Business News
Adobe Founders to Receive U.S. Governments National Medal of Technology and Innovation
Monday 12. October 2009 - President Obama to Recognize John Warnock and Chuck Geschke at White House Ceremony
Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today congratulates its two founders, John E. Warnock, Ph.D., and Charles M. Geschke, Ph.D., on receiving the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. President Barack Obama will present the award today at 1:30 p.m. EDT at a ceremony in the White House East Room. The award – the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists, engineers and inventors – recognizes outstanding technology contributions for the improvement of the economic, environmental or social well-being of the United States.
Warnock and Geschkes initial innovation, a printer language called Adobe PostScript, sparked a quiet revolution that democratized publishing and today is seen as an important first step in the mass dissemination of ideas and information.
Building on the success of PostScript, Warnock and Geschke launched the Portable Document Format (PDF) in 1993. PDF is now used by government organizations, corporations and people around the world for universal, reliable document exchange. The company has distributed over half of a billion copies of the virtually ubiquitous Adobe Reader software for interacting with PDF files.
With a reputation for excellence and a portfolio of many of the most respected and recognizable software brands, from Adobe Photoshop and Creative Suite to Flash, Acrobat and Dreamweaver, Adobe has had a sweeping impact on the digital landscape in virtually every medium.
“All of us at Adobe are proud of John and Chucks remarkable achievements,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe. “Our success and continuous innovation are a testament to their original vision and the company values they instilled from the very beginning.”