Biographies: Dr. Sidney Thomas Emerson, 2002, Winn Parish, LA Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: Information provided by Mrs. Barbara Emerson Moon, sister of Dr. Sidney Thomas Emerson Some years back I asked Mrs. Moon to get to me some information on Dr. Emerson, one of Winn Parish's favorite sons and one we certainly are proud of. Following is some of the biographical of this great man. Biography of Dr. Sidney Thomas Emerson Native of Winnfield, LA, son of Joe Hall Emerson and Byrd Nelson Emerson 1959 graduate of Winnfield High School 1963 Bachelor of Science in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 1966 Master of Arts, Rice University, Houston, TX 1968 Doctor of Philosophy in Nuclear Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX Professional career: Brookhaven National Nuclear Laboratory, Brookhaven, NY, where he designed computerized data acquisition equipment for high energy physics experiments In 1969, co-founded and served as president and CEO of Periphonics Corporation, Bohemia, NY, a manufacturer of voice response systems. In 1973, selected "Inventor of the Year" by the United States Patent Office. The owner of three U. S. Patents in computer technology, he also holds several foreign patents and has authored more than 20 scientific and technical publications. Periphonics later became a subsidiary of Exxon Corporation. In 1984 founded and served as president and CEO of Syntellect, Inc., of Phoenix. Syntellect makes computerized telephone systems (Infobot) and went public in 1990 and moved to Atlanta, GA. In 1989, Inc. Magazine named Dr. Emerson "High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year." In 1990, Arizona State University named him "Entrepreneur of the Year." After leaving Syntellect, Inc., in 1992, Dr. Emerson founded Phoenix based Xantel Corporation and served as chairman and CEO of this company which makes hardware and software for desktop telephone management, until January 1998. In 1998 he was chairman of the Arizona Software Association, was a member of the Enterprise Network and is on the advisory boards of Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. He is past president of the Arizona Business Leadership Association and has taught entrepreneurship at Arizona State University. In January 1999, Dr. Emerson was named CEO of Arizona Technology Incubator, a seven-year old Scottsdale-based organization that supports emerging technology companies and has been described as a non-profit "think tank." This position required Dr. Emerson to guide the incubator's 18 companies, raise money and work on other companies he founded. During this endeavor he raised $55 million in venture capital funding. Dr. Emerson also sits on the boards of four Arizona technology companies: Essential Wisdom, Inc., Phoenix-based Arizona Instrument Corp., Scottsdale- based Netpro, Inc., and Ventana Corp. of Tucson. In May 2000, Dr. Emerson joined the faculty of Carnegie-Melon University in Pittsburgh, PA where he is Director of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship. He is married to the former Linda Talmage of East Hampton, NY and they have two sons, Griffin Talmage Emerson and David Nelson Emerson.