Informatics expert wins prize for open systems

17 November 2014

Informatics expert wins prize for open systems

This year’s prestigious Clinton Bedogni Prize for Open Systems was awarded to Dr Koray Atalag from the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland.

The $10,000 prize is awarded to the New Zealand individual (from academia or industry) who has made the greatest contribution to the field of Open Systems in the past two years.

The definition of Open Systems is broad and includes inter-operable systems with a standards-based and well documented framework of functionality and interfaces – not necessarily, but preferably, Free and Open Source.

Dr Atalag works in Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the National Institute for Health Innovation at the University’s School of Population Health.

The biennial Clinton Bedogni Prize in Open Systems (awarded by the University’s Department of Science) is made possible through a memorial fund established by the Bedogni family in commemoration of their eldest son, Clinton Bedogni, who died in June 2005.

Clinton had a deep passion for computers and at the time of his death had developed an intense interest and capability in the Free and Open Source Linux Operating System. The Bedogni memorial fund also supports in perpetuity the Clinton Bedogni Fellowship in Open Systems Research in the Department of Computer Science.

The Prize is intended to distinguish and encourage New Zealanders working in the Open Systems field and was first offered in 2010 when it was won by Robert O’Callahan, and in 2012 by François Marier.

Dr Atalag was unable to attend the award ceremony due to a prior commitment, but says, “I’m absolutely thrilled and happy to have received the Clinton Bedogni Prize in Open Systems.

“I’d like to recognise the contribution of the Bedogni Family to the field of open systems – including open source of course, in an environment dominated by propriety and closed systems, especially in the health and disability sector where I’m operating,” he says.

“When I first arrived in the country back in 2008 as the first Clinton Bedogni Fellow in Open Systems in the Department of Computer Science, I felt really very constrained as emphasis on open systems was confined to a very small group of individuals,” says Dr Atalag. “I’m happy today to say the open EHR standard that my research is based on, now underpins our national interoperability reference architecture.

“Not only that but there are some reference and production implementations using open source software,” he says. “We have a long way ahead of us to position open systems thinking and open source software in particular and I am certainly committed to work towards this in the days to come.

“The recognition that comes with the Prize will give me a huge boost in terms of motivation, but also as evidence that it is something worth investing in,” says Dr Atalag. “Again many thanks for the kind consideration and I’d like to express my gratitude to the Bedogni Family and my fellow colleagues who have always been very supportive of open systems. Huge thanks too, to the NZOSS /NZOSA community. I’m really keen to explore the feasibility of undertaking some health IT projects together in the near future.”

Associate Professor Chris Bullen, Director of the National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI) at the School of Population Health says, “This is a great honour and recognises Koray’s unique expertise in this field.”

ENDS

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