Charles Simonyi is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is best known for his work at Microsoft, where he was the chief architect of Microsoft Word, Excel, and other popular application programs. Simonyi left Microsoft briefly to found Intentional Software, which focused on developing software for knowledge processing. Before Microsoft, Simonyi worked at Xerox PARC where he created the first WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) text editor called Bravo for the Alto computer. Simonyi is the chair of the board of trustees of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Through the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, he endows numerous educational and charitable contributions.
