Meeting Bob Metcalfe

"An Evening with Bob Metcalfe" was a unique opportunity for us graduate students. It was amazing to speak with and hear such an innovator speak, someone who has changed all of our lives. Where would we be without Ethernet? Our lives would definitely be different.

Not only was this such a neat opportunity, but Mr. Metcalfe's demeanor made it easy to talk to him and ask him questions. My favorite part was when he talked about his time at Harvard getting his PhD. It was interesting to hear his disdain for Harvard and some of his former professors. I don't know what I would have done if I found out a week before graduation that my dissertation was rejected. I would have been devasted, but Mr. Metcalfe just continued to persevere and earned his PhD.

I also enjoyed when he talked about his relationship with Steve Jobs, it was funny when he told the story about how he changed a flat tire. Probably the only thing Steve Jobs and I had in common was our inability to change a flat! His story about how he found out about Steve Job's death at a bar was touching.

I like that he is teaching innovation at UT, because there seems no one more qualified to teach innovation than Mr. Metcalfe. Also, I like how he basically went to UT and told them that he was teaching Innovation, basically creating his own course.

I also was pretty happy when I answered his mind puzzle correctly. I'm usually not good at things like that, so I was a bit proud!

All in all, it was a wonderful experience getting to speak with a true innovator! Here's an article and sound from Mr. Metcalfe's talk at SXSW.