Google doodle honours Michael Dertouzos

Google on Monday honoured computer scientist Michael Dertouzos, who foresaw the impact of the internet and predicted the popularity of personal computers, helping to maximize their potential.

The doodle, released on his 82nd birth anniversary, shows the former Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor holding a chalk against the backdrop of a board and surrounded by images of computers and visuals representing the internet.

Dertouzos was born on November 5, 1936. He was a Greek professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science of the Massachusetts Institute of technology and director of the M.I.T laboratory for Computer Science from 1974-2001.

New World of Information Will Change Our Lives and The Unfinished Revolution: Human-Centered Computers and What They Can Do For Us. “If we strip the hype away, a simple, crisp and inevitable picture emerges – of an information marketplace where people and their computers will buy, sell and freely exchange information and information work,” Dertouzos had written.

The computer scientist had contributed to making the Laboratory for Computer Science the North American home of the World Wide Web Consortium, a collaboration of companies promoting the web’s evolution and interconnectivity. Dertouzos had hired Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, to run it.

Also in 1968, he co-founded Computer inc., a manufacturer of graphics and intelligent terminals with Marvin C. Lewis and Dr Huber Graham.

He attended the University of Arkansas on a Fulbright Scholarship and earned a Ph.D. from MIT.

He was buried at the first cemetery of Athens.

He died on August 27, 2001.