Hope for American Science

Their project, described at the Intel site, involves a potentially more effective and less expensive cancer therapy. The winners receive a $75,000 prize and the Gordon Moore Award, named for one of the founders of Intel. Teams from China, India, South Korea, Thailand, and the U.S. were among the finalists in 17 different science and engineering categories.

I take general "no man is an island" pride in this achievement; plus pride as an American, a Californian, and so on. But more specifically: Jim Marggraff, Blake's father, is the inventor of (among many other products) the Livescribe pen, as I have described in an Atlantic article and several times on our site. He has become a friend and a member of the extended Atlantic family. I met Blake last summer, when he was helping his father demonstrate the pens. It's wonderful to see this kind of achievement and effort recognized. Congratulations to him and Matthew Feddersen. And -- speaking from experience! -- I prepare Jim Marggraff for the upcoming pleasure of being identified as, "Oh, are you xxxx's father?" It's a nice way to be known. Congratulations.