Chief Conference Organizer

Dr. Ching-chih Chen, Professor and former Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College, Boston is a sought- after consultant and speaker to over 30 countries. The author/editor of more than 29 books and author of over 150 journal articles, in areas of new information technologies -- multimedia technology, digital imaging, interactive videodisc technology, global information infrastructure, information management, and information resources, etc., she was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Microcomputers for Information Management (1984 – 1996), and produced the award winning interactive videodisc and multimedia CD entitled The First Emperor of China. For her expertise in the cutting-edge multimedia and optical technologies, and well as the use of Internet and World Wide Web for information sharing, she has served as consultant to many international organizations, including UNESCO, World Health Organization, World Bank, Soros Foundation, USIA. In the last 10 years, she has been advocating the global digital library concept by linking libraries and museums all over the world together, and this Global Digital Library Initiative has helped the development of digital libraries in numerous countries. Currently she is leading a major International Digital Library Project of the U.S. National Science Foundation, CMNet (Chinese Memory Net): US-Sino Collaborative Research Toward Global Digital Library in Chinese Studies, and is a consultant of numerous major digital library projects in the world, including the Tsinghua Digital Library Program.

A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, President Clinton appointed her, in February 1997, to his President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC), by a new Presidential Executive Order. She is co-chair of the PITAC Subcommittee on International Issues, and a member of the PITAC Subcommittees on Next Generation Internet (NGI), IT*2 Initiative Review, and Digital Library. She also chairs the PITAC's activity on Digital Divide for Smaller Institutions.

Since 1987, Dr. Chen has been Chief Organizer of a series of 11 New Information Technology (NIT) conferences in many parts of the world -- Bangkok ('87), Singapore ('89), Guadalajara, Mexico ('90), Budapest ('91), Hong Kong ('92), Puerto Rico ('93), Alexandria, Virginia ('94), Riga, Latvia ('95), Pretoria, South Africa ('96), Hanoi, Vietnam ('98), and Taipei ('99) -- helping to bring NIT to many developing countries. The outcome of NIT '94 is her groundbreaking book, Planning Global Information Infrastructure. More information on NIT Conferences can be found in the 1998 published Message from the Chief Conference Organizer".

Active in professional associations, she has been the three-term Council-at-Large and Presidential Candidate (1996) of the 58,000-member American Library Association (ALA), the Director of the Board for American Society for Information Science (ASIS), and Library Information Technology Association (LITA) in addition to many committee responsibilities of ALA, ASIS, LITA, AAAS, etc.

She is a recipient of many major awards, including the ASIS' Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award (1983), the Distinguished Alumnus Awards from University of Michigan (1983) and National Taiwan University (1984), the LITA/Gaylord Award for Achievement in Library and Information Technology (1990), LITA/Library Hi Tech Award (1994), the Humphry Award (1996), the first ALISE Pratt-Severn National Faculty Award in Library and Information Studies (1997), and the Educator Award from Case Western Reserve University (1999). In recognition of her academic achievement, president Da-Zhong Wang appointed her as the guest professor of Tsinghua University in August 1999. She was also elected since 1985 as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Prof. Hu has participated and led numerous research projects. In the past eight years, he has published more than 50 articles in the fields of automatic testing, fault diagnosis, reliability, and artificial neural network, as well as three books on electronic technology. For his outstanding achievements in teaching and research, Prof. Hu received the State Special Award for Excellence in Education from the Ministry of Education of China. He was also named as "Excellent Returning Visiting Scholar with Outstanding Contributions", "National Model Worker in Education" and "Teacher of the People". The Beijing Municipal Government also granted him the title of "Excellent Teacher of Beijing".

In addition to his academic responsibilities, Prof. Hu also has a number of social commitments. He is currently a member of the Coordinating Steering Committee of the "China Digital Library Project"; a council member of the Chinese Automation Society and Director of its Education Subcommittee, a council member of the Chinese Association for International Understanding, and the Chinese Association for Overseas Exchange; and a senior member of the Chinese Electronics Society.

 
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