The recognition program is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy and is administered by NASA Ames Laboratory. Amy Biermann (1994 REU Student from Bryn Mawr College) and Ben Davenport (1993 and 1994 Summer Intern from Princeton University) were co-authors with Panoff. Their work is part of a larger effort at NCSA to develop a set of scientific simulations for classroom use.
In addition to the recognition and a certificate, a cash award of $1,000 went to the authors. Travel funds to attend an award ceremony and poster session held in Washington, DC in September was part of the award as well.
Earlier in the year, GalaxSee and Panoff had received recognition from the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, via Capt. Bruce McClure, director of Defense Modeling and Simulation Office of the U.S. Navy.
In a letter of commendation to Panoff, McClure commented: "Access to the computing power of the university's Cray supercomputer through the Internet allowed students a unique opportunity to study the origin of the universe [using GalaxSee] which would be impossible with computers on campus at high schools."
Panoff introduced distributed, interactive learning demonstrations, including GalaxSee, to attendees at the 15th Annual Interservice/Industry Training Systems and Education Conference.