Peter K. Allen is a professor of computer science at Columbia Engineering. His current research interests include robotic grasping, 3-D vision and modeling, and medical robotics. In recognition of his work, Allen has been named a Presidential Young Investigator by the National Science Foundation. He received an A.B. degree from Brown University in mathematics and economics (1971), an M.S. in computer science from the University of Oregon (1976), and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania (1985), where he was the recipient of the CBS Foundation Fellowship, Army Research Office fellowship, and the Rubinoff Award for innovative uses of computers.