We stand on shoulders of giants

[dlavery]

Two years ago I was invited to a dinner hosted by the publisher of Esquire, along with a bunch of people that were being written up in the magazine. At the conclusion of the dinner, some of us were asked to say a few words. I sat there for a few minutes composing my thoughts while the other two started things off. When my turn came up, I could only think of one thing to really say: as I stood there looking around the room, I saw the faces of a Nobel laureate, the Mayor of Balitmore, a surgeon that had rewritten all the books on heart surgery, a biologist that had completely redefined the human genome project, and other examples of the best of my generation. I was in awe of the things they had built, the works they had completed, and the human creativity they represented. But I had to warn them not to rest easy. You see, I had the good fortune to spend a considerable amount of time each year with some amazing representatives of the next generation, and could glimpse the things of which they were capable. Given the spirit, innovation, and passion that they displayed over something as small as a robotics competition, I knew that when they got serious about changing the world they were going to make my generation look like Luddites in comparison. And the very hardest thing that I was going to have to do for the rest of my life was struggle to stay just one step ahead of them whenever I could.

So I leave it to all the students, alumni, and future mentors to please prove me right.

So far, y'all are doing pretty good!

-dave