Nov 20, 2020
If you could fix the internet, what would you change? A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa graduate student in information and computer sciences (ICS) addressed this question and went on to receive an award from Mozilla’s Fix-the-Internet Incubator’s Open Lab.
Under the exploratory work program, Alberto González was awarded $1,000 for RendezView, an online tool that allows remote teams to work together in a collaborative workspace. González is a research assistant at the Laboratory for Advanced Visualization & Applications (LAVA) and graduate fellow of the Hawaiʻi Data Science Institute (HDSI). He was also selected for this year’s UH Ventures Accelerator program.
RendezView, which can be accessed through any internet browser, allows remote teams to collaborate in real time on documents, spreadsheets, slideshows and more. The tool enables teams to better visualize and share ideas, which has become increasingly more important as many organizations have moved to remote work during the pandemic.
“It’s such an honor to be recognized by a technology powerhouse like Mozilla…. [we’re] happy that our software is helping remote teams collaborate online, and are excited about the future of work,” said González.
From more than 700 startups from around the world, González and his team were among the 20 awardees. Awards were given to participants in the Open Lab program who demonstrated best traction and commitment to fix the internet.
Mentored by ICS Professor Jason Leigh, González’s work through LAVA and HDSI helps to serve data intensive science, engineering and training needs of UH’s 10 campuses.
“Alberto’s product is so crucial in a post-COVID world where distance collaboration will no doubt be the norm, and it is such an honor to see it recognized by Mozilla,” said Leigh.