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Finding What You Need on Finding What You Need on the Internet:the Internet:

Celia M. ElliottDepartment of Physics

University of Illinoiscmelliot@uiuc.edu

Copyright © 2004 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

ProspectiveProspectiveCollaboratorsCollaborators

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Goals for this sessionGoals for this sessionLearn to use the NIH and other databases

to identify prospective collaboratorsLearn how to find contact information for

American scientists at universities and national laboratories

Learn how to use the Thomas Register to identify prospective commercial partners and find contact information for companies

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Finding a prospective scientific Finding a prospective scientific collaborator is a threecollaborator is a three--step processstep process

Step 1: Find out who is doing similar work

Step 2: Get an address

Step 3: Write and ask

Step 1: Who’s doing similar work?Step 1: Who’s doing similar work?

Check the technical literature

Explore databases of funded projects

Review conference programs

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Use the same technicalUse the same technical--literature literature resources, but this time get authors’ resources, but this time get authors’ names and affiliations names and affiliations

Journal articlesTechnical reportsePrint serversAbstract databasesDissertation databases

Anybody who published a technicalAnybody who published a technicalpaper is a prospective collaboratorpaper is a prospective collaborator——find someone whose work is mostfind someone whose work is mostclosely related to your ownclosely related to your own

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You’ve found an interesting paper, You’ve found an interesting paper, and the author might be a and the author might be a prospective collaboratorprospective collaborator

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Type the author’s name and Type the author’s name and affiliation into affiliation into GoogleGoogle

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Use the NIH CRISP database to find Use the NIH CRISP database to find prospective collaboratorsprospective collaboratorsGet PI names, titles, and affiliationsRead abstracts of funded projectsDifferentiate between currently funded

projects and completed projectsGo to http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/ and click on

the “Go to the CRISP query form” button

Type keywords into the “Enter search terms” field

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Searching tips for CRISPSearching tips for CRISP——web web math doesnmath doesn’’t workt work

The % is symbol is a wildcard; use to expand the keyword search

sodium ion channel

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Congratulations! You’ve found Congratulations! You’ve found 198 projects!198 projects!

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Two other government databases can Two other government databases can help you find prospective collaboratorshelp you find prospective collaboratorsNational Science Foundationhttp://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp

The NSF does not fund medical research or any research associated with human disease; it does fund basic biological, biochemical, biophysical, and bioengineering research

Biological and Environmental Research/DOEhttp://www.osti.gov/oberabstracts/index.jsp

The DOE supports research at the national laboratories and at universities on environmental and biomedical topics

National Science FoundationNational Science Foundationhttp://http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jspwww.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp

sodium ion channel

* is the wildcard

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Congratulations! You’ve found Congratulations! You’ve found 11 projects11 projects

Most NSF projects arefunded for three years

The award summary gives The award summary gives information about the grantinformation about the grant

PI’s name, email, and institution

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Scroll down for the abstractScroll down for the abstract

Biolog. and Environmental Researchhttp://http://www.osti.gov/oberabstracts/index.jspwww.osti.gov/oberabstracts/index.jsp

Can search in title, PI, F/Y, or institution

sodium ion channel

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AAAAACK! No results!

OBER funds research primarily on carbon sequestration, climate change, and environmental remediation science

http://www.er.doe.gov/production/ober/ober_top.html

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The two dissertation repositories can The two dissertation repositories can be a source of prospective partnersbe a source of prospective partners

Center for Research Librarieshttp://www.crl.edu/catalog/index.htm

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Type the author’s name into Type the author’s name into GoogleGoogle

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Conference programs are a source Conference programs are a source of prospective collaboratorsof prospective collaborators

Some websites maintain conference calendars

FASEB conference calendarhttp://www.faseb.org/meetings/default.htm

Check webpages of professional societies for “meetings”http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/subjects_soc.html

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Using a conference program to Using a conference program to identify a prospective collaboratoridentify a prospective collaborator

Speakers

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Step 2: You’ve identified a Step 2: You’ve identified a prospective collaborator, now prospective collaborator, now how do you find his address?how do you find his address?

Use the web to obtain email and Use the web to obtain email and postal addresses of collaboratorspostal addresses of collaborators

Most US universities and national labs have directories of the people who work there

Look for “Directories,” “Staff,” “Phone Book,” “Faculty” (at universities), “Employee Locator” (at national labs)

Type in the surname only of the person you wish to find

Directory of U.S. universitieshttp://www.google.com/options/universities.html

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URLs for US national labs are intuitiveURLs for US national labs are intuitiveLawrence Livermore National Laboratory

http://www.llnl.govOak Ridge National Laboratory

http://www.ornl.govBrookhaven National Laboratory

http://www.bnl.govArgonne National Laboratory

http://www.anl.govLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

http://www.lbl.govPacific Northwest National Laboratory

http://www.pnl.gov

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Use the “directories” to find peopleUse the “directories” to find peopleat the national laboratoriesat the national laboratories

Find “Phone Book”

Submit “Query”

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Use the science pages at the Use the science pages at the national labs, toonational labs, too

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Finding Elizabeth Robertsonat Harvard

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Faculty directory

Enter surname

http://www.harvard.edu

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Use the Thomas Register to Use the Thomas Register to identify prospective commercial identify prospective commercial partners and find company contact partners and find company contact informationinformation

US equipment manufacturershttp://www.thomasregister.com/

European equipment manufacturershttp://www.tremnet.com/

Must “register” to search, but it is free of charge

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First you must register and logFirst you must register and log--inin

Type in keywords

water pollution co

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View the “results”View the “results”

494 prospective partners!!

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Check other Internet resourcesCheck other Internet resourcesU.S. companies seeking long-term FSU

commercial partners (in Russian)http://bisnis-eurasia.org/

Practical advice from CRDFhttp://www.crdf.org/Industry/findpartners.html

Information about larger U.S. companies (financial data, products, competitors, locations, patents)http://www.hoovers.com/

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Step 3: You’ve identified a Step 3: You’ve identified a possible collaborator and possible collaborator and found his address. Now what found his address. Now what do you say?do you say?

Stay tuned…Stay tuned…

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Let’s review what we’ve learned…Let’s review what we’ve learned…How to use the NIH, NSF, and OBER

databases to find collaboratorsHow to use meeting programsHow to find contact information for

American scientists working at universities or the national laboratories

How to use the Thomas Register to find prospective commercial partners and contact information for U.S. companies

Other sources of information for business collaborations