Kenneth Hess
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Lafferty Hess is an engineer, author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Hess is founder and president of Science Buddies
, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering science literacy through the creation of free resources and services for K-12 students, teachers, and families. He holds one of the first software patents ever granted and has designed and/or developed dozens of commercial software, content, and Internet products, including Family Tree Maker, one of the all-time best-selling home software programs. Among his awards are a PC Magazine Editor's Choice, PC Magazine Top 100 Web Site, a Software Publishing Association Codie
, and a Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE).
he had built. Hess was interested in observing the trails of the radioactive particles as they moved through the chamber. Later, as a parent, Hess observed his daughter's success and enjoyment of the science fair process.
At the same time, he recognized that many students lack the resources and support they need to get the maximum educational benefit from a science fair project. With a goal of supporting students from all walks of life (as well as their teachers, parents, and schools) in doing science research projects, Hess founded Science Buddies
in 2001 under the umbrella of the Kenneth Lafferty Hess Family Charitable Foundation. (The organization formalized its name change to Science Buddies in 2010.)
Since the inception of Science Buddies, Hess has led the organization in creating an innovative library of resources designed to enrich and support science education. These resources include 1000+ scientist-vetted project ideas in more than 30 scientific fields, a Topic Selection Wizard to help students find exciting and appropriate science and engineering projects, tools and materials for classroom use, guides to help science-fair administrators, and a complete project guide to help students with all steps of conducting a science or engineering project. During 2010, 9.8 million unique individuals visited the Science Buddies website, a number equal to ∼18% of U.S. students in grades K–12.
As a testament to the quality of resources Hess has implemented and developed at Science Buddies to meet the needs of K-12 educators and to help bridge the gap between researchers and K-12 students, Science Buddies was awarded the prestigious Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE) in April 2011. SPORE awards are given by Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS).
, Teradyne
, Hewlett-Packard
, and Symantec
. He founded Banner Blue Software in 1984. Tapping into a growing societal interest in genealogy
and personal ancestry, Banner Blue developed Family Tree Maker, genealogy software
that enabled users to locate and organize ancestral information. During the first half of 1996, Family Tree Maker was one of three top-selling personal productivity product lines, according to PC Data.
Banner Blue also developed Org Plus, a tool for creating corporate organization charts. A version of Org Plus, labeled Microsoft Organization Chart, was bundled into copies of Microsoft Office for many years. Hess wrote the initial versions of both Family Tree Maker and Org Plus and designed the initial version of Family Tree Maker Online.
Hess' success with Banner Blue Software was an exercise in "bootstrapping." Starting the company with a personal investment of $20,000, Hess bootstrapped Banner Blue Software into a company with 100 employees and annual sales of $25 million (and approximately 2 million copies of Family Tree Maker sold) when Broderbund Software, Inc. acquired it in 1995. Hess outlined the success of Banner Blue and his "bootstrapping" approach in Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building a Successful Company from Scratch.
In 1999, Hess co-founded Pocket Express, a company that designed and manufactured software for Palm pocket computers. Pocket Express' product line was sold to Handmark, Inc. in 2002.
in 1971, Hess attended Stanford University
where he earned a BS in Engineering. His course of study was interdisciplinary with emphasis in engineering, computer science, and political science. Following Stanford, Hess received an MBA from Harvard
.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies, formerly the Kenneth Lafferty Hess Family Charitable Foundation, is a non-profit organization that provides a website of free science fair productivity tools and mentoring to support K-12 students in science and engineering research projects, especially for science fairs...
, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering science literacy through the creation of free resources and services for K-12 students, teachers, and families. He holds one of the first software patents ever granted and has designed and/or developed dozens of commercial software, content, and Internet products, including Family Tree Maker, one of the all-time best-selling home software programs. Among his awards are a PC Magazine Editor's Choice, PC Magazine Top 100 Web Site, a Software Publishing Association Codie
Codie awards
The CODiE awards are annual awards issued by the Software and Information Industry Association for excellence in software development within the software industry....
, and a Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE).
Science Buddies
As a ninth grader, Hess' science fair project involved using a dentist's X-ray machine to test a cloud chamberCloud chamber
The cloud chamber, also known as the Wilson chamber, is a particle detector used for detecting ionizing radiation. In its most basic form, a cloud chamber is a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapor of water or alcohol. When a charged particle interacts with the mixture, it ionizes it...
he had built. Hess was interested in observing the trails of the radioactive particles as they moved through the chamber. Later, as a parent, Hess observed his daughter's success and enjoyment of the science fair process.
At the same time, he recognized that many students lack the resources and support they need to get the maximum educational benefit from a science fair project. With a goal of supporting students from all walks of life (as well as their teachers, parents, and schools) in doing science research projects, Hess founded Science Buddies
Science Buddies
Science Buddies, formerly the Kenneth Lafferty Hess Family Charitable Foundation, is a non-profit organization that provides a website of free science fair productivity tools and mentoring to support K-12 students in science and engineering research projects, especially for science fairs...
in 2001 under the umbrella of the Kenneth Lafferty Hess Family Charitable Foundation. (The organization formalized its name change to Science Buddies in 2010.)
Since the inception of Science Buddies, Hess has led the organization in creating an innovative library of resources designed to enrich and support science education. These resources include 1000+ scientist-vetted project ideas in more than 30 scientific fields, a Topic Selection Wizard to help students find exciting and appropriate science and engineering projects, tools and materials for classroom use, guides to help science-fair administrators, and a complete project guide to help students with all steps of conducting a science or engineering project. During 2010, 9.8 million unique individuals visited the Science Buddies website, a number equal to ∼18% of U.S. students in grades K–12.
As a testament to the quality of resources Hess has implemented and developed at Science Buddies to meet the needs of K-12 educators and to help bridge the gap between researchers and K-12 students, Science Buddies was awarded the prestigious Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE) in April 2011. SPORE awards are given by Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
(AAAS).
Career
Prior to launching his first company, Hess worked at Intel CorporationIntel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
, Teradyne
Teradyne
Teradyne , a US company, is a supplier of automatic test equipment . The company's divisions Semiconductor Test and Systems Test Group, are organized by the products they develop and deliver.-History:...
, Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, and Symantec
Symantec
Symantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
. He founded Banner Blue Software in 1984. Tapping into a growing societal interest in genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
and personal ancestry, Banner Blue developed Family Tree Maker, genealogy software
Genealogy software
Genealogy software is computer software used to record, organize, and publish genealogical data. At a minimum, genealogy software collects the date and place of an individual's birth, marriage, and death, and stores the relationships of individuals to their parents, spouses, and children...
that enabled users to locate and organize ancestral information. During the first half of 1996, Family Tree Maker was one of three top-selling personal productivity product lines, according to PC Data.
Banner Blue also developed Org Plus, a tool for creating corporate organization charts. A version of Org Plus, labeled Microsoft Organization Chart, was bundled into copies of Microsoft Office for many years. Hess wrote the initial versions of both Family Tree Maker and Org Plus and designed the initial version of Family Tree Maker Online.
Hess' success with Banner Blue Software was an exercise in "bootstrapping." Starting the company with a personal investment of $20,000, Hess bootstrapped Banner Blue Software into a company with 100 employees and annual sales of $25 million (and approximately 2 million copies of Family Tree Maker sold) when Broderbund Software, Inc. acquired it in 1995. Hess outlined the success of Banner Blue and his "bootstrapping" approach in Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building a Successful Company from Scratch.
In 1999, Hess co-founded Pocket Express, a company that designed and manufactured software for Palm pocket computers. Pocket Express' product line was sold to Handmark, Inc. in 2002.
Boards and Advisory Committees
- Chairman of California State Summer School for Mathematics and ScienceCalifornia State Summer School for Mathematics and ScienceThe California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science is a summer program for high school students in California for the purpose of preparing them for careers in mathematics and sciences. It is often abbreviated COSMOS, although COSMOS does not contain the correct letters to create an...
(COSMOS) Advisory Board - Sensant Corporation, San Leandro, CA, 1998-2005 (Sensant was acquired by SiemensSiemensSiemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
in 2005) - Carmel Bach Festival, Carmel, CA, 2001–2004
- The Hoover InstitutionHoover InstitutionThe Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
, Stanford University, Board of Overseers, 1996–2002 - Software Forum Advisory Board, 1993–1998
Publications and Patents
- Science Buddies: Advancing Informal Science Education Science 29 April 2011: Vol. 332 no. 6029 pp. 550–551, DOI: 10.1126/science.1196978
- Science Buddies: Advancing Informal Science Education (video), 2011)
- Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building A Successful Company From Scratch, S-Curve Press, 2001.
- Remarks to Software Forum Dinner Meeting, 1997.
- U.S. Patent 4,764,867, "Display System and Method for Constructing and Editing a Hierarchical Arrangement of Information," issued August 1988.
- "Picking the Best Display: An Easy-to-Follow Guide." Electronic Design (August 19, 1982): 139-146.
Early Life and Education
Hess was born in Warren, Ohio, to Phyllis Lafferty Hess and Richard Morton Hess. After graduating from Howland High SchoolHowland High School
Howland High School is a public high school in Howland Township, Ohio, near Warren. It is the only high school in the Howland Local Schools district. Their mascot is the Tiger...
in 1971, Hess attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
where he earned a BS in Engineering. His course of study was interdisciplinary with emphasis in engineering, computer science, and political science. Following Stanford, Hess received an MBA from Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Family and Hobbies
Hess and his wife, Constance, have one daughter, Amber. Hess' personal interests include photography and astronomy. Combining his interest in photography, astro-photography, and science literacy, Hess has authored the following Science Buddies resources and materials:- Camera Lens Testing
- The Golden State Star Party, Science Buddies Blog
- The Golden State Star Party - II, Science Buddies Blog
- The Golden State Star Party - III, Science Buddies Blog
External links
- KLHess.com
- Science Buddies
- Corporate Chronology of Family Tree Maker, October 17, 2006