One of the things I am most proud of is the Domino Award. It was an idea that I came up with a few years back: get computer science students at the University of Colorado (my alma mater) to see how others have impacted the world, encourage them to do the same, help them along the way, and track their progress.
This year was the third year of the award. As topples go, at times it looked like the dominos weren't going to fall this year, but thanks to help and support of my partner in crime Professor Clayton Lewis, they tipped. And now, we have two more young minds in this world thinking how they can make a big impact!
Special thanks to this year's judges:
Assoc. Professor Ken Andersen
Professor Clayton Lewis
Ret. Professor Evi Nemeth
Kelly Anne Shuster (pervious winner)
Ben Whaley (previous winner)
Here's the official announcement that Professor Lewis put together. I look forward to seeing how these dominos tip in the years ahead!
Finally, we're hoping to expand the program and are looking for financial support. Even small amounts help. If you are interested please contact me.
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Computer Science students Michael Ton and Jonathan Mai were recently named recipients of the 2009 Domino Award. The Domino Award is given annually to Computer Science students for an outstanding essay honoring the impact that other computer scientists have made on modern society. Essays were judged for their ability to clearly communicate how the honoree's work set in motion a "series of dominos" that changed the world. The award is based on Domino Theory:
... a framework that helps people understand that no matter how large or small your hopes and dreams are, you can meet them by seeing the world around you as a set of dominos. Sometimes the dominos need to be "set up", other times the dominos are just waiting to be tipped over. Either way, one tip leads to the next, and before long something big is happening. No longer will you be saying to yourself, "Oh, I just can't make a difference so why try." All it takes is one small strategic action to Set Big Things In Motion!
The Domino Award was created by serial entrepreneur and CU Computer Science alumnus Herbert Morreale (BS 1991) and CS Professor Clayton Lewis.
Winners receive a $500 cash award and an all expenses paid trip to the next Telluride Tech Festival, a "Celebration of the Past, Present and Future of Technology".
Ton's essay recognized William Shockley, Walter Brattain, and John Bardeen, inventors of the transistor, while Mai's reviewed the career of Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft.
Clayton Lewis
Professor of Computer Science
Scientist in Residence, Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities
University of Colorado
http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~clayton
