Erik Winfree

Erik Winfree

Spoke here, didn't he?

Tall and blond, upon a stool

He talked about a molecule

That could compute.

He won some loot for being smart,

And then, to boot, advanced the art

Of DNA, not in a cell.

I guess I'll tell ...  I have a spy.

That's how I know he uses dye

To see what his computer's doin'.

I thought I would stick in a spoo-n.

What I pulled out was viscous muck

I said I wouldn't pay a buck

For this machine. It's just a gene!

But don't be mean ... He has a path

To grasping life that's based on math.

His hearers gasp to think that during

Talks he mentions Alan Turing!

Is this bi-o, or just CS?

I don't know, but still I guess

This stuff is cool, and sure to pad

Our knowledge pool. That can't be bad.

Relax. Enjoy the long and spindly

DNA of Erik Winfree.

                 John Preskill

                 February 8, 2001