Congratulations, Isaac!!!

Isaac recently participated in a competition through the History Channel, City of the Future. The object was to design a plan for Washington, DC, circa 2108. He led a team of faculty and students from the University of Maryland. Although the team did not win the top prize, they did receive the IBM Innovation Award, recognizing their innovative use of technology. The model they built was nothing short of incredibly. It was 3 feet wide by 7 feet high, double-sided, it turned, it pivoted, and it opened up. Very cool.

The competition has gotten a lot of press, and Isaac has gotten a lot of well-deserved credit for his role. You can see him here in this Washington Post article - there's even a picture of him and two students working on their model:

The Ubiquitous iPhone

Well, I'm sure we all knew it would happen sooner or later. Frankly, I'm quite proud of him for waiting a week. Today, Isaac got an iPhone. At first I thought he was crazy, but after playing with it for a couple of minutes, I have to admit - it's pretty freakin' cool. If I were so inclined to spend $500 on something other than new clothes, shoes, or glasses (yes, eyeglasses), I'd totally get one just to use for everything it does besides the phone. I'd never switch over to AT&T for it, but I would use it to play music, store and look at photos, go on the web, write e-mail, and use for the calendar and calculator. Basically everything else it does that you don't need phone service for. The touch screen is really cool (though I forsee women with long fingernails having big problems with it - you need to use your actual fingertip), and the way you can slide through stuff is awesome. Using it is very intuitive, just like any good Apple product. It's also a lot thinner and smaller than I expected. Based on my initial observations, I give it a resounding A+. Oh wait, make that an A- for the price. Although, it would be cheaper to get an iPhone than to get a whole new computer, now that my logic board has died again. Hmmm...

Congratulations to Isaac!

Isaac received two very good pieces of news in the last week or so. First, his first paper submission to a conference has been accepted. The conference is held by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, and more info on it can be found here. This is a big step for him, and will surely help in his bid for tenure.

Second, he is the recipient of the University of Maryland Welcome Fellowship. The fellowship is given to new full-time faculty, and only one is given on each of Maryland's campuses. Isaac is on the University's flagship campus, which is also the largest and presumably the most competitive. To award the fellowship, the president of the University personally selects and recommends an applicant to the Chancellors, so it's a pretty big deal. Along with the prestige of being a fellow, and the FIRST architecture faculty member to receive the award (I'd be willing to bet probably one of the youngest also), he gets money to conduct research over the next three years. Go Isaac!