Hard work and innovation pay off! Government Computer News (GCN) [3] and Information Week have published their Top Ten Federal mobile apps lists, and Science.gov was the only interagency mobile application named to both! Since last year, over 100 federal agencies have established mobile apps in response to a recent White House initiative requiring them to make their services available for mobile use. GCN evaluated the apps on their usefulness, how helpful they actually were, and also on that intangible “cool factor.” GCN applauded Science.gov Mobile’s surprisingly powerful search engine that checks science data from 13 federal agencies and said “It could probably even be a boon to researchers to keep them from duplicating research, and it will certainly help your kids get an A on their science papers.” Information Week published its “10 Handy Mobile Apps From Uncle Sam [4]” and noted that: “(The) Science.gov site searches scientific information from more than 50 databases and 2,100 government-affiliated websites. On-the-go science buffs can now access that data trove via a mobile version of the website [5] or a downloadable Android app. Users can get Wikipedia and EurekAlert! results related to their searches.”
Researchers are like the rest of us. They’re pressed for time, often multi-tasking, and looking for that competitive edge. Discovery can come at any moment and it’s critical to have resources at your fingertips, now more than ever. That’s one of the reasons that Science.gov launched its mobile application in September 2011. And this handy scientific search tool isn’t just for scientists, it’s a great application for teachers preparing lessons or for kids doing homework where they can get answers from 13 federal agencies with just one click. Science.gov’s Mobile App is a great tool for anyone looking for answers to scientific questions that probably have been asked by some researcher at a federal agency before.
Needless to say, those of us who support Science.gov are really proud of this recognition because it’s not easy to stay on the “cutting edge” of technology. When the Science.gov Mobile Application was developed, the idea was to provide “science on the go” in an effective, helpful and attractive way. So it’s a real honor that both GCN and Information Week recognized Science.gov for taking these proactive steps to make more R&D available to a greater audience of science students, teachers and researchers.
And the “coolness factor?” That goes along with getting recognized for the hard work and dedication that’s gone into making Science.gov a better science product for the American public. Better yet, we’re even more excited about what’s to come from Science.gov. So stay tuned!
Science.gov’s mobile website is at http://m.science.gov/scigovmobile/ [5]. The app may be downloaded from Google Play or USA.gov. Read and learn more about Science.gov [6], the online gateway to over 50 databases and more than 2,100 selected websites from 13 federal agencies.