Norman K Meyrowitz (Norm, nkm)

Adjunct Professor of the Practice of Computer Science
Brown University

Cell: 415-505-9115
E-mail: nkm@brown.edu

Professional Bio

. Norm received an Sc.B. in Computer Science from Brown University in 1981, and is recognized for his work on linking and multimedia technology for the internet and for the evolution of web development software. In the 1980s, Norm served as a Co-Director of Brown University’s Institute for Research in Information and Scholarship, where he led the development of Intermedia, a hypermedia system that influenced both the creator of the web and the creator of the web browser. In the mid-1980s, he co-founded two ACM conferences - OOPSLA (Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, and Languages) and Hypertext ‘87, which continue to this day. Following his work in academia, Norm worked for several years as the Director of System/User Software for pen/tablet pioneer GO Corporation before transitioning to his role as President of Product Development at Macromedia (later acquired by Adobe). At Macromedia, Norm oversaw a variety of web development and multimedia products at Macromedia, including Shockwave, Dreamweaver, Flash, the latter of which had more than 4 billion downloads in its heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s. He has also led the alum groups that raised the $10M UTA Endowment. Recently, he organized Brown's "A Half-Century of Hypertext at Brown" Symposium, bringing together people and systems from 1967 to the present.

Casual Bio

I’m originally from Brooklyn (before it was hipster). I graduated from Brown in 1981 with Sc.B. CS. My computer science specialties are Hypertext, Multimedia, and Web Software. I have been fortunate eneough to do both academic research and build commercial software. I ran a research institute at Brown in the 1980s, then went to industry to develop lots of products at Macromedia (now Adobe). My wife — also a Brown alum — and I have lived in San Francisco since 1991 (way before it was hipster). I am a foodie, and if the food starts with "P" (pastrami, pizza, or porchetta), I am probably either cooking it or eating it. In the distant past I did newspaper writing and design, and in the recent past did architectural plans for friends as a hobby. 

User's Guide to Norm

Back in the late 1980s, I wrote a memo to all of the folks at our research institute outlining the kind of environment I hope we could build. It helped people figure out what makes me tick, but from then to the present, people have circulated  it as a more general guide to building and being a part of great organization. It is linked here if it is of interest to you.    

Curriculum Vitae