Build an app that makes science more open
PLoS and Mendeley, the popular reference manager and academic social network, have teamed up to create a Binary Battle contest to build the best apps that make science more open using PLoS and/or Mendeley’s APIs (Application Programming Interface). There’s $16,000 in prize money to be won plus other cool gifts and the opportunity to get your entries in front of a panel of influential judges from technology, media and science that include:
Tim O’Reilly – Founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media which is changing the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators. Tim also co-hosts the annual Science Foo Camp with Google and Nature.
Dr. Werner Vogels – CTO of Amazon.com and former research scientist at Cornell University. Werner is one of world’s top experts on cloud computing and ultra-scalable systems.
Juan Enriquez – Managing Director of Excel Venture Management and CEO of Biotechonomy. Juan is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on the economic and political impacts of life sciences.
John Wilbanks – VP for Science at Creative Commons. Seed Magazine named John a “Game Changer” among their Revolutionary Minds of 2008.
James Powell – CTO of Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading information services company. Still a nerd at heart, James is particularly interested in how technology gets applied to solve problems.
We have two APIs for you to mine in this competition. The PLoS Search API allows anyone to build their own applications for the web, desktop or mobile devices using PLoS content. The Mendeley API opens up a database of over 80 million research papers, usage statistics, reader demographics, social tags, and related research recommendations. Since Mendeley got this competition up and running before PLoS joined the party, you can see what some people have already made using their API. It’s also worth knowing that Mendeley are organizing two simultaneous Hackathons at their NY and London offices on Saturday June 11-Sunday June 12, 2011.
Here’s the lowdown on the amazing prizes:
- Grand prize: $10001 + $1000 Amazon Web Services Credits
- Second prize: $5000 + $500 Amazon Web Services Credits – an extra $1000 plus a Parrott AR Drone Quadricopter is available to the best combined PLoS/Mendeley app.
- Last day to submit your app: September 30th 2011
- Winner announced on: November 30th 2011
Entries will be judged on criteria such as: activity; popularity/usefulness; whether it increases collaboration and/or transparency and how cool is it (does it make our jaws drop!). Please note, we can not accept entries from PLoS or Mendeley staff or their immediate families, their investors or board members. To get started, developers need to get a key from PLoS, Mendeley or both. Don’t forget, the last day to submit your app is September 30th 2011.
[…] The Mendeley & PLoS Binary Battle is a contest to build the coolest, most popular, and most useful application using Mendeley’s open database of over 90 million research papers, usage statistics, reader demographics, social tags, and related research recommendations or PLoS’s Search API which provides PLoS content for your desktop, web, or mobile application. You can find the full details on the Mendeley API Binary Battle page or read the announcement from PLoS. […]
[…] (along with Mendeley) is one of the sponsors of a recently announced contest looking to “build an app that makes science more open.” While it’s unclear exactly what’s […]
[…] The Official PLoS Blog Skip to content ← Build an app that makes science more open […]
I am interested in improving the quality of science teaching and learning in rural secondary schools in our country, Malawi – Africa. I believe that using ICT an interractive forum / system can be created and can make the teaching and learning more interesting. I am currently doing my Master Thesis whose title is “Use of ICT – Solution to the teaching and learning of physical science in Community day secondary schools in Malawi.” I would like to linknup with some experts Plos Blog who can help me check my thesis and it is my dream to turn my research into a project.
For those who don’t want to wait, there is a free app for PLoS One, called PLoS One to go. It is not pretty, but I use it to follow new papers of my field daily.
[…] you’re a developer, you may wish to enter your completed app into the Binary Battle. // Share| Download as ePub This entry was posted in Alt-Metrics, App competition, Social […]
This just in from Tim O’Reilly, Founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media and one of the competition judges: “we spend so much time on the consumer internet, it’s time to turn our attention to solving the hard and interesting problem of making Science go faster. I am looking forward to seeing the submissions for the Mendeley/PLOS Binary Battle”.
[…] apps for the Binary Battle competition must be received by September 30th. Tim O’Reilly looks forward to seeing your work! tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; tweetmeme_url = […]
[…] apps for the Binary Battle competition must be received by September 30th. Tim O’Reilly looks forward to seeing your creations – happy coding! // Share| Download as ePub This entry was posted in App […]
[…] our friends at Mendeley have been hard at work reviewing all the fantastic apps submitted to the PLoS/Mendeley Binary Battle. We’re pleased to announce the finalists, honorable mentions, and our PLoS Picks. Stay tuned for […]
[…] The Mendeley/PLoS Binary Battle now also features a public vote where you can vote for the Top 10+1 submissions. The result of the public vote will count as one point to be added to the expert judges votes. […]