profile

    AI & journalism; 130+ papers, 15 patents; co-founder & PI, Knight Lab; co-founder & Chief Scientific Advisor, Narrative Science; BS, PhD Yale.

  • Rich Gordon

    Professor and Director of Digital Innovation, Medill School

    @richgor
    richgor@northwestern.edu
    Profile

    Journalism/tech intersection, my passion for 25 years: data journalism, Miami Herald web director, now hacker journalism. #iloveinnovation

  • Kristian Hammond

    Professor, McCormick School of Engineering

    Profile

    Research focuses on intelligent information systems; author of more than 100 papers. Ph.D. from Yale and previously on faculty at University of Chicago.

  • Owen Youngman

    Knight Professor of Digital Media Strategy, Medill School

    @YoungOwen
    o-youngman@northwestern.edu
    Personal website

    As a Chicago Tribune editor and executive, Owen Youngman focused on new products and innovation — launching Web businesses, RedEye, and more.

Faculty collaborators

  • Jeremy Gilbert

    Assistant Professor for Media Product Design, Medill School

    @jeremygilbert
    JGilbert@northwestern.edu
    Personal website

    A Medill, Northwestern faculty member who teaches, studies and practices human-centered design, usability and interactive storytelling.

  • Zach Wise

    Associate Professor, Medill School

    @zlwise
    Profile

    Emmy Award winning interactive producer & Associate Professor @NorthwesternU. Former senior multimedia producer at The New York Times. I do film, photo stuff.

Ph.D. students

  • Miriam Boon

    Ph.D. student, Technology and Social Behavior, McCormick School of Engineering and Northwestern’s School of Communication

    miriam@miriamboon.com

    Boon’s research interests lie at the intersection of computing, journalism, science, and democracy. Former journalist and editor.

  • Patrick McNally

    Ph.D. student, Computer Science, McCormick School of Engineering

    patrickmcnally2013@u.northwestern.edu

    McNally’s work focuses on machine generated or machine directed experiences that emerge from filtering raw information.

  • Shawn O’Banion

    Ph.D. student, Computer Science, McCormick School of Engineering

    @shawnobanion
    obanion@u.northwestern.edu
    Personal website

    Shawn is a Computer Science Ph.D. student at NU, where his research in AI encompasses information retrieval, NLP, and machine learning.

Undergraduate and graduate students fellows

  • Sarah Adler

    Designer, Journalism and Religious Studies (2013)

    @_sarah_adler
    Personal website

    Adler has designed a variety of projects for the Lab and was instrumental in developing the Lab’s new branding identity. Interned at WIRED and Sports Illustrated.

  • Stephen Autar

    Social Media and Writer, Journalism (2015)

    @stephenautar

    Autar Tweets from @knightlab and writes for the blog. He’s an editor at NU Intel and works with preschool and high school students around Chicago.

  • Emily Ferber

    Reporter, Journalism and Religious Studies (2014)

    @emily_ferber
    ejferber@gmail.com
    Personal website

    Ferber covers news and tech innovation at the Lab. Previous stints include ELLE and Medill Watchdog. She’ll join New York Mag for summer 2013.

  • Tyler Fisher

    Designer/Developer, Journalism (2014)

    @euphonos
    tyler@tylerjfisher.com

    Creator and developer of SoundCite, joining Gannett Content for summer 2013. Formerly of Chicago Tribune News Apps.

  • Hilary Fung

    Designer, Journalism and Economics (2013)

    @hil_fung
    Personal website

    A journalism student interested in visual storytelling and interaction design, Hilary is currently with the Washington Post graphics team.

  • Dan Hill

    Developer, Journalism (2013)

    @DanHillReports
    Personal website

    Journalism and computer science student. Organizer for the Online News Association at NU. Likes investigative reporting and bluegrass jams.

  • KK Rebecca Lai

    Designer, Journalism (2015)

    @kkrebeccalai
    Personal website

    A Hong Kong-er experiencing American culture through college. Interested in design and how stories are told through different mediums.

  • Dhrumil Mehta

    Developer, Computer Science (2013)

    LinkedIn

    Aspiring activist, educator, journalist, and academic. Studies AI and NLP. Wants to build technology for social and political empowerment.

  • Hilary Sharp

    Reporter, Journalism (2013)

    @hilarysharp_

    Covers technologists, journalists and news innovation for the Knight Lab. Previously at We The People Media, SAIL magazine and Red Frog Events.

  • Jessica Soberman

    Designer/Researcher, Journalism (2013)

    sobermanj@u.northwestern.edu
    LinkedIn

    Soberman develops news media products and tools for journalists. She is currently a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

  • Katie Zhu

    Designer/Developer, Computer Science and Journalism (2013)

    @kzhu
    kzhu91@gmail.com
    Personal website

    Zhu helps the Lab make internets. AP-Google scholar who loves computers, coffee and Beyoncé. Past: GOOD. Present: NPR. Future: New York Times, Twitter.

Lab professional staff

Professional Fellows