EE Times 40th: Ten visionaries to watch

EE Times 40th: Ten visionaries to watch

[EE Times is celebrating its 40th anniversary, with special articles to celebrate the innovators who made the electronics industry what it is today, as well as the visionaries who are taking it forward.]

Predicting the future is always fraught with peril, but the visionaries featured here are boldly going where no one has gone before.

To be sure, the personalities featured in this slideshow are not unique--in each category dozens of other pioneers could have been used in lieu of those chosen. Nevertheless, the pioneering vision and unflinching dedication of those featured in this slideshow serve as a shining example of how to “do” the future right.

Please forgive us for including two “ringers” who are not human: Wireless@MIT (which features a photo of the futuristic center where two MIT visionaries work) and “Lucy” an animated avatar which exemplifies a futuristic trend.

David Shepler-IBM

David Shepler was the Jeopardy Challenge Program Manager at IBM Research (shown here giving pointers to the human contestants on how to compete against Watson--IBM’s pioneering artificial-intelligence technology). After Watson beat the reigning human champions on Merv Griffin’s NBC television game show “Jeopardy,” hosted by Alex Trebek, Shepler served as Chief of Operations for the Watson research team’s efforts to adapt its AI to the healthcare field. Now patients in the WellPoint network--the nation's largest health benefits provider--can use Watson to help make more accurate and informed medical diagnoses. Next, Watson is tackling financial services, government-mandate management and retailing. More recently, Shepler became program manager for IBM's Smarter Energy Research Institute, which is developing predictive analytics, system optimization and advanced computation models that will help define the smart grid of the future. Shepler lives in his net zero-energy home in New Paltz, New York.


Click on image to enlarge.

Source: IBM
Next: Tony Fadell-Nest
TAG:Visionaries