The January 2012 issue of Research Trends featured an interview with SLIS faculty member Dr. Katy Börner. The article is by Gali Halevi, and is titled "The Power of Scientific Mapping and Visualization: an interview with Prof. Katy Börner."

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In the interview, Dr. Börner discussed her work as curator in the exhibit Places and Spaces: Mapping Science. Halevi wrote of the display: “The exhibit is a collaborative work between Börner and researchers in diverse disciplines including scientometrics, network science, geography, education, and information visualization. Together, they design maps of science which introduce unique visualization tools that capture knowledge and enable deeper understanding of global scientific, environmental and economic trends to name a few.” Excerpts from the interview can be found below.

From Dr. Katy Börner:

On the collaborative effort and process of Places and Spaces:

• “Each year, a call for maps is issued. This year’s Call for Maps for the 8th Iteration of the Places & Spaces: Mapping Science Exhibit on ‘Science Maps for Kids’ (2012) is at http://scimaps.org/call (Note: This call has now closed.) Map makers from many different countries and different areas of science submit individually or in teams. Submissions are carefully reviewed by the advisory board and external reviewers with expertise on the topic of the iteration. In 2012, we will invite children to serve as reviewers — if they cannot understand and make use of a map then this map will not be on display in the exhibit.”

On the 8th Iteration:

• “The 8th iteration of the Mapping Science exhibit is devoted to science maps that kids aged 5–14 can use to gain a more holistic understanding and appreciation of science and technology. Each map should be engaging and fun to peruse yet should have at least one concrete learning objective.”

Places and Spaces is currently on exhibit at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. An excerpt from the announcement by David Lazer, Associate Professor of Political Science and Computer Science at Northeastern University and Director at the Program on Networked Governance at Harvard University stated: “I am pleased to announce that Katy Börner will be our kick off speaker for the Boston-Cambridge Colloquium series on Complexity and Social Networks, on Thursday, February 2, 2012. Dr. Börner is well known for her wonderful maps of science, with a recent book from MIT Press—the Atlas of Science. Her talk also marks the launching of the Places and Spaces exhibit of her work at Snell Library at Northeastern during February and March."

Posted March 15, 2012