William New
William New is an MD/PhD/MSEE/MBA , a former anesthesiologist, the inventor of the first practical pulse oximeter, co-founder of Nellcor, and now a VC based in California and North Carolina. Bill was in Portland in June 2004 for an electronics test conference at which I spoke. When I asked him what he thought were some important opportunities in Portland, he quickly responded with K12LTSP and Freegeek (this was before he knew I was an open source zealot). He mentioned a desire to replicate Freegeek in central California and near research triangle park in North Carolina, as a way of increasing community skills and for providing computers to the schools there. I have been unable to contact Bill since the conference, but I can provide pointers to you if you wish. Some of his projects might be interesting investment opportunities as well.