Edited by author 11-10-2005 07:33 AM
For the past several years Tom has been visiting K-12 students in public schools developing technology and after-school classes to help kids discover and explore science and engineering, often using music and visual arts to attract students' interest. The technology he will discuss includes programming robots with playing cards, hacking digital cameras to make animated movies and lensless microscopes, electronic circuits to sequence LEDs and perform strobe experiments, building musical instruments, and using inexpensive components to do science fair projects.

Thomas G. Zimmerman is a member of the research staff exploring the frontiers of human-computer interaction at the IBM Almaden Research Center. His 15 patents cover position tracking, pen input, wireless communication, music training, biometrics and encryption. Mr. Zimmerman's inventions include the Data Glove, Electric Field Personal Area Network (EF PAN), a wireless PDA to capture multiple biometrics, and tokenless electronic tender secured with dynamic signature verification. His interactive exhibits are installed at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, National Geographic Society in Washington, DC, and Great Lakes Science Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his B.S. in Humanities and Engineering (1980) and M.S. in Media Science (1995) from MIT.