Alex Cabada

Biography

Elisandro Cabada is an Assistant Professor and the Emerging Technologies and Immersive Scholarship Librarian at the Grainger Engineering Library where he leads the technology-rich IDEA Lab digital scholarship center. Elisandro holds faculty appointments in the University Library and in the engineering-based Carle Illinois College of Medicine. His research interests include studying barriers to access, pedagogical affordances, and application of emerging and immersive technologies in research and instruction.

Elisandro is a first generation American and college student and life-long Illini, having attended Illinois for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. Elisandro is a mentor in the campus Health Maker Lab network where he provides guidance and expertise around emerging technologies for project awardees of the annual Health Make-a-Thon. Elisandro joined the IMMERSE leadership team in 2024 as the Lead for Special Projects where he works on efforts such as developing immersive infrastructure campus-wide. He is a 2021 recipient of the American Library Association Best Emerging Technology Application (BETA) Award and was selected as a 2022 Library Journal Mover and Shaker for Innovation.

Learn more about Alex Cabada and his work visit https://idealab.illinois.edu/.