in Information Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
subject: A. R. Zipf Fellow
Zipf
Zipf Fellowship
Miles James Efron
CLIR Press Release
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: May 20, 2002
Contact: Deanna Marcum 202-939-4750
Council on Library and Information Resources Names 2002 A. R. Zipf Fellow
WASHINGTON, D.C.Deanna Marcum, president of the Council on Library
and Information Resources, announced today that the 2002 A. R. Zipf Fellowship
in Information Management has been awarded to Miles James Efron, a Ph.D. student
in Information Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Mr. Efron is the sixth recipient of the Zipf Fellowship, which was established in
1997 to recognize a graduate student who shows exceptional promise for leadership
and technical achievement in information management. Mr. Zipf, who passed away
on January 1, 2000, had a longstanding interest in helping students and
young professionals who pursue training in library science.
Mr. Efron began doctoral study at the University of North Carolina in 2000,
after earning an M.S. in Information Science from the same institution, and an A.B.
in English from Occidental College in Los Angeles. His research focuses on
how statistical methods may be used to map information spaces to enable better access
to information. Concurrent with his doctoral studies, Mr. Efron is also senior
researcher at www.ibiblio.org, where he conducts research and development of
information retrieval technologies for user-maintained digital libraries. He has also
recently served as a research assistant on the Tera-scale Retrieval
Project, which is creating an open-source suite of software for large-scale information retrieval experimentation.
Kent Smith, chairman of the Zipf Selection Committee, said, “We are very pleased to award
this fellowship to Mr. Efron. His exceptional skills and his keen interest in problems of modern
information management exemplify the ideals of Mr. Zipf.”
A. R. Zipf was a pioneer in information management systems and a guiding force in many of
the dramatic technological changes that occurred in the banking industry over the course of his
forty-year career with the Bank of America. He was also a great friend and advisor to libraries.
The Council on Library and Information Resources is an independent, nonprofit organization
that works to expand access to information, however recorded and preserved, as a public good.
In partnership with other organizations, CLIR helps create services that expand the concept of
“library” and supports the providers and preservers of information.
