Handspring Founder Jeff Hawkins Elected to National Academy of Engineering
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. March 20 — March 20, 2003 — Handspring, Inc. (Nasdaq: HAND) today announced that company founder and chief product officer, Jeff Hawkins, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made "important contributions to engineering theory and practice, including significant contributions to the literature of engineering theory and practice," and those who have demonstrated accomplishment in "the pioneering of new fields of engineering, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."
Last month, the Academy awarded Hawkins this distinction for the creation of the handheld computing paradigm and the creation of the first commercially successful example of a handheld computing device. In 1994, Hawkins invented the original PalmPilot products and founded Palm Computing. He later co-founded Handspring in July of 1998, and is often credited as the designer who reinvented the handheld market. He is also the founder and executive director of the non-profit Redwood Neuroscience Institute, a scientific research institute working on theories and mathematical models of brain function (www.rni.org).
"It's a great honor to be elected to the National Academy, alongside such a respected list of peers that have made significant progress for engineering," said Hawkins.
An industry veteran with nearly 20 years of technical expertise, Hawkins currently holds twelve patents for various handheld devices and features. His vision for handheld computing dates back to the 1980s, when as Vice President of Research at GRiD Systems Corporation he served as principal architect and designer for the GRiDPad and GRiD Convertible.Prior to that, he held key technical positions with Intel Corporation. Hawkins earned his B.S. in electrical engineering from Cornell University.
ABOUT HANDSPRING
Handspring is a leading innovator in personal communications and handheld computing. The company's products include the Treo wireless communicators and Treo 90 organizer, the Visor expandable handheld computers, and client and server software for fast Web access from handheld devices and mobile phones. Today Handspring sells its products and accessories at www.handspring.com and through select Internet, retail and carrier partners in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Middle East and Mexico/Latin America.
ABOUT THE NAE
The National Academy of Engineering is an independent, nonprofit institution. Its members consist of the nation's premier engineers, who are elected by their peers for their seminal contributions to engineering. As such, the academy provides leadership and guidance to government on the application of engineering resources to social, economic, and security problems. Established in 1964, NAE operates under the congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences in 1863 and is associated with the other members of The National Academies, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the National Research Council (NRC).
NOTE: Handspring, the Handspring logo, Treo, the Treo logo and Visor are trademarks of Handspring, Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Handspring, Inc.
CONTACT: Brian Jaquet of Handspring, Inc., +1-650-230-5000, or [email protected];
or
Christopher Downing of Ruder Finn/Switzer, +1-415-348-2733, or [email protected], for Handspring, Inc.