Scientist claims immortality in 20 years or so - Page 8

Kurzweil has been called the successor and "rightful heir to Thomas Edison", and was also referred to by Forbes as "the ultimate thinking machine"[13][14][15].

Kurzweil has received these awards, among others:

* First place in the 1965 International Science Fair[4] for inventing the classical music synthesizing computer.
* The 1978 Grace Murray Hopper Award from the Association for Computing Machinery. The award is given annually to one "outstanding young computer professional" and is accompanied by a $35,000 prize.[16] Ray Kurzweil won it for his invention of the Kurzweil Reading Machine.[17]
* The 1990 "Engineer of the Year" award from Design News.[18]
* The 1994 Dickson Prize in Science. One is awarded every year by Carnegie Mellon University to individuals who have "notably advanced the field of science." Both a medal and a $50,000 prize are presented to winners.[19]
* The 1998 "Inventor of the Year" award from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[20]
* The 1999 National Medal of Technology.[21] This is the highest award the President of the United States can bestow upon individuals and groups for pioneering new technologies, and the President dispenses the award at his discretion.[22] Bill Clinton presented Ray Kurzweil with the National Medal of Technology during a White House ceremony in recognition of Kurzweil's development of computer-based technologies to help the disabled.
* The 2000 Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology.[23] Two other individuals also received the same honor that year. The award is presented yearly to people who "exemplify the life, times and standard of contribution of Tesla, Westinghouse and Nunn."
* The 2001 Lemelson-MIT Prize for a lifetime of developing technologies to help the disabled and to enrich the arts.[24] Only one is meted out each year to highly successful, mid-career inventors. A $500,000 award accompanies the prize.[25]
* Kurzweil was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002 for inventing the Kurzweil Reading Machine.[26] The organization "honors the women and men responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible."[27] Fifteen other people were inducted into the Hall of Fame the same year.[28]
* The Arthur C. Clarke Lifetime Achievement Award on April 20, 2009 for lifetime achievement as an inventor and futurist in computer-based technologies.[29]
* Ray Kurzweil has also been given 16 honorary degrees from different universities, listed below.

Type of degree College Year awarded
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters[30] Hofstra University 1982
Honorary Doctorate of Music[30] Berklee College of Music 1987
Honorary Doctorate of Science[30] Northeastern University 1988
Honorary Doctorate of Science[30] Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1988
Honorary Doctorate of Engineering[30] Merrimack College 1989
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters[30] Misericordia University 1989
Honorary Doctorate of Science[30] New Jersey Institute of Technology 1990
Honorary Doctorate of Science[30] Queens College, City University of New York 1991
Honorary Doctorate of Science[30] Dominican College 1993
Honorary Doctorate in Science and Humanities[30] Michigan State University 2000
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters[30][31] Landmark College 2002
Honorary Doctorate of Science[30] Worcester Polytechnic Institute 2005
Honorary Doctorate of Science[30] DePaul University 2006
Honorary Doctorate of Science[30] Bloomfield College 2007
Honorary Doctorate of Science[32] McGill University 2008
Honorary Doctorate of Science[33] Clarkson University 2009

This is, of course, leaving all of his inventions,books, and actual degrees out, I however, feel you get the point.