As I looked at the career options that I had, following my retirement from Lucent Technologies, I was excited by the prospect of being part of a team that is making Georgia a region of world-class excellence for telecommunications, broadly defined. Looking back, I see that we are well on our way to realizing that objective. We have created an enviable collection of industry-guided research centers and new companies in the related domains of communications, computing and content processing. If we are successful in keeping the momentum, and in successfully cross-fertilizing these centers, we will have continued credibility in the area of Next Generation Information Services, while at the same time contributing to the GRA charter of economic development in Georgia. On a personal note, Georgia Tech and Atlanta have both been wonderfully good for me and my family, and we consider ourselves fortunate to be in a uniquely nurturing and inspiring environment, anchored and embellished by the Eminent Scholar team that the GRA has created over the years.