*********PRESS RELEASE*********
 == Tuesday 22 November 2005 ==

HEADLINE:  National Award Win 
for NUI Galway Researcher
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John Breslin, a researcher at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute at NUI Galway, has just won a national Net Visionary award from the Irish Internet Association (IIA)

John’s won a prestigious award in the Social Contribution category for his work on developing the most popular bulletin board site in Ireland www.boards.ie

According to John

“This is a great achievement for the website and what it’s trying to do.  Boards.ie was set up to enable people to share their passions, knowledge and experience with other like minded individuals.   This award is the icing on the cake and a great recognition of the potential impact that the Internet can make in enriching people’s lives.

The site was set up in 2000 There are over 50,000 registered users of the site. People can talk about anything from accommodation to zombies, and the list of discussion forums is growing all the time

John is a native of Co Clare but has been at NUI Galway for 5 years.  John works at the high tech Digital Enterprise Research Institute which is developing the next generation of smart internet technology – the Semantic Web.

His particular area of research concerns how this next generation of internet technology can be applied for socially inclusive and community related activities. 

A print quality photo of John being presented his award at the black tie function is available.

For further information, please contact Brian Cummins on 091 495180 or brian.cummins@deri.org


*****ENDS*****

For further information please contact 

Brian Cummins, 
DERI Communications Manager
Digital Enterprise Research Institute
NUI Galway
Ph 091 524411 ext 5180
e-mail: Brian.Cummins@deri.org


Notes for Editors:
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Notes for Editors:

The Irish Internet Association (IIA) is the professional body for those conducting business via the Internet from Ireland.

DERI (Digital Enterprise Research Institute) is the largest research organisation in the world developing the next generation of internet technology – the Semantic Web.  DERI is a Science Foundation Ireland funded Centre for Science and Engineering Technology (CSET).

The Semantic Web is a machine readable version of the web.  Currently when you search the web, YOU have to filter the search results and decide what is relevant.  The Semantic Web will enable more efficient searching, as the computer will do this filtering for you.  Additionally this baseline technology will also power the intelligent transfer, sharing and negotiation of information between computer systems.