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 Elsevier Collaborates with MIT Researchers to Increase Access to Scientific Web across the Developing WorldElsevier has announced a special collaboration with researchers in the renowned Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to bring the benefits of the scientific web to researchers around the world. Low bandwidth and poor connectivity often prevent scientists in developing countries from reaping the full benefits of searching the Internet. The “Time Equals Knowledge” (TEK) technology developed at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) overcomes this barrier by minimizing the time users need to be connected, while still enabling them to carry out an online search. “Search Scirus with TEK”, combines Scirus, Elsevier’s award-winning scientific search engine, with TEK’s low bandwidth solution to maximize access to the scientific web in developing countries.Researchers at institutions in developing countries submit a query through the TEK search engine, which is emailed directly to MIT. The TEK Server searches the web, locates pages, selects which pages to send back, compresses them, and returns them back to the user. Because the search results are returned asynchronously, by email, the connectivity charges are lower, addressing the common low bandwidth concerns experienced in developing countries. Elsevier’s Scirus search engine will add to the TEK project by providing access to the scientific subset of the web. As part of “Search Scirus with TEK,” Scirus will enable researchers to retrieve only the most accurate and relevant search results while spending minimum time online. Moving forward, Elsevier and MIT researchers will expand their collaboration to include institutions with specific expertise in information provision to developing countries in order to move the project through to the deployment phase. “Search Scirus with TEK” can help bridge the information divide between technologically advanced and developing countries, serving the global scientific community at large,” said Sharon Mombru, Senior Product Manager of Scirus. “Scirus’ involvement in the TEK project also builds on Elsevier’s ongoing commitment to delivering valuable scientific information to developing areas and bringing researchers closer to both peers and individual research communities.” "We are excited to collaborate with Elsevier to offer a robust, user-friendly and valuable service to researchers across the globe,” said Saman Amarasinghe, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. "Elsevier brings years of experience in organizing and retrieving information, and understands the needs and constraints of end-users. We hope that organizations with access to users in these countries will take Elsevier’s lead and get involved in “Search Scirus with TEK” to help put this initiative into practice and extend the reach of valuable scientific information available on the Internet.” To read the full press release click here |
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