WSA 07 Awards in Venice (10)

Category; e-Science

The category e-Science is often seen as a category for products popularising science. The entry China Digital Science and Technology Museum is characteristic for this trend in e-Science. The same goes for the projects Virtual Atomic Energy Museum and The Metopes of Selinunte. But this selection also contains toold for scientists such as Portal Cuban Science Network. Really special is the tool Geneious Pro, which visualises bio-chemical structures; as such it is a tool for researchers and a tool for teachers.

Below are the jury reports:

Title: China Digital Science and Technology Museum
Producer: Department of Science Popularization/China Association for Science and Technology
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: www.cdstm.cn
Country: China
Description of the Product
Impressive science! The China Digital Science and Technology Museum website integrates highest quality educational resources of an impressive range. It exhibits the development of science and technology by exceptional virtual reality and multimedia contents. Eight Virtual Museums and two Interactive Experience Zones engage users to learn through interactive technologies. A resources bank contains materials for educators and allows interested users to create their own digital contents including cartoon works and audio and video files. Six Science Popularization Columns present essential concepts in Science and Technology in a most effective form. The site is continuously updated and contains currently 1 terabyte of data.

Title: Geneious Pro
Media Format: broadband/online
Producer: Biomatters Limited
URL: www.geneious.com
Country: New Zealand
Description of the Product
Science profits from e-content. The platform independent, Java-based, web-enabled application Geneious Pro enables scientists to swiftly search, organize and analyze genomic information in a collaborative environment. Complex data such as entire bacterial genomes or human chromosomes can be stored, visualized and analyzed on a single desktop application. Geneious brings advanced computational biology within the reach of any professional researcher. It includes unique features, such as patented data mining algorithms with connections to the world’s most important scientific databases, secure collaboration features, and tools like interactive teaching tutorials and plug-ins developed by leading international scientists.

Title: The Metopes of Selinunte
Title in Original Language: Le Metope di Selinunte
Media Format: offline/DVD, CD-ROM
Producer: SIBA - Università del Salento
Country: Italy
Description of the Product
Archeology is brought to life by e-content. The Metopes of Selinunte CDROM allows virtual visitors today to enjoy a live experience of the Greek colony of Selinunte two thousand years ago. An exceptional graphic design makes the visit a memorable fact. It offers also an inside view on the complex process of scientific virtual reconstruction of archaeological relicts. A documentary video, interviews with the exponents of this work and interactive windows with the virtualized sculptures are fundamental to this rich-media cultural product. Renderings and 3D models created from reality, scientific articles, and text cover all facets. Spatial information provides an effective understanding of the site of the three Metopes of Temple C of Selinunte.

Title: Virtual Atomic Energy Museum
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: museum.rosenergoatom.ru
Producer: Press Center of Nuclear Power Industry
Country: Russian Federation
Description of the Product
Peaceful science needs understanding. The Virtual Atomic Museum is part of a larger educational initiative in Russia that provides information regarding peaceful uses of atomic energy to audiences of all ages. The museum gathered a huge amount of original material regarding the history, the people, and the science behind "the peaceful atom". The website impresses in the depth and breadth of its content. In a world where "nuclear" is seen as a necessary evil, this museum shows also the benefits brought to the world by peaceful uses of atomic energy, as well as the memories and personalities of this branch of science. It also includes information about the moral and spiritual aspects of the technology and present developments in nuclear power engineering in Russia and worldwide.

Title: Portal Cuban Science Network
Title in Original Language: Portal de acceso a la Red Cubana de la Ciencia
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: www.redciencia.cu
Producer: Information Technologies and Advanced Telematic Services (CITMATEL)
Country: Cuba
Description of the Product
Science needs collaboration. The Cuban Science Network offers information contents and services and is devised as a space for collaboration and interaction with institutions, scientists and professionals in Cuba and Spanish speaking countries. The site contains content on natural and social sciences topics and from many sources such as the Cuban Academy of Sciences, the Cuban Observatory of Science and Technology and Research Centers. The Cuban Science Network functions a laboratory for the introduction of new technologies and new sources of new knowledge. The information is personalized by user's profiles and it is a space for co-operation and interaction. The Cuban Science Network spreads scientific technical results to education and training forming a culture of innovation.

Blog Posting Number: 921

Tags: e-science