Steve Mann, PhD (MIT '97), P.Eng. (Ontario), FIEEE,
widely regarded as <a href=https://spectrum.ieee.org/engineer-conjured-up-extended-reality>"The Father of Wearable Tech" (IEEE Spectrum)</a> and "The inventor of wearable computing" (IEEE CTSoc), was born in Hamilton, Ontario, where he
<a href=http://wearcam.org/nn.htm>invented wearable computing and smartglasses</a>, the
<a href=http://wearcam.org/swimvention.htm>S.W.I.M. (Sequential Wave Imprinting Machine which is the predecessor of the metaverse)</a>,
and the <a href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulophone>hydraulophone</a> (world's first underwater musical instrument, and a new method for testing water quality)
in his childhood in the 1960s and 1970s.
He then studied and worked at McMaster University in Hamilton, completing undergrad and graduate degrees there, before heading to
MIT for his PhD where he invented
<a href=http://wearcam.org/hdr.htm>HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging</a> now used in more than 2 billion smartphones, along with the
<a href=http://wearcam.org/smartwatch/>smartwatch</a>
for tracking health and fitness.
He has been a professor at University of Toronto since 1998 when he founded Water-Human-Computer Interaction (<a href=https://waterhci.com>waterhci.com</a>)
as an academic discipline at the intersection of water, humans, and technology.
He lives in downtown Toronto with his wife and 2 children who are both enrolled as students at University of Toronto, where he co-founded InteraXon, makers of the Muse brain-sensing headband used for meditation and mindfulness.
<p>
Steve just got back from CES / ICCE in Las Vegas where he received 3 awards
including the
<strong><a href=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomcoughlin/2025/02/13/steve-mann-father-of-wearable-computing-given-ieee-ibuka-award/>2025 IEEE Consumer Electronics Award</a></strong>,
joining the ranks of <strong>Apple founder Steve Wozniak</strong> (2021 Award recipient),
<strong>Linux creator Linus Torvalds</strong> (2018 recipient), and
<strong>the inventor of the cellphone, Marty Cooper</strong> (2015 recipient).
Steve also received the <strong>Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award of 2024</strong>, joining the ranks of Nobel laureate
<strong>Geoffrey Hinton</strong> (2023 Award recipient).
Steve swims, rows, paddles, and does
<a href=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GiH7q7Op1sI>waterballing</a>
in Lake Ontario nearly every day year-round, and founded the group
<a href=https://swimop.com>SwimOP.com</a> (Swim at Ontario Place)
with thousands of members doing winter swimming and advocating for water access as a basic human right.
<p>
To learn more about Steve Mann's work, read the recent IEEE Spectrum article,<br/>
<a href=https://spectrum.ieee.org/engineer-conjured-up-extended-reality>How Steve Mann earned the "father of wearable tech" title</a>.