This year three students were presented the Domino Award: John T. French, a junior in the Department of Computer Science whose essay was about Raymond Kurzweil, Kelly Anne K. Shuster, a senior in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering whose essay was about Grace Hopper, and Mark A. Versteeg Jr., a senior in the Department of Computer Science whose essay was about Daniel Bricklin.

“Applied Trust is proud to have been able to sponsor this event,” noted Trent R. Hein, Applied Trust’s CEO. “The Domino award, and Domino Theory in general, are unique and very important social tools that can really help to make a difference in the world, and Applied Trust is eager to help get the word out to encourage greater participation.”

The Domino Award was created by entrepreneur Herb Morreale, a 1991 graduate of CU’s Computer Science department, and CU Computer Science Professor Clayton Lewis. To apply for the award, students submitted essays that were judged for their ability to clearly communicate how the honoree's work set in motion a “series of dominos” that changed the world.

The award is based on Domino Theory, which is a framework that helps people see the world as a set of dominos: sometimes the dominos need to be “set up,” while other times the dominos are just waiting to be tipped over. The goal is that one tip leads to the next, and before long something big is happening, encouraging people to feel like they can make a real difference in the world by taking just one small strategic action.

The ceremony featured a presentation by keynote speaker Bill Coleman, CEO of Cassatt Corporation and founding donor of the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, as well as remarks by Morreale and Lewis, Trent Hein, Co-Founder and CEO of Applied Trust Engineering, Ben Whaley, Applied Trust Senior Engineer and 2003 Domino Award recipient, and John Conley, Deputy Chief Information Officer for the State of Colorado.

Winners received a $500 cash award and an all expenses paid trip to the upcoming Telluride Tech Festival, to be held August 1-3 in Telluride, Colo.

Other sponsors of the event included Rally Software Development, Stratom, Inc., and Tendril Networks, Inc.

About Applied Trust Engineering
Applied Trust Engineering provides IT security and network/systems infrastructure consulting services. The company serves clients in a variety of industries, including healthcare, financial services, recreation and government. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Applied Trust's proven process and industry-recognized experts deliver increased security, performance and availability, while reducing ecological impact. For more information, visit www.atrust.com.