acm - an acm publication

Interviews are organized by the month and year in which they first appeared. To find an interviewee by name, use the search bar (at upper right).

Interviews

2004

  • Michael Schrage on Innovation
    Looking for the great clients who are the true innovators? Co-director of the MIT Media Lab's eMarkets Initiative, a senior advisor to MIT's Security Studies Program, and a consultant to MIT's Langer Labs on technology transfer issues, Michael Schrage conducts research on the economics of innovation. His particular focus is on the role of models, prototypes and simulations in managing interactive iterative design, an area in which he works with a number of companies.
  • Mihai Nadin on Anticipatory Systems
    What is the difference between a falling stone and a falling cat? Mihai Nadin, who directs the newly established Institute for Research in Anticipatory Systems at the University of Texas at Dallas, holds a Ph.D. degree in aesthetics from the University of Bucharest and a post-doctoral degree in philosophy, logic and theory of science from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, West Germany. He earned an M.S. degree in electronics and computer science from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest and an M.A. degree in philosophy from the University of Bucharest. He has authored 23 books, including "The Civilization of Illiteracy," "Mind: Anticipation and Chaos," and "Anticipation: The End is Where We Start From."
  • Checking in with Ben Bederson
    By focusing on the user experience, the University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Lab aims to improve lives through projects such as the International Children's Digital Library. Benjamin B. Bederson, interviewed here, is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. His work is on information visualization, interaction strategies, and digital libraries.
  • Patterns for Success
    Scott D. Anthony speaks about using innovation theory to transform organizations and create the next wave of growth. Anthony is a partner at Innosight, a management, consulting and education company located in Watertown, Massachusetts, and is co-author with Clayton M. Christensen and Erik A. Roth of the new book, "Seeing What's Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change."
  • An Interview with Joichi Ito: The world wide blog
    Joichi Ito, founder of Neoteny and other Internet companies, finds that cyberspace is embracing it roots — collaboration, community, and personal communications — with bloggers leading the way.
  • S. Joy mountford on interface design
    The ultimate technology world will be soft, flexible and addressable. But the issues will remain the same, according to interface designer S. Joy Mountford: What do people like and what do people want?
  • Ann Kirschner on marketing and distribution of online learning
    Outside of business schools, the very word "marketing" makes most universities uncomfortable, as does the idea of students as customers. But the world of higher education is becoming increasingly competitive. Fathom, named for the double idea of comprehension and depth, was a milestone in the evolution of online learning and a prototype of where things are headed.
  • An Interview with Steven Weber: Why open source works
    Author Steven Weber looks beyond the hype on Open Source. More than a self-governing utopia, it's a practical, sustainable way of organizing and innovating. Its method may soon be applied successfully in other sectors. Plus, a "crazy" idea for Microsoft.
  • An Interview with Jesse Poore: Correct by design
    Jesse Poore suggests a revolution in programming - holding software developers to the same level of rigor of training and workmanship as other professionals, developing software that's correct by design, and constraining the release of software-intensive products until they are scientifically certified as fit for use.
  • Roger Brent and the alpha project
    The work of a multidisciplinary genomic research lab in Berkeley may yield big changes in drug therapy and medicine. Roger Brent is President and Research Director of the Molecular Sciences Institute, an independent nonprofit research laboratory in Berkeley, CA, that combines genomic experimentation with computer modeling. The mission of the MSI is to predict the behavior of cells and organisms in response to defined genetic and environmental changes.
  • An Interview with Peter Denning: The great principles of computing
    Peter Denning teaches students at the Naval Postgraduate School how to develop strategic, big-picture thinking about the field of computing. Denning, a past president of ACM (1980-82), has been involved with communicating our discipline, computing, to outsiders since 1970. Along the way he invented the working set model for memory management, developed the theory of virtual memory, promulgated operating systems theory, co-invented operational analysis of system performance, co-founded CSNET, and led the ACM Publications Board while it developed the Digital Library. He is an ACM Fellow and holds five major ACM awards. He just completed a five-year term as chair of the ACM Education Board.
  • Esther Dyson ... In focus
    Venture capitalist Esther Dyson is the chairman of EDventure Holdings, which publishes the influential monthly computer-industry newsletter Release 1.0 as well as the blog Release 4.0. The company also organizes the high-profile technology conference PC (Platforms for Communications) Forum, March 21-23, 2004. In this interview, she discusses her current interests, many to be covered at PC Forum. They include her investments, how to stop spam, outsourcing, and the overall high-tech industry environment.
  • An Interview with Thomas Kalil: Where politics, policy, technology and science converge
    From the White House to Berkeley, Thomas Kalil has worked on shaping the national agenda for science and technology research initiatives. Kalil, President Clinton's former science and technology advisor, now holds a similar post at the University of California, Berkeley, where he helps develop new research initiatives and increase UC Berkeley's role in shaping the national agenda.