Awards and honours

May 2022: Nominated by a student for a Strathclyde Medal

October 2021: Honorary Member, CILIP Scotland

November 2018: People’s Choice Poster Prize for Nicol, E., & Rasmussen Pennington, D. (2018). Addressing self-harm via digital innovation. Poster presented at ‘Tomorrow’s World: The Next 10 Years of Mental Health Research’, Annual Scientific Meeting of NHS Research Scotland’s Mental Health Network.

2016: Nominee, President-elect, Association for Information Science & Technology

June 2014: Nominated to run for Director of Special Interest Groups, Association for Library and Information Science Education

June 2012: Nominated for the American Society for Information Science and Technology’s Thomson Reuters Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award.

January 2012: Accepted invitation to become an Associate Researcher, Lawson Health Research Institute.

Spring 2011: Accepted invitation to become an Emerging Investigator, Preventing Violence across the Lifespan (PreVAiL) Research Network.

October 2011: Recipient of the Special Interest Group Member of the Year Award, American Society for Information Science and Technology, for work as Chair of the Classification Research Special Interest Group (SIG CR).

October 2011: Received formal commendation from the American Society for Information Science and Technology’s Board of Directors for my work as Chair of the Webinar Task Force.

August 2010: Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney. Invited and hosted by Dr. Andrew J. Campbell.

August 2010: Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney. Invited and hosted by Dr. Michael Olsson.

November 2009: Founded and began serving as Director of the Prometheus Research Team – Information Science Branch. Invited by Dr. Andrew J. Campbell, Director of the Prometheus Research Team.

November 2009: Recipient of the American Society for Information Science and Technology’s Special Interest Group Publication of the Year Award for guest editing and contributing to: Neal, D. (Ed.) (2009, June/July). Special Section, “Visual representation, search and retrieval: Ways of seeing,” Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 35(5).

August 2008: Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney. Invited and hosted by Dr. Andrew J. Campbell.

May 2008: Invited to serve as a Research Associate for the Prometheus Research Team, based at the University of Sydney.

March 2008: Served as an Invited Delegate to “The Regulation of Cyberspace: Balancing the Interests,” a session of the Oxford Round Table, Exeter College, University of Oxford.

Spring 2005: Inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

August 2003: Recipient of The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries’ Applause Award.

July 2002: Selected for, and attended, Project LEAD’s 2002 Summer Workshop for Distance Learning Librarians, The University Center, The Woodlands, TX.

1998: Earned Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) Certification, Visual Basic for Desktop Applications

Media exposure

Calhoun, S. (2016, 13 May). New study: Emotions in U2 fan videos. The U2 Conference (blog post).

Rasmussen Neal, D. (September 19, 2012). Evolve or die: Modern classrooms need to change with times. Invited column about Social media for academics: A practical guide. Western News. http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/stories/2012/September/evolve_or_die_modern_classrooms_need_to_change_with_times.html

Invited guest on various documentaries surrounding social media on 106.9 The X (student-led radio station at Fanshawe College, London, ON).

Invited guest on The Biggs Show, News Talk 1290 CJBK on March 16, 2012, to discuss social media and my SSHRC grant research.

Everest, P. (March 29, 2012). What Bieber song makes people the happiest? London Community News, p. 23.

Sher, J. (March 20, 2012). Belieb it or not, profs study heartthrob’s success. London Free Press, pp. A1, A7. http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/03/19/19523711.html

Everest, P. (March 19, 2012). Western researchers looking at everything from Bieber to tattooed teachers. London Community News. http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2012/03/western-researchers-looking-at-everything-from-bieber-to-tattooed-teachers/

Interview by Kevin Cougler about information science research. Virtual researcher on call. Posted June 14, 2011. http://www.vroc.ca/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/480-cw-episode-5-information-scientist.html

Communications Staff. (September 7, 2011). Neal excited about new role. Western News. http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/stories/2011/September/neal_honored_with_new_role_.html

Travis, H. (May 26, 2011). Internet anonymity reduces mental health stigma. Western News. http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/stories/2011/May/internet_anonymity_reduces_mental_health_stigma.html

Damiano, A. (February 5, 2010). Faculty profile: Can technology ease mental health pressures? Western News. http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/stories/2010/February/faculty_profile_can_technology_ease_mental_health_pressures.pdf