News Briefs

UNC institute to receive award recognizing
Internet multimedia efforts in science, technology

UNC’s Institute for Science Learning (ISL) will on Thursday (May 26) receive the Pirelli INTERNETional Award, the world’s first Internet multimedia award aimed at the diffusion of scientific and technological culture worldwide.
The ISL will be honored for best multimedia educational product. The ISL’s Instructional Media Group conceived and designed the award-winning “Microarrays MediaBook,” an interactive tool combining textbook, classroom and hands-on learning experiences for students. The mediabook, focusing on science education in the field of genomics, is targeted at undergraduate students and accessible to professionals and non-scientists alike.

The award ceremony will be in Rome; the award, which was established in 1996, carries a $19,000 prize.

“We are thrilled to win a Pirelli award,” said Dr. Skip Bollenbacher, biology professor and director of the institute. “I am proud that an international jury has decided to honor the ISL’s innovative multimedia research and evaluation approach to learning.”

The “Mircoarrays MediaBook” was funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Center for Research Resources, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the U.S. Department of Education. The ISL worked with Center Line Productions in Raleigh to create the mediabook.

The ISL, approved by UNC in April 2004, works collaboratively to produce learning innovations to create a science learning renaissance. Destiny, UNC’s traveling science learning program, is among the ISL’s programs.

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CORRECTION: Dr. A. Malcolm Campbell, associate professor of biology at Davidson College, participated in the development of the curriculum materials honored by the Pirelli Prize. His contribution should have been recognized at the time the prize was awarded, and his participation should be noted in any future references to the prize or to the work that resulted in the award of the prize. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill regrets the omission.

Vietnamese scholars to attend UNC through agreement
with Vietnam Education Foundation

An agreement between UNC and the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) will allow top science and technology scholars from Vietnam to attend UNC for graduate studies.

The U.S. Congress created the VEF to promote closer bilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam through scholarships and educational exchange programs. Currently, more than 100 VEF fellows are attending 37 U.S. graduate institutions, mostly for doctoral degrees. All VEF fellows are required to return to Vietnam after completing their academic programs in the United States.

“This program is a very good display of cooperation across international lines for the sake of providing outstanding graduate education opportunities on a global level,” said Dr. Linda Dykstra, dean of the Graduate School.

The agreement between UNC and the VEF takes effect immediately to accommodate VEF fellows beginning studies in the fall. Fields of study are as diverse as biotechnology, environmental sciences and mathematics.

The Vietnamese graduate students are being supported jointly by UNC and the VEF.

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News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu