Name: David Stork
Title: Chief Scientist
Company: Ricoh Silicon Valley
Contact Info:
http://www.crc.ricoh.com/~stork
How I arrived at my present job (academic and other influences): Degrees in physics from MIT and U. Maryland. I was a professor in Massachusetts but left academia when my wife, a Medievalist, accepted a professorship in the English Department at Stanford University. After some time consulting, I accepted a position at Ricoh Corporation (now Ricoh Silicon Valley).
How I organize my day: To work by 8am, 1hr lunch (with pleasure reading over lunch), home by 6pm. Often, I'm writing books into the late evening. In a pinch (which is frequent), I'm working on weekend evenings too.
Amount of time spent working daily (at home and office): 11 hours.
What I do to get myself thinking creatively: Read voraciously. Think of analogies. Focus on key underlying problems and trends. Think of LOTS of alternatives before selecting the best. Match problem to resources.
My problem-solving strategy: (see immediately above)
What I do to relieve stress: Music performance, reading, hiking, family time.
What I do to mentor those who work for me: Help with writing and presentation speaking; providing a sounding board and questions during problem-solving sessions. Help with technical problems.
How a negative event changed my life in a positive way: I did not want to leave the east coast, but after a difficult transition to CA, I'm very happy and productive where I am.
What values are the most important to me and what I value in others: Creativity and breadth of knowledge, including non-professional areas.
What inspires, motivates, or gets me excited about my job on a daily basis: The prospect of making a lasting contribution to science/technology/society/culture.
Biography: Dr. David G. Stork is Chief Scientist and Head of the Machine Learning and Perception Group at Ricoh Silicon Valley as well as Consulting Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Visiting Scholar in Psychology at Stanford University. A graduate of MIT and the University of Maryland, he has been on the faculties of Wellesley College, Swarthmore College, Clark University, Boston University and Stanford University. Dr. Stork holds over a dozen patents, has published five books, sits on the editorial boards of four journals, and has published numerous peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. His deepest interests are in adaptive pattern recognition by machines and humans.
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Location: www.acm.org/crossroads/dayinlife/bios/david_stork.html