Video

James Fruchterman
Technologist
Chairman and Founder
The Benetech Initiative
Palo Alto, California
Age: 47

James Fruchterman is an electrical engineer-turned-entrepreneur who adapts cutting-edge technologies into affordable devices for the visually impaired and others underserved by traditional commerce.  As a student, Fruchterman designed a reading machine for the blind using optical-character-recognition technology originally intended for military defense purposes.  Determined to keep the cost of his reading machine within reach of the largest number of users, Fruchterman founded the non-profit company, Arkenstone, to develop and manufacture the system.  He has since delivered this reading tool in a dozen languages to people in 60 countries and created a stream of other inventions for the visually impaired, including Open Book, a PC software program that reads scanned texts ranging from school books to utility bills, Atlas Speaks map software, and Strider, a talking GPS locator.  In 2000, Fruchterman founded another non-profit, Benetech, as an incubator for socially-oriented technology applications.  With Bookshare.org, Benetech has created a web-based library of scanned books to provide people with visual or learning disabilities downloadable access to a dramatically increased volume of printed materials.  Other initiatives include Martus, a secure, computer-based reporting system to assist the human rights sector in collecting, safeguarding, and disseminating information about human rights violations, and a Landmine Detector Project with the goal of placing state-of-the-art detection devices in the hands of humanitarian deminers in war-torn countries.  Fruchterman puts existing technologies to use in innovative ways to make life-changing machines for those who need them most.

James Fruchterman received a B.S. (1980) in engineering  and an M.S. (1980) in applied physics from the California Institute of Technology and pursued doctoral studies at Stanford University (1980-1981).  Prior to founding Benetech, where he serves as president, CEO, and chairman, he was president, CEO, and chairman of Arkenstone, Inc. (1989-2000) and co-founder and vice president of Calera Recognition Systems, Inc. (1982-1989).  Fruchterman also served as co-founder and CFO of RAF Technology, Inc. (1989-2004).

Information as of September 2006.