MathWorld Headline News

MathWorld Nominated for a 2003 Webby Award in Science

By Eric W. Weisstein

April 30, 2003--The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences has nominated Eric Weisstein's World of Mathematics ("MathWorld") for an award in the Science category as a part of the Seventh Annual Webby Awards. For the second year in a row (see MathWorld news story, May 8, 2002), this honor identifies MathWorld as one of the internet's top science sites and makes it eligible for the internet's two most prestigious awards: (1) The Webby Award and (2) The People's Voice Award.

Other nominees in the science category include exploreMarsnow, a website that contains no content usable without special plugins; HowStuffWorks, a website devoted to simplified explanations on various subjects including cars, travel, and finance; SCIENCE HOBBYIST, an eclectic site created for science amateurs and hobbyists; and Scirus, which bills itself as the most comprehensive science-specific search engine on the internet. Of these nominees, MathWorld is the only site from last year that has been renominated in 2003.

The Webby Award candidates are selected by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a diverse group of people representing luminaries in their content category as well as experts on the internet. They include such people as film director Francis Ford Coppola, musicians David Bowie and Beck, cyberguru Esther Dyson, CEO of Real Networks Rob Glaser, chef Julia Child, and Electronic Frontier Foundation cofounder John Perry Barlow. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Forbes Magazine, Details, Fast Company, ELLE, Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and Wallpaper. The Webbys were founded by Good Morning America internet expert Tiffany Shlain.

The People's Voice Award winners are selected by the online public. Anyone can vote. Voting for this award takes place at the People's Voice section of the Webby website. MathWorld readers are cordially invited to lend their voices and vote for their favorite science site.

Ballots for the People's Voice award will be accepted through May 23, and winners will be revealed on June 5 in San Francisco.

On a personal note, as MathWorld's creator and author (and author of this news story), I would like to take this opportunity to thank the thousands of readers who have visited MathWorld and offered valuable suggestions and contributions over the years. My thanks go out especially to those who supported the site during its extended absence as a result of a legal attack by CRC Press that sought to permanently remove MathWorld from the internet. I am especially honored that in the year and a half following its return from oblivion, MathWorld has twice been nominated for a Webby Award. While maintaining MathWorld is a labor of love for me, it would not be possible without the feedback and support of the community of people who have helped make it what it is today.