Leader in Internet Services To Be Engineering Dean's Lecturer

Robert Glaser, founder and chief executive officer of RealNetworks, the recognized leader in “streaming” media products and services for the Internet, will be the next Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering. His talk, titled “The Internet as the Next Mass Medium,” will be presented Thursday, Oct. 22, at 4:30 p.m. in Davies Auditorium at Becton Engineering Center, 15 Prospect St.. Free and open to the public, the talk will be followed by a reception at the adjacent Becton Faculty Lounge.

Since 1995, RealNetworks has played a pioneering role in media delivery over the Internet through its RealAudio, RealVideo, RealPlayer and RealSystem products. Glaser, who has long been intrigued with the nexus of media, computing, and communication, envisions turning the Internet into the next mass medium with his new products, which are designed to play an important role as television moves from a broadcast to an online medium.

Prior to founding RealNetworks, Glaser worked for Microsoft from 1983 to 1993, where he began his career by managing Microsoft Word, then moved to the company’s networking group. From there, he became Vice President of Multimedia and Consumer Systems, focusing on the development of new business relating to the convergence of the computer, consumer electronic and media industries.

While at Microsoft, he was instrumental in advancing the evolution of today’s Multimedia Personal Computer (MPC), the multimedia platform standard announced in 1992 by Microsoft and eight of the world’s 10 leading PC manufacturers.

Glaser has B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics, and a B.S. degree in computer science from Yale University. At Yale, he served as editorial-page editor of the Yale Daily News while simultaneously immersing himself in computers. Glaser has a long history of political activism and has been a member of numerous nonprofit boards. He currently serves as a member of several nonprofit boards and committees including, most recently, his appointment by President Bill Clinton to the advisory committee on public interest obligations of digital television broadcasters.