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UW computer science leader Hank Levy Jun 14, 2019

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The past decade has been a period of incredible growth for the technology industry in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. One of the primary engines of that growth is the University of Washington's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering in Seattle. Computer scientist Hank Levy has been a quiet force behind the program as its leader for the past 13 years.

During his tenure, the program positioned itself as one of the top 5 computer science programs in the country, after MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon in the minds of many in the industry. It grew its faculty by 30 positions, or 70 percent; doubled its space with the addition of the Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering; tripled its undergraduate enrollment and doubled its graduate enrollment; and developing strengths in areas such as robotics, data science, security, sensors and machine learning.

Levy will step down as Allen School director effective July 1 but will remain involved with the program. Speaking with GeekWire this week, in advance of the Allen School commencement Friday evening, Levy reflected on the huge changes during his tenure, the transformation of technology during his career, and the challenges still facing the UW and the tech industry.

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Maria Klawe on the promise of computer science Jun 13, 2019

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In the 13 years since Maria Klawe took over as president of Harvey Mudd College, she has surprised skeptics and achieved a milestone that has confounded most institutions of higher education. Today, 50 percent of Harvey Mudd graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are women, and students of color are on the rise at the elite technical college.

The shift is no accident; Klawe made diversity her top priority when she took the helm at Harvey Mudd, in Claremont, Calif. And while she's made strides, she's also faced big challenges during what she describes as the most difficult years of her professional career.

Klawe is a noted computer scientist and academic and a former Microsoft board member. Before becoming the first woman to lead Harvey Mudd, she served as dean of engineering at Princeton University and dean of science at the University of British Columbia. Klawe will share insights from her journey as a leader in computer science and champion for diversity when delivering the 2019 commencement address for the University of Washington's Paul G. Allen School for Computer Science & Engineering this Friday, June 14.

We caught up with Klawe for a preview of her remarks and a broader discussion of the opportunities and challenges facing the technology industry. Listen to the podcast below, subscribe to the GeekWire Podcast in your favorite podcast app, and continue reading for highlights from the conversation.

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Amazon drones ready to deliver Jun 08, 2019

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Amazon gave a detailed look at its new warehouse robots and delivery drones, discussed its plans for a satellite constellation, and talked about the future of artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation during a multi-day conference in Las Vegas this week. GeekWire's aerospace and science editor Alan Boyle was in Las Vegas to cover it all, and he joins us with a recap and analysis.

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Inside the IPO: Adaptive Biotech Jun 02, 2019

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Chad Robins is a Cornell grad and Wharton School MBA who was working in real estate finance a decade ago when he was approached with a business idea by his brother, Harlan Robins, head of the Computational Biology Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

As Chad Robins recalled, "When he called me up in 2009 and said, 'Hey I want to start a business, I've figured out how to sequence T-cells at a high throughput,' I was like, 'Yes, I'm in!' and then I went to Wikipedia and I'm like, 'What the hell is he talking about?' I don't know the difference between a T-cell receptor and a T-bone steak."

A decade later, the company they created, Adaptive Biotechnologies, is using the genetic code of the immune system to change the diagnosis and treatment of disease. It’s valued at more than $1 billion. It has partnerships with industry giants Microsoft and Genentech, and this week it filed raise $230 million in an initial public offering. On this episode of the GeekWire podcast, we’ll get the inside story of Adaptive Biotechnologies and share what we learned in its IPO filing.

Correction 6/3: Chad Robins and Harlan Robins hold about the same amount of equity in the company, which wasn’t apparent from the IPO filing because some of the stock is held in trusts. We've update the audio to remove this portion of our discussion.

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Sci-fi master Neal Stephenson May 31, 2019

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Are we living in a simulation? Is there an afterlife? And if not, what would it take to create one? Drawing inspiration from Seattle's tech industry and the emerging field of virtual reality, best-selling science-fiction author Neal Stephenson knits together ideas as old as the Bible and as up-to-date as Elon Musk's musings in an epic 880-page novel titled "Fall; or, Dodge in Hell," due out June 4. GeekWire's Alan Boyle read the book and interviewed Stephenson, and joins us to share highlights.

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How tech is transforming home-buying, again May 25, 2019

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The peak home-buying season is upon us, but buyers and sellers taking a fresh look at the market will see a much different landscape for real estate technology than they did just a year or two ago -- and it's only the beginning of the changes to come. It's an exciting time in the real estate tech business, and anything can happen. On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we assess the changes so far and debate what could happen next: Could Zillow end up buying Redfin or another brokerage to bolster its new model? Will the notion of one-click homebuying ever truly take hold? How will traditional brokerages play a role in the future? And will any of these changes actually address the fundamental problem of housing affordability?

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Inside Amazon's annual meeting May 24, 2019

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Amazon's annual meeting has become a spectacle over the years, despite the company's best efforts to stick to business. Todd Bishop and Monica Nickelsburg explain what happened at this year's event, earlier this week in Seattle. Plus, the latest on T-Mobile and Sprint, why a former Facebook exec is floating Microsoft's Brad Smith as a replacement for Mark Zuckerberg, and how Rover capitalized on the Game of Thrones finale.

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How to think like Amazon May 22, 2019

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John Rossman helped to launch and build the Amazon Marketplace business before leading the company's Enterprise Services business during his tenure at the company. In his new book, "Think Like Amazon: 50 1/2 Ideas to Become a Digital Leader," he helps other business leaders and managers understand, learn from and adopt elements of Amazon's approach. He sat down with us this week to talk about some of the ideas that define the company, and what they say about its future.

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Minecraft meets the real world May 18, 2019

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Four years after acquiring Minecraft, Microsoft this week unveiled its most ambitious effort yet to take the popular franchise to the next level, and specifically into the real world. GeekWire went hands on with the game in a sneak preview, but with the release not expected until later this summer, why the heck is Microsoft touting this game before the rest of us can actually play it?

Plus, Amazon is offering its employees an incentive to quit their jobs, if they start their own package delivery companies. This is the latest wrinkle in the company's Delivery Service Partners program, which we explored in depth last year.

Finally, on the Random Channel, the latest twist in our quest to stream live audio at the ballpark, a commentary on the sequestering of tech execs, and the latest in the scooter saga, featuring Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

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Melinda Gates, the GeekWire Interview May 14, 2019

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Listen in on our conversation with Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, about her book, "The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World." The book has garnered national attention and further elevated Melinda's status as an influential public figure in her own right. GeekWire's Monica Nickelsburg and Todd Bishop spoke with Melinda at her office in Seattle, at the conclusion of her national book tour. Go to GeekWire.com for full coverage.

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