2010 Call for Tony Kent Strix Nominations

UKeiG is now seeking nominations for 2010 for this prestigious award.

The UKeiG Tony Kent Strix Award is given in recognition of an outstanding practical innovation or achievement in the field of information retrieval. This could take the form of an application or service, or an overall appreciation of past achievements from which significant advances have emanated. The Award is open to individuals or groups from anywhere in the world. The deadline for nominations is Friday 24th September 2010. Further details of the award together with the address to which nominations should be sent are given below and at http://www.ukeig.org.uk/awards/.

The UKeiG Tony Kent Strix Award

Nominations should be for achievement that meets one or more of the following criteria:

• a major and/or sustained contribution to the theoretical or experimental understanding of the information retrieval process;
• development of, or significant improvement in, mechanisms, a product or service for the retrieval of information, either generally or in a specialised field;
• development of, or significant improvement in, easy access to an information service;
• a sustained contribution over a period of years to the field of information retrieval; for example, by running an information service or by contributing at national or international level to organisations active in the field.

Key characteristics that the judges will look for in nominations are innovation, initiative, originality and practicality.

The information to be supplied in the initial nomination should comprise:

• The name, institutional address and qualifications of the nominee
• A brief biography (not more than half a page of A4)
• A relevant bibliography (i.e. not comprehensive but including the key publications relevant to the nomination)
• A justification for the nomination, of not more than half a page of A4, showing clearly which of the Strix award criteria the nominee meets and how the criteria are met

It is likely that the Award Committee will request additional information from the nominators for those nominees considered suitable candidates for the award.

Nominations should reach the judges by Friday September 24th 2010.

The Strix Award is presented in memory of Dr Tony Kent, a past Fellow of the Institute of Information Scientists, who died in 1997. Tony Kent made a major contribution to the development of information retrieval and information services both in the UK and internationally, particularly in the field of chemistry. The name Strix was chosen both to reflect Tony's interest in ornithology, and the name of one of the last and most successful information retrieval packages which he created.

Past winners have been Carol Ann Peters (2009); Kalervo Jarvelin(2008); Mats Lindquist (2007); Stella Dextre Clarke (2006); Jack Mills (2005); Professor Cornelis Joost (Keith) van Rijsbergen (2004); Dr Herbert van Sompel (2003); Malcolm Jones (2002); Professor Peter Willett (2001); Dr Martin Porter (2000); Dr Donna Harman (1999); and Professor Stephen Robertson (1998).

Nominations for the 2010 Award are now invited, and should be sent to:

Chris Armstrong
Penbryn
Bronant
Aberystwyth
SY23 4TJ
UK
Tel: +44 1974 251302
E-mail: lisqual@cix.co.uk

Notes:

UKeiG is an established professional group for all information professionals, users and developers of electronic information resources. The Group encourages communication and the exchange of best practice and knowledge across all sectors; and offers an e-journal, a mailing list, an annual programme of training courses; and an array of awards and bursaries. UKeiG is a Special Interest Group of CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE. Registered Charity No. 313014.