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Alan Escovitz, Steve Acker and Dennis Pearl with medals at Computerworld Honors Awards

Five Ohio State innovative technology projects were nominated by Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, and received prestigious Computerworld Honors Laureate Awards on April 6 in San Francisco. These awards, - among only 300 projects worldwide, were automatically eligible for the distinguished Computerworld 21st-Century Achievement Awards in the categories of Education & Academia and Media, Arts & Entertainment.

On April 15, two of the five Laureates, the Pew Statistical Buffet and Web Media Collective, were deemed most outstanding by a panel of judges distinguished in that field, and will be given special recognition as Worldwide Finalists in ceremonies in Washington, DC. One Worldwide Finalist from each category will be selected for a 21st Century Achievement Award. [see Finalists]

The Computerworld Honors Program brings together the chairmen or chief executive officers of the 100 foremost information technology companies in the world to help leading universities, libraries and research institutions document a revolution in progress, the global information technology revolution.

The Ohio State programs receiving this honor include the Pew Statistical Buffet (finalist), Web Media Collective (finalists), Scientific and Information Literacy in the Life Sciences, Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Students with Disabilities and Faculty and Administrator Modules in Higher Education (FAME), and the Transportable Internet Satellite System.

The case studies from Ohio State are now part of a collection that includes over 300 of the year's most innovative applications of technology from 36 states and 33 countries.

About the projects

Pew Statistical Buffet [Education & Academia]: The buffet model provides students a choice of content delivery strategies in a multi-section course. The choice is exercised through an online contract informed by a detailed self-assessment and the testimony of previous learners. Automated course administration and individualized Web content optimizes each student’s experience and success while decreasing costs. Project director: Dennis Pearl (Statistics) [Details]

Scientific and Information Literacy in the Life Sciences [Education & Academia]: Faculty, technologists, and librarians working as an interdisciplinary learning community are building a curriculum to teach information literacy and scientific reasoning for students studying the life sciences. The interdisciplinary curriculum model shows how knowledge is broadly connected and that scientific, humanistic, and information literacy skills are all needed to understand compelling social issues grounded in the life sciences, such as genetic engineering. Project director: Stephen Acker (TELR/CIO). Acker accepted the award on behalf of The Menagerie, an interdisciplinary research and development team of 26 faculty and staff from eight OSU colleges and four administrative offices. [Details]

Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Students with Disabilities and Faculty and Administrator Modules in Higher Education (FAME) [Education & Academia]: The dual projects of Steppingstones and (FAME) are designed to create interactive Web-based curricula to improve the quality of education for students with disabilities at the high school and college levels, respectively. Project director: Margo Izzo (Nisonger Center) [Details]

Transportable Satellite Internet System (TSIS) [Education & Academia]: TSIS is a small transportable high-speed Internet dish that is expanding teaching and learning opportunities for people in rural areas while providing a test bed for the development of a new generation of distributed and hybrid system architecture, applications and protocols. Co-project directors: Alan Escovitz and Robert Dixon (CIO) [Details]

Web Media Collective [Media, Arts & Entertainment]: Every piece of media--books, TV programs, music, photographs, art, software, etc.--captures a particular society's knowledge and values in a form that can be passed on to future generations. This project is aimed at making these "knowledge artifacts" accessible so that future generations can gain a deeper understanding of the human experience. Project director: Diane Dagefoerde (Humanities) [Details]

About the Computerworld Honors Program

The Computerworld Honors Program is the premier venue for recognizing innovative applications of technology that benefit society. The awards are presented annually at a gala event held at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. It is a joint venture between Computerworld and the Smithsonian Institution.

The Honors Program, also referred to as a "Search for New Heroes," preserves and protects the primary source materials, such as case studies, video tapes, oral histories, biographies, conference proceedings, publications, and other records generated through this laureate program. These innovations are then made available to both scholars and the general public, not only online, but also through a program of source and license donations to affiliated universities, libraries, and research institutions around the world. [Details]