I happened to be watching the PBS television show Wired Science this evening (a production of Wired Magazine) and saw a really interesting interview with Luis Von Ahn, a young professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Von Ahn is a Guatemalan immigrant who has been doing some pretty amazing things.
You probably already know what he's done with CAPTCHA. In fact, if you post a comment on this blog, you'll see CAPTCHA in action. It's that little box of funny looking letters you have to copy and this is what's keeping auto-generated spam from many places on the web.
The folks at the Google Blog had some nice things to say about Dr. Von Ahn that tell a little about what he's up to now:
Today our warmest congratulations go out to a notable young computer scientist, Dr. Luis von Ahn of Carnegie Mellon University. Based on his work in cryptography, AI, and natural intelligence, Luis has just been recognized as a Fellow by the MacArthur Foundation, which has granted him a "genius" award.
A major thread of his research is about human computation that can't currently be emulated by computers. (Together with colleagues he developed the CAPTCHA system, which has of course found widespread commercial application in preventing automated-generated spam.) He also works in the area of cryptography known as steganography. Unlike standard encrypted communications, a steganographic message disguises the fact that it contains a secret; one example is a text message subtly embedded in the bits that encode a digital photograph. He's also developing systems for characterizing visual images in ways that can vastly improve their searchability, and which help to build a rich database for exploring human visual cognition. (We've developed the Google Image Labeler based on his groundbreaking work in this area.)
Around here, we like to quote Isaac Newton's phrase about "standing on the shoulders of giants." Clearly, Luis is one of these.
Well, yesterday I blogged about Muhtar Kent, the new CEO of Coca Cola. So it's only fair that I follow up with Indra Nooyi, the new CEO of Pepsi Cola. Ms. Nooyi, a native of India, is ranked fifth on Forbes Magazine's list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. Time Magazine also has included her in its 2007 list of the most influential people in the world. Ms. Nooyi is another foreign student success story having entered the country to pursue an MBA at Yale University back in the 1970s.
On this official beginning day of the presidential election cycle, why not include a political pundit for the Immigrant of the Day. Whether you're left or right, you probably agree that Arianna Huffington is someone who is prominent in the Washington political talking head community. The Greek-born proprietor of the Huffington Post has a quick wit and is a favorite on the political talk show circuit (especially on Bill Maher's Real Time on HBO).
Dutch-born Professor Joel Mokyr is the 2006 recipient of the prestigious Heineken Prize for History, an awarded by the Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Heineken Prizes are awarded every two years to five outstanding international scientists and scholars so one truly needs to be one of the most talented individuals on the planet to have a chance at being selected. Not surprisingly, many Heineken winners have been awarded Nobel Prizes as well.
Professor Mokyr is Professor of Economics and History at Northwestern University in Illinois. Professor Mokyr's work is certainly relevant in terms of helping to predict which societies of the 21st century will be leaders in the 22nd and 23rd century. The Heineken Prize web site describes why.
Why are some societies innovative and others not? That is the key question in the fertile and influential work of Joel Mokyr, who has published on European and world economic history. In his view, knowledge and technology play a crucial role. Starting with his first study of the industrial revolution in the Low Countries, Mokyr pioneered what is now known as 'New Economic History'. He draws from many different disciplines, ranging from demographics to cognitive psychology, and in this way offers relevant insights into the present, for example the origins of the knowledge society. Mokyr has shown that there is an unmistakeable relationship between Europe's Industrial Revolution in the late 18th and 19th centuries and the intellectual movements of the previous centuries. Without that knowledge base, the modern industrial economy would not have evolved. Mokyr also makes clear that if that knowledge base is too narrow, economic development will eventually grind to a halt.
Irish-born rocker Paul David Hewson, aka Bono, is the well-known lead singer of U2. Bono splits his time between his native Ireland, the South of France and New York City. And he's doing a lot more than recording and performing. He's now known almost as well for his humanitarian work on behalf of a variety of causes including many related to relief in Africa.
While some celebrities have been criticized with trying to identify with causes for publicity reasons, few put Bono in to that category. He is now considered a leading public figure on on aid issues and his influence is reflected in Time Magazine listing him in their 2006 list of the most influential people in the world and and as their Person of the Year in 2005. He's also garnered nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize (a nice complement to his Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy nominations).
Bono's contribution to this country was recently recognized by the US Constitution Center which granted him their Philadelphia Liberty Medal for his work to end world poverty and hunger.
About The Author
Greg Siskind is a partner in Siskind Susser's Memphis, Tennessee, office. After graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago. Mr. Siskind is a member of AILA, a board member of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and a member of the ABA, where he serves on the LPM Publishing Board as Marketing Vice Chairman. He is the author of several books, including the J Visa Guidebook and The Lawyer's Guide to Marketing on the Internet. Mr. Siskind practices all areas of immigration law, specializing in immigration matters of the health care and technology industries. He can be reached by email at gsiskind@visalaw.com.
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