On the Evening of 24 February 2004 during a formal dinner held in Washington D.C., the National Academy of Engineering awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize to Alan C. Kay, Butler W. Lampson, Robert W. Taylor and Charles P. Thacker, "for the vision, conception, and development of the principles for, and their effective integration in, the world's first practical networked personal computers."

According to National Academy of Engineering President Wm. A. Wulf, "These four prize recipients were the indispensable core of an amazing group of engineering minds that redefined the nature and purpose of computing."

The honorees will share a prize that is endowed by the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, an independent not-for-profit lab devoted to engineering development, education and technology transfer.

In his remarks to the assembly Alan said, "The ARPA/PARC research context and community catalyzed researchers to be incredibly better dreamers and thinkers. This context was itself a great work of art, confirmed by the world-changing results that appeared so swiftly, and almost easily."

We here at Squeakland offer our most heartfelt congratulations to the Honorees.