2006 Innovative Library Access

Guangxi University of Technology Library, China
Developing a virtual reference service
This grant will create a real-time virtual library reference service at Guangxi University of Technology, a comprehensive university focusing on engineering in Liuzhou City, China. By empowering librarians to take an active role in providing services for students, this program will not only promote public access to knowledge, but it will also serve as a model to other institutions in the region. The benefits will reach over 17,000 students, who will now be able to interact with librarians and find reference solutions any time, any place.

Hanoi Agricultural University, Vietnam
Enhancing librarian knowledge and information literacy
This project is focused on preserving and disseminating content in agriculture, fishery and forestry by enhancing professional knowledge and information literacy for librarians in agriculture, fishery and forestry universities in Vietnam. It will also establish a network of information literacy librarians who will contribute to the goal of producing high-level agricultural thinkers.

Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam
Promoting research in traditional medicine
Traditional medicine has a very special place in the fabric of Vietnamese culture. This grant aims to preserve and sustain traditional thought in medicine by building a database for disseminating traditional medicine research results at Hanoi Medical University for use in combination with modern medicine in disease prevention and treatment.

National Information Technology Park, Mongolia
Digitizing the first research library in Mongolia
This grant will result in the digitization of the first research & development library in Mongolia with the aim to digitize all doctors' theses and R&D. This project will mark the first digitization of medical information in Mongolia, making material available for wider use and dissemination and providing access to this information for scientists, students and the general public.

Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand
Fostering local science and technology research
This grant will allow Suranaree University of Technology to begin constructing self-learning, computer-based modules to preserve and teach local and traditional knowledge focusing on science and technology for secondary schools in Nakhon Ratchasima, where Suranaree University is located.

Zhejiang University of Technology Library, China
Improving library service via e-resource reorientation
Zhejiang University of Technology will use a survey technique to identify researchers' usage patterns, which will enable the libraries of Zhejiang to better meet the needs of their users. By filling in the gaps in use of A&I databases, the grant aims to increase the efficiency and value of A&I research in China.

2006 Scholars Program

Boston University
This grant supports the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Initiative at Boston University. As part of an active program of mentoring and leadership development for women scholars, WISE will sponsor an outstanding female graduate student.

California Institute of Technology
The grant will support the work of Dr. Lisa Taneyhill, who is exploring the target and function of genes involved in neural crest induction and migration in the laboratory of Dr. Bronner-Fraser. The grant will support her continued scholarship and her role as a mentor for other women scholars at California Institute of Technology.

University of California, Berkeley
The UC Berkeley “Big Ideas @ Berkeley” program supports young scholars in implementing community programs. As a part of this program, this grant will enable Dr. Madelaine Plauché, a post-doctoral field researcher at the International Computer Science Institute at Berkeley, to deploy the Open Sesame Project Toolkit in four village centers in Tamil Nadu, India. The Open Sesame Project sponsors access to online information for all literacy levels in developing regions of India by creating open-source and easy to use spoken dialog systems for training and education purposes.

University of California, Berkeley
As part of the “Big Ideas @ Berkeley” program, the Science Technology and Engineering Policy Group (STEP) seeks to create better technology policy through collaborations between scientists, technologists and policy-makers. This grant will enable Kate Hammond, a joint Ph.D. candidate at the University of California-Berkeley and UCSF, to develop training programs that provide scientists with the skills to communicate effectively and understand the decision-making process of political institutions.

Dependent Care Program, Princeton University
Princeton University aims to establish a dependent care program to address the worrisome trend of female Ph.D. candidates unable to pursue their careers as science and engineering professors while raising a family. This grant will allow Princeton to begin funding a program to help graduate students and post-doctoral fellows with the necessary childcare associated with travel to academic conferences.

Annual Award, Society of Toxicology
As part of an initiative to promote leadership in the field, this grant will establish and fund an annual award over three years. The Society of Toxicology is a global leader in advancing science to enhance human, animal, and environmental health.

Day Nursery, Keio University, Japan
In an effort to support women scholars with family responsibilities, this grant will help contribute to the establishment of a day care program at Keio University, the oldest private university in Japan.