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<div><font color="#000000">Hi there!<br>
<br>
Yesterday the NSF unveiled its completely revamped web site, which now
focuses more on the general public. Thought many of you might be
interested in checking it out (see below).<br>
<br>
I attended a meeting last October where my NSF counterparts discussed
the upcoming web site and how it will have a ravenous appetite for
cool university research stories funded by NSF. So keep those story
ideas coming (whether or not related to NSF :).<br>
<br>
In fact, I just alerted NSF yesterday to two cool MIT stories that
they would indeed like to feature on their site; learned of both from
MIT Editors! Many thanks to Carol Breen of physics (an undergrad there
and colleagues discovered the three biggest stars ever) and Debbie
Levey of Civil/environmental engineering (one of her profs is
traveling to Sri Lanka in a week to do research involved with the
aftereffects of the tsunami). Both stories are NSF-funded all the
way.....and my counterparts at NSF weren't aware of them. See???
Communicators at MIT aren't the ONLY ones who are often the last to
hear about cool stuff......<br>
<br>
Cheers,<br>
<br>
Elizabeth</font></div>
<div>News Office</div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">PIO Colleagues: </font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">Voila! (And "yikes!" ;)
It's done! Check it out ...</font> <a
href="http://www.nsf.gov"><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">http://www.nsf.gov</font></a></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">After a month of beta-testing and more than a year of
preparation (and argument, angst, and various forms of
influencing ;), NSF went live yesterday with our brand-new web site.
It's entirely redesigned to focus on the general public while also
delivering more efficiency to our PIs. Please see media
advisory at bottom.</font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">So what's the difference? Too many to name.
Just compare to the old site, at: </font><a
href="http://www-dev.nsf.gov"><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF"><u>http://www-dev.nsf.gov</u></font></a><font
face="Arial" size="-1" color="#0000FF"> (if you can access it
beyond our firewall).</font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">If you know the history and culture of NSF, you know
what a big step this is from a public affairs perspective. It's
reallly our first major public affairs emphasis on the general public
as a key audience. Not everyone in NSF is happy about the
outcome, but then, we knew that would be the
case. </font><br>
<font color="#0000FF"></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font color="#0000FF"> </font><br>
<font color="#0000FF"></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">Here's a paragraph from the memo circulated to
NSF staff to inform them of the change: </font><br>
<font color="#0000FF"></font>
<blockquote><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#0000FF">"The new
site is the end product of more than 18 months of discussions, focus
groups, customer surveys and interviews, and weekly WIG meetings.
Its design bears little resemblance to its predecessor. In large
part, that's because it is intended to accomplish two sweeping goals
mandated by senior management: To inform the general public directly
about NSF-supported research and education in the most vivid,
understandable and exciting ways; and to achieve a consistent "look
and feel" across all the online offerings from NSF's seven
directorates and numerous offices. The new site also offers
advanced features to accomplish many of the agency's e-government
goals, a continuously updated roster of programs and deadlines, and
various tools to make it easier to deal with NSF."</font><br>
<font color="#0000FF"></font></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">Please feel free to publicize this in your
organization newsletters, etc. (Copies of resulting
publicity is welcome...but not necessasry.)</font><br>
<font color="#0000FF"></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font color="#0000FF"> </font><br>
<font color="#0000FF"></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">Yours, Mary Hanson</font><br>
<font color="#0000FF"></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0000FF">NSF Public Affairs</font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font
color="#0000FF"><br></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font color="#0000FF"> </font><font
face="Verdana" size="-1">Some key features that are aimed at the
general public:</font><br>
<font face="Verdana" size="-1"></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>
<ul>
<li><font face="Verdana" size="-1">A help center describing the new
features<br>
</font><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/help"><font face="Verdana"
size="-1">http://www.nsf.gov/help</font></a><font face="Verdana"
size="-1">
<li>A plain-language explanation of NSF and how it works<br>
</font><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp"><font
face="Verdana"
size="-1">http://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp</font></a><font
face="Verdana" size="-1">
<li>General overviews on the types of science that NSF supports<br>
</font><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/overviews"><font
face="Verdana"
size="-1">http://www.nsf.gov/news/overviews</font></a><font
face="Verdana" size="-1">
<li>Results of NSF research<br>
</font><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/"><font face="Verdana"
size="-1">http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/</font></a><font
face="Verdana" size="-1">
<li>Examples of NSF-supported TV programs and other informal education
efforts<br>
</font><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/now_showing/"><font
face="Verdana"
size="-1">http://www.nsf.gov/news/now_showing/</font></a><font
face="Verdana" size="-1"></font></ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Verdana" size="-1">Additional
features that are aimed at the science and education
community:</font><br>
<font face="Verdana" size="-1"></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>
<ul>
<li><font face="Verdana" size="-1">A new "funding" section,
including an A-Z index, and upcoming due dates<br>
</font><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/funding/"><font face="Verdana"
size="-1">http://www.nsf.gov/funding/</font></a><font face="Verdana"
size="-1">
<li>A new way to find NSF employees<br>
</font><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/staff/"><font face="Verdana"
size="-1">http://www.nsf.gov/staff/</font></a><font face="Verdana"
size="-1">
<li>Quick access to science and engineering statistics<br>
</font><a href="http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/"><font face="Verdana"
size="-1">http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/</font></a><font
face="Verdana" size="-1">
<li>Consistent design to NSF directorates, divisions and
programs</font></ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font
color="#0000FF"><br></font></blockquote>
<div><br></div>
<x-sigsep><pre>--
</pre></x-sigsep>
<div>=================================<br>
Elizabeth A. Thomson<br>
Assistant Director, Science & Engineering News<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
News Office, Room 11-400<br>
77 Massachusetts Ave.<br>
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307<br>
617-258-5402 (ph); 617-258-8762 (fax)<br>
<thomson@mit.edu><br>
<br>
<http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/www><br>
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