TimBL honored by MCI
Rohit Khare (khare@mci.net)
Tue, 10 Jun 1997 11:33:51 -0400
Tim Berners-Lee Wins the MCI Information Technology Leadership Award
for InnovationWorld Wide Web Inventor to be Recognized at Computerworld
Smithsonian Awards Ceremony
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WASHINGTON, D.C., June 9, 1997 -- MCI today announced that Tim
Berners-Lee, celebrated inventor of the World Wide Web, has won the
prestigious MCI Information Technology Leadership Award for Innovation
for 1997. Mr. Berners- Lee will receive the Leadership award during the
black-tie ceremony of the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards being held
today in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Berners-Lee, a graduate of the Queen's College at Oxford
University, England, developed the World Wide Web, the first
internet-based hypermedia initiative of its kind, in 1989. The World
Wide Web allows people to work together and share their knowledge in a
global environment by combining their information in a "web" of
hypertext documents. The result is a technological framework that has
revolutionized how people obtain, disseminate, and process information.
In 1994 Mr. Berners-Lee joined the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science
as Director of the W3 consortium, an open forum of organizations that
seek to realize the full potential of the Web.
"Tim Berners-Lee is a true innovator who embodies the spirit of
the MCI Information Technology Leadership Award," said John Gerdelman,
president of networkMCI Services. networkMCI Services is the division
that builds, maintains, and manages the technology infrastructure
required to deliver MCI products and services to customers around the
globe. "Mr. Berners-Lee has dedicated his life to discovering new ways
for technology to improve our society--and the World Wide Web has done
just that. Millions of individuals and businesses are realizing a new
era in communication as a result of Mr. Berners-Lee's vision and
creativity."
The MCI Information Technology Leadership Award for Innovation,
established in 1990, recognizes a single individual who uses
information technology to design, implement, manufacture, or manage
genuine innovation. The winner must demonstrate leadership qualities,
success in achieving innovation, and a desire to benefit society
through innovation. Some past winners of the IT Leadership Award
include Vinton Cerf, senior vice president of Data Architecture at MCI;
C . Gordon Bell, chief scientist at Stardent Computer; and Seymour
Cray, chairman of the board at Cray Computer Corp.
The judges who served on the 1997 MCI IT Leadership Award panel
are Patrick McGovern, chairman of International Data Group; David
Allison, chairman of Information Technology and Society at the
Smithsonian Institution; Gary Beach, president of Computerworld; and
John Gerdelman, president of networkMCI Services.
Each year, the Computerworld Smithsonian Chairmen's Committee
nominates individuals who are using information technology to improve
society for inclusion in the Smithsonian's IT Innovation Collection.
Founded in 1989, the Computerworld Smithsonian Program searches for and
recognizes individuals who have demonstrated vision and leadership as
they strive to use information technology in innovative ways.
Information on the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards and Leadership
Award winners will be available June 9th on the World Wide Web at the
Innovation Network.