White House to Honor Alameda Archeologist as “Champion of Change”

Information provided by the White House Press Office

This Thursday, the White House will honor an Alameda archeologist as one of 13 Champions of Change who are promoting and using open scientific data and publications to accelerate progress and improve our world.

Dr. Eric Kansa of Alameda is an archaeologist with a passion for making knowledge of the human experience and shared cultural heritage available for everyone to explore and debate.

Frustrated with the pervasive lack of access to quality research data in the humanities and social sciences, Kansa spearheaded the development of Open Context (http://opencontext.org), an open access publishing venue for data in archaeology and related fields.

Kansa is an active and vocal member of a growing community in the US and abroad dedicated to better ethics and practices in sharing and preserving knowledge of the past.

At the June 20 event, these champions will highlight previous initiatives that help make “open” the default in scientific research. 

The White House Champions of Change program was created as part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative. Through this program, the White House highlights individuals, businesses, and organizations whose extraordinary stories and accomplishments positively impact our communities.

To watch this event live, visit www.whitehouse.gov/live at 1 p.m. ET on June 20. To learn more about the White House Champions of Change program, visit www.whitehouse.gov/champions.