Online ‘Discovery Portal’ meant to foster greater research collaboration
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery is launching a new and powerful online resource for finding researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Wisconsin Discovery Portal is a Web-based search tool and directory offering professional profiles of 2,600 UW–Madison researchers.
“As construction progresses toward the physical opening of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in 2010, we are committed to assisting researchers now in finding collaborators across scientific disciplines,” says Carl Gulbrandsen, chair of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Building Committee and Morgridge Institute for Research Board of Trustees. “Offering this new tool is one way we can encourage more collaborations to happen even before we open the doors to the institutes.”
The new public database uses an easy keyword search, similar to search engines such as Google. Anyone can use the tool to search for UW–Madison researchers by name, research interests, patent numbers or names, industry and company affiliates as well as numerous other keywords. The profiles are monitored and updated regularly to ensure information is kept current. UW–Madison researchers can request updates or changes to their current profile information, or request a profile be developed if they are not yet included in the portal.
“The Wisconsin Discovery Portal can help researchers find collaborators here on campus, as well as assist faculty and staff from other universities, and representatives from industry, find researchers with specific expertise and interests,” Gulbrandsen says. “The portal’s profiles list contact information for each researcher, as well as details about his or her work and background, including publications, research tools, facilities, funding and affiliations.”
Gulbrandsen, also managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the private, non-profit patenting, licensing and supporting organization for UW–Madison, notes that WARF funded the development of the portal and has made the staffing commitment to ensure it is updated and maintained in a timely manner. He explains that the portal itself was the result of collaboration between WARF employees and UW–Madison Division of Information Technology (DoIT) staff contracted to work on the project.
Former UW–Madison Chancellor John D. Wiley, who becomes interim director of the public Wisconsin Institute of Discovery in November, also sees great value in the new resource. “The Wisconsin Discovery Portal is a tangible, fast-acting key to opening the wealth of talent at UW–Madison,” he states. “Major scientific advances today increasingly are made only by researchers who seek out the skills and expertise of colleagues in other disciplines. The portal can help us connect the talents of our own faculty and staff, as well as offer a convenient way for researchers around the world to find collaborators at UW–Madison.”
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery is a unique public-private initiative made up of twin biomedical research institutes located under one roof, the private Morgridge Institute for Research and the public Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. The mission of the institutes is to facilitate interdisciplinary research and breakthrough discoveries to improve human health. The institutes will open in 2010 in a new facility located on the 1300 block of University Avenue on the UW–Madison campus. The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery is made possible by a $50 million gift from donors and UW–Madison alums John and Tashia Morgridge, matched by WARF as well as the State of Wisconsin.
