Zimmer Appointed Microsoft Fellow at Yale Law School's Information Society Project

Michael Zimmer, a post-doctoral student in the Program in Media Ecology in the Department of Culture and Communication, has been appointed a Microsoft Fellow at the Information Society Project (ISP) at Yale Law School for the 2007-2008 academic year.

A young scholar whose research focuses on how new technologies impact privacy and information flows, Zimmer recently defended his doctoral dissertation, "The Quest for the Perfect Search Engine: Values, Technical Design, and the Flow of Personal Information in Spheres of Mobility," an abstract of which can be found at www.michaelzimmer.org/dissertation.

While at ISP, Zimmer will further develop his dissertation topic as well as participate in ISP's larger Access to Knowledge Initiative, which aims to protect access to knowledge both as the basis for sustainable human development and to safeguard human rights.

Zimmer looks forward to convening representatives from the major search engine companies to begin a workable dialogue on how to practically implement value-conscious design in their search engines.

The ISP awards residency and fellowships to young scholars, organizes international conferences and events, and provides advice and education to policy makers, business leaders, nonprofit organizations, and the global legal community. More information can be found at http://research.yale.edu/isp.