The CEO of Seagate Technology, a leading provider of data storage devices, happened to be watching television one night a few weeks ago and saw Jason Leigh’s profile on the NOVA scienceNOW episode of “Can We Live Forever?”. Duly impressed, Seagate CEO Steve Luczo emailed Leigh, director of the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) and professor of Computer Science, saying, “I saw a program about you on NOVA. I think what you are doing is amazing and I would like to support you with disc drives, as I’m sure your applications are storage intensive. No strings attached.”

Leigh requested five storage servers that have a total capacity of 60 Terabytes and a list price of $9,000, which are now on their way to Chicago. Only then did Luczo ask if, when next in Chicago, he could visit EVL and see firsthand the Lab’s avatar work. Leigh said he was more than welcome, but added, “…the avatar stuff is only about 10% of what I actually do - but you gotta see it to believe it.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: For USA viewers who were unable to see this episode of NOVA scienceNOW, or who wish to see it again, see the video now posted on the PBS website.

Read UIC News “NOVA” appearance generates fan mail, gift for avatar project for more detail on the donation to support EVL research.

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