Douglas Engelbart, Visionary and Pioneer in Collaborative Computing, Leads Colloquium At Stanford University

Business Wire, Dec 16, 1999

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 1999--

Discussion Series Will Help Organizations Prepare

for an Environment of Increasing Urgency and Complexity

The Bootstrap Institute today announced that Dr. Douglas Engelbart, pioneer in collaborative computing, will lead a 10-week colloquium at Stanford University on how nations and their organizations, including corporations, can evolve to manage the unprecedented rate and scale of change in today's society.

Dr. Douglas Engelbart is best known as the inventor of the computer mouse, although his most significant work to date is leadership of the team that developed collaborative computing and the oNLine System (NLS), the first hypertext system.

The colloquium, "An In-depth Look at the Unfinished Revolution," will be held Thursdays from January 6 through March 9, 2000 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. as a program of the Stanford Center for Professional Development. Leaders from government, business, technology and academia will discuss topics pertinent to the challenges of change, while a worldwide audience can join via live web casts at http://scpd.stanford.edu/pd/engelbart/engelbart.html or view broadcasts over the Stanford Instructional Television Network (SITN). Archival replays will be available shortly after the live sessions.

"Many of the changes in today's highly interconnected and interdependent world are improving the way we live and work, but the unprecedented rate and scale of change is also leading to massive challenges and opportunities on a global level," said Dr. Engelbart, founder and director of the Bootstrap Institute. "The colloquium gives us a forum to engage in lively dialogue on how we can improve our abilities to leverage our collective IQ."

Dr. Engelbart foresees that the concept of collective IQ and its improvement need to become a core focus and challenge for society. According to Dr. Engelbart, although much attention is now given to the challenges and opportunities of e-business, the organizations, regions and countries that adopt the most effective, large-scale strategy toward becoming collectively smarter will enable broad improvements throughout society and commerce, including e-business. The concept of high collective IQ will, therefore, vitally affect every aspect of governance, security, economy, education, health, business and other societal services.

The colloquium extends topics introduced one year ago on December 9, 1998, at a Stanford University symposium where speakers and guests honored Dr. Engelbart on the 30th anniversary of his landmark demonstration of the oNLine System (NLS). The remarkable 1968 demonstration inspired the world with the possibilities of using computers to augment human capabilities. Last year's symposium, "Engelbart's Unfinished Revolution," sparked new interest in aspects of Dr. Engelbart's unique work and vision that have not yet been understood or realized.

During the new colloquium, "An In-depth Look at the Unfinished Revolution," Dr. Engelbart will explain his vision on how nations and their organizations can develop their improvement infrastructure to cope with the challenges of change.

The colloquium is designed to generate awareness of large-scope issues and opportunities, to present a framework that can evolve a coherent improvement infrastructure and to examinelbart's work in collaborative technology and s Augmenting organizational capabilities

-- ing it all together, next steps

     Due to limited seating, in-person attendance to the colloquium is
on a first-come, first-served basis to confirmed registrants. Press
and dignitaries are invited to attend a reception at Stanford
University immediately following the conclusion of the first session
at 7 p.m. on January 6. Those interested in attending the colloquium
and reception should contact Mary Coppernoll by e-mail at
coppernoll@bootstrap.org. Additional information is available online
at http://www.bootstrap.org/colloquium.

     About Dr. Douglas Engelbart

     Primarily known as an inventor, Dr. Engelbart is now generally
recognized as one of the most important visionaries of the 20th
century. Many of the tools that shape the way we work and interact,
such as the personal computer, the Internet, open systems and
user-friendly interfaces, have been significantly influenced by work
done or led by Dr. Engelbart in the 1960s and 1970s. His work has been
driven by a vision for making the world a better place, including
improved collaboration and knowledge sharing, and improved strategies
for organizational and societal transformation -- an approach that is
all the more relevant in today's fast-changing, interdependent world.

Dr. Engelbart has received a number of prestigious honors, including the following:

-- 1999 IEEE John Von Neumann Medal

-- 1999 Franklin Institute's Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and

Cognitive Science

-- 1999 New Jersey Institute of Technology, Honorary Doctor of

Science

-- 1999 SRI International Weldon B. Gibson Achievement Award

-- 1998 Inductee, National Inventors Hall Of Fame