John Campbell Research Impact Award
The John Campbell Research Impact Award recognizes research that has had, or has the potential to have, a significant impact on industry, government or not-for-profit organisations, as well as impact on society. It honours John Campbell’s commitment to working on topics of relevance to practice, and his contributions to the Information Systems discipline. The prize is co-sponsored by the Australasian Association for Information Systems (AAIS) and ACPHIS, for which John Campbell has provided service over his career in support of the Information Systems community.
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Nomination
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The award is administered by AAIS. Details on eligibility and the nomination process can be found here:
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Award Background
John’s academic career began at Griffith University in 1988, through several years of appointments as a Teaching Fellow and Senior Teaching Fellow. Over the decade of 1995 to 2005, John held Lecturer and Senior Lecturer appointments at Griffith University. In this time, he completed his PhD in 2000, starting a prolific research career during which John found passion in exploring those aspects of Information Systems research that related to innovative and effective use of technology and systems, working closely with practitioners in his research. He moved to the University of Canberra to take up an Associate Professor role in 2005, followed by a Professorial appointment in 2010. In 2016, John made the decision to join colleagues at ANU as an Information Systems Professor.
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John’s primary research focus explored how users interact through information systems in the social world and, in particular, the ways in which organisational processes and community interaction are enacted through such systems. Much of his research has been interdisciplinary in nature, with a strong emphasis on relevance to business and management. His research contributions, which have appeared in a wide range of Information Systems journals and conferences, span diverse contexts including IT alignment, sustainability, remote work practices, tangible user interfaces, interface design for indigenous Australians, location-based education, and communicative practices in online communities. These areas of research were visionary, and became increasingly important areas of research need, also resulting in significant impact on practice and society.
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John also devoted his time to various leadership roles. While he was at Griffith University he held the roles of Deputy Head of School, and Head of School at various points in time. At the University of Canberra, John’s significant leadership included the roles of Director of Research, followed by Associate Dean (Research) and Director of National Institute for Systems Innovation. He was a member of the College of Experts with the Australian Research Council, on the Executive of the Australian Council of Professors and Heads of Information Systems, and was involved in numerous conferences and doctoral consortia.
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As well as being a fine academic, John was an accomplished bass guitar player, and a member of many bands. John played in two “academic” bands, both of which included Vice Chancellors among their members, the “Chancellors of Vice” at Griffith, and “the Hip Replacements” at University of Canberra.
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John’s many friends in the Information Systems community can attest to his great kindness. He offered unwavering support of PhD students and early career researchers and went out of his way to provide mentoring and advice and to introduce junior colleagues to senior people in the field to help grow their network of contacts. His friends and colleagues describe John as a creative and talented musician, and a person with a large heart who was always reliable and happy to help, with a great sense of humour thrown in.
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John Campbell passed away aged 59 after a journey with cancer, on Monday 14th January 2019. He is deeply missed.
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