Thursday 20 November 2008
Pitt Girl Was Here, at Pamelas, Squirrel Hill. Photograph by Tal Cohen |

In The News

September 2, 2008

The Wizard of the Wii: CMU grad's 'tinkering' leads to innovator award

Technology Review has named Carnegie Mellon graduate Johnny Lee as one of the world's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.

Known for his creative uses of the wireless Nintendo Wii remote, Dr. Lee, 28, received a doctoral degree from the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. He currently works for Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group and resides in Redmond, Wash.

Technology Review, which is published by MIT, acknowledges Dr. Lee's ability to devise new high-tech uses for existing electronics that help people beat the high cost of technology. Among his inventions are an inexpensive whiteboard, or simulated canvas, made from a Wii remote and a traditional television set.

One Carnegie Mellon computer science associate professor describes as a MacGyver-like inventor who uses few resources to get amazing results.

Dr. Lee and the other "TR35 Young Innovators," who are featured in the September issue of Technology Review, will be honored Sept. 23-25 during the EmTech08 Conference in Cambridge, Mass.

To read the complete Post-Gazette article, go here.

Details on Lee's inventions, including photos and videos, are available here.

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