Alumni rank among top young innovators

Three Princeton alumni -- Jeffrey Bigham ’03, Andrew Houck ’00, and Erez Lieberman-Aiden ’02 -- have been named to this year's TR35, Technology Review magazine's list of top technologists and scientists under age 35.

Bigham, a computer science graduate who teaches at the University of Rochester, was honored for creating WebAnywhere, a free, versatile screen-reading application that converts Web pages to audio for people who have little or no vision. (A video of Bigham discussing his work is available here.)

Houck, a Princeton valedictorian who has returned to the electrical engineering department as an assistant professor, received praise for his work in quantum computing. He has developed a superconducting quantum bit, or qubit, that helps keep quantum information intact for a few microseconds -- a significant advance in the field.

Lieberman-Aiden, a Ph.D. candidate in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, was cited for his contributions to advanced models of evolutionary theory, the evolution of language and culture, and the structure of genomes. He also created the "iShoe," an insole that detects balance problems and aims to help prevent elderly people from falling.

The full list of 34 young innovators is available online and will be featured in the September/October issue of Technology Review.