Ed Lazowska Comments on Bill Gates’s Departure from Microsoft

Just wanted to post a quick note about Bill from one of our editorial advisors, Xconomist Ed Lazowska, who holds the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington:

“The big change is that Bill now gets to choose how to allocate his time. A number of new activities are thus going to be the beneficiaries of his intellect,” Lazowska said in an email. “When he visited UW recently, for example, he was really jazzed by discussions about cell phones as health care data collection devices in the developing world; he established some connections between us and the Gates Foundation and promised to become personally involved after July 1. Seattle’s role in all aspects of global health is going to blossom because of his engagement with UW, the Foundation, PATH, etc.”

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.