Science.gov is the gateway to reliable information about science and technology from across federal government organizations. Science.gov 2.0 offers groundbreaking, user-friendly technology enhancements to the interagency science portal. While retaining the content and advances originally unveiled in December 2002, now Version 2.0 will search 47 million pages of government R&D results and present the result to the patron in relevancy-ranked order. The new technology sorts through the government's vast reservoirs of research and rapidly returns information in an order more likely to meet patrons' needs.
Science.gov is made possible through a collaboration of 12 major science agencies. "These agencies together have combined innovative technology, forward thinking and hard work to build an invaluable science resource," Secretary Abraham said. "From the most current information on new technologies, to historical research results, to the most promising medical advancements, Science.gov connects citizens to the world of science."
The Nation's FirstGov for science, Science.gov is for the educational and library communities, as well as business people, entrepreneurs, agency scientists and anyone with an interest in science. The information is all free and no registration is required.
Science.gov contains reliable information resources selected by the agencies as their best science information. The Science.gov Web site provides the unique ability to search across 30 databases as well as across 1,700 Web sites. The World Wide Web consists of two parts: the Surface Web and the Deep Web. Popular search engines can access the Surface Web, but not the Deep Web. Among the resources in the Deep Web are the huge databases created and maintained by the science agencies. Using a "metasearch" technology, Science.gov 2.0 brings the 30 largest of these databases together and makes them searchable via a single query.
For Science.gov 2.0, the Department of Energy funded the development of a new relevance-ranking technology and applied it to metasearches in the Deep Web.
Hosted by the Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Science.gov is made possible through a collaboration of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services and Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Printing Office, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation, with support from the National Archives and Records Administration.
Secretary Abraham and Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, Director of DOE's Office of Science, spoke at the ceremonial event. Other Science.gov Alliance representatives also participated.