2. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Opportunity: reveal interpersonal connections
and the most relevant search results
Fostering active connections between people and
information will enable more productive research
while saving time and money.
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou
3. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Our solution: Cumulus
Foster active connections between people SoCial
» Proactively links people based on research interests and expertise
» Facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration
» Visualizes the connections between people and information
Enable more productive research SErviCE
» Better hierarchy when searching for research articles
» Enables awareness of current research trends
» Custom organization and documentation of research
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou
4. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Scenario 1: PhD student Hannah Greene
Goal: finish initial phase of PhD and begin to apply for grants
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou
9. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Scenario 2
Mary Reinhert
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou
10. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou
11. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Service model: current state
Journal A University/Library
Federated Search
Research DB
(MetaLib)
(PubMed, ACM, etc.)
Journal A
Journal B
Journal C
Journal D
Journal E
Federated Search
(MetaLib)
University/Library Journal B
Research DB Journal C
(PubMed, ACM, etc.)
Journal D
Journal E
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou
12. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Service model: future state
Cumulus provides a single access point for researchers Journal A
while reducing costs and complexity for the university.
Journal B
Cumulus
University/Library Research Database Journal C
Cumulus negotiates with individual journals to avoid
the costs associated with current research databases.
Trend Tracking
Journal D
Calendar & Milestones
Recommendations & Alerts
Journal E
Topic Linking
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou
13. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Thank you!
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou
14. Refined Solution: Cumulus • April 12, 2010 • 20Ten Graduate Studio II • School of Design • Carnegie Mellon University
Opportunity: improve research through
productive searching and connecting
Present state of academic research
» Enormous quantities of research available across disparate journals & databases
Problem: lack of hierarchy in current search model
opportunity: unify access and improve information hierarchy
» Collaboration is an essential part of the research process
Problem: dependence on chance encounters can lead to overlooked connections
opportunity: proactively connect researchers based on common interests
Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou