Two opinions:
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2015 8:34 PM
To: Researchers; cs-ugrads@cs.washington.edu; Staff; Oren Etzioni
Subject: [Researchers] Please vote for Paul Allen as GeekWire’s “Geek of the Year”
There’s also the “Geek of the Year” – reader balloting among five finalists who are chosen by Todd and John.
Two years ago, the winner was Oren Etzioni.
Last year, the winner was Madrona’s Julie Sandler.
This year, let’s make it Paul Allen! Please vote early and often here:
http://www.geekwire.com/2015/
The writeup makes the case:
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Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder, may be best-known as a technology mogul and owner of the Seattle Seahawks, but he was also a leader in the battle against Ebola over the past year, pledging $100 million to help fight the deadly disease in West Africa. His company, Vulcan Inc., also organized Ebola-related initiatives including an effort to send 8,000 smartphones to community leaders and aid workers.
Meanwhile, Allen funded a new Allen Institute for Cell Science, his latest research effort, expanding beyond the Allen Institutes for Brain Science and Artificial Intelligence.
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Please vote!!!!!
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Richard Anderson <anderson@cs.washington.edu>
Date: Thu, Apr 16, 2015 at 9:53 PM
Subject: Re: [cs-ugrads] [Researchers] Please vote for Paul Allen as GeekWire’s “Geek of the Year”
To: Ed Lazowska <lazowska@cs.washington.edu>, Researchers <researchers@cs.washington.edu>, “cs-ugrads@cs.washington.edu” <cs-ugrads@cs.washington.edu>, Staff <cs-staff@cs.washington.edu>, Oren Etzioni <OrenE@allenai.org>
I think Cliff Schmidt is pretty awesome as well:
Cliff Schmidt is the founder of Literacy Bridge, a seven-year-old organization that has developed a portable audio computer designed to help educate illiterate populations living in poor areas who don’t have access to knowledge and information.
The “Talking Book,” which does not require Internet or electricity, is used by thousands of people to hear information about everything from medical advice to farming strategies, when and where they need it.
Literacy Bridge in November announced a multi-year partnership with UNICEF, a United Nations program that assists children and mothers in developing countries, and ARM, the microprocessor manufacturer. The three organizations are working together to supply 40,000 people in Ghana with the Talking Books.