Paul Horn

Distinguished Scientist in Residence, NYU; former Director of IBM Research

SNAPSHOT BIO

Dr. Paul M. Horn was named NYU Distinguished Scientist in Residence and NYU Stern Executive in Residence in September of 2007.  Prior to his NYU position he was Senior Vice President of the IBM Corporation and Executive Director of Research.  In this job he directed IBM’s worldwide Research program with 3200 technical employees in eight sites in five countries around the world, and helped guide IBM’s overall technical strategy. Dr. Horn transformed IBM’s research and development model into an engine of innovation and growth. Under his watch, IBM created the Deep Blue and Blue Gene supercomputers, pioneered the use of copper and "self-assembly" in chip manufacturing, and created new disciplines in autonomic computing and services science.  Dr. Horn was a champion for translating technology based research into marketplace opportunities. Trained as a solid state physicist he has held, key management positions in science, semiconductors, and storage; successfully applying these disciplines to solving real world technology problems. Dr. Horn’s top priority as head of IBM’s Research Division was to stimulate innovation and innovative business model and quickly bring those innovations into the marketplace to sustain and grow IBM’s businesses, and to create the new businesses of IBM’s future.

Born in New York, Dr. Horn graduated from Clarkson College of Technology and received his doctoral degree in physics from the University of Rochester in 1973. Prior to joining IBM in 1979, Dr. Horn was a professor of physics in the James Franck Institute and the Physics Department and at the University of Chicago. Dr. Horn is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and was an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow from 1974-1978. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a former Associate Editor of Physical Review Letters and has published over 85 scientific and technical papers.
 
Dr. Horn has received numerous awards including the 1988 Bertram Eugene Warren award from the American Crystallographic Association, the 2000 Distinguished Leadership award from the New York Hall of Science, the 2002 Hutchison Medal from the University of Rochester, and the 2002 Pake Prize from the American Physical Society. In 2003 Dr. Horn was named as one of the top computing business leaders in the US by Scientific American magazine.  He is also a member of numerous professional committees including three in Washington: the GAO (General Accountability Office) board of advisors, the Gallaudet University Advisory Board, and the board of trustees of the Committee for Economic Development.  He is also on the Clarkson University and the New York Polytechnic Board of Trustees, the UC Berkeley Industrial Advisory Board, and is a trustee of the New York Hall of Science.

A Closer Look at Paul

FOCUS AREAS
What's on Paul's current research agenda?

Currently, Paul is focused on organizational efficiency and innovation. How will the changes in technology affect the nature of innovation in corporations and in society as a whole?  What can we learn from biological systems and what should we do to promote innovation in the US?  He is also very interested in the evolution of nanotechnology and it's future impact on mankind.

ENGAGEMENTS
How have other organizations utilized Paul's expertise, and what's ahead on his schedule?

Paul often talks about the evolution of technology and the changing nature of innovation.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Who shapes Paul's thinking and inspires his work?

Daniel Dennett, Kevin Kelly and Ray Kurzweil

RECOMMENDED READING
What's on Paul's must-read list?

Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life and Kinds of Minds: Toward an Understanding of Consciousness — Daniel Dennett
Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World— Kevin Kelly
Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough To Live Forever and The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology— Ray Kurzweil

MIND FUEL

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post Op-Eds