Special Feature

Tribute to George Sadowsky

An Internet Evangelist

Marilyn McMillan

When it comes to having impact on computing and connectivity in education, George Sadowsky joins a very short list of individuals who have made a very big difference. George's impact on NYU during his decade of technology leadership here has been visible to us all. Less apparent on a local level are the contributions George has made to the expansion of the Internet throughout the world. Excerpts from some of the messages George received in celebration of his recent retirement from NYU offer us a glimpse of his broader impact:

You have more than earned a reputation as the most active and effective teacher of the whole Internet movement. ...You were the foremost evangelist of the Internet gospel to the third world. ...In all of these efforts, you have achieved the most because you have been the most giving of yourself.
--Glenn Ricart, Chief Technology Officer, CenterBeam, Inc.

I want to express my astonishment at the amount of work you have been able to accomplish on behalf of ISOC and the Internet Community, especially in the parts of planet Earth where the Internet is still in early stages of development. ...I want you to know how much your efforts have meant to me, personally, and, I am sure, to many thousands around the world, touched by your enthusiasm and your educational magic wand.
--Vinton Cerf, Senior Vice President for Internet Architecture and Technology, WorldCom Corporation

Of all those around the world who are now using the Internet 'matter-of-factly,' few have a clue as to how their good fortune came about. Your sustained successes in providing education and training to virtually every country in the world, and to thousands of key individuals who leveraged that experience to propagate the Internet globally, has given the Internet Society a remarkable foundation upon which we stand, proudly.
--Don Heath, President and CEO, Internet Society

By example and exhortation, you have challenged and helped NYSERNet provide a level of networking that is a model for the nation. Your global efforts through the International Internet Society have been just as important, perhaps even more so, given the tremendous need. Through your tireless efforts in Africa and elsewhere you have genuinely been the embodiment of their commitment: "The Internet is for everybody."
--Tim Lance, President and Chairman, NYSERNet

To perpetuate the spirit of this commitment, Information Technology Services at NYU has established the George Sadowsky Prize, to be awarded annually to an NYU student who exhibits exemplary innovation using the Internet for community service. We invite nominations for the 2001 award by March 30. More information is available at: www.nyu.edu/its/.

Please be sure to see George Sadowsky's article in this issue, entitled "My Second Computer Was a UNIVAC I."

Posted February 16, 2001