Yuen named trustee

In the near future, the number of cable and satellite television channels offered to viewers will have leaped from what was typically a few dozen to possibly more than 500. Putting aside what 500 channels could do to your brain, the question then becomes how to find out what’s on, and when.
Henry Yuen has provided the answer. The 1973 Caltech graduate (PhD in applied mathematics) developed the on-screen television program guides already in use on most such systems. Now Yuen will bring his original thinking to his new position as a member of the Institute’s Board of Trustees.
Yuen is the chairman and chief executive officer of Gemstar–TV Guide International, Inc., in Pasadena. He cofounded its predecessor, Gemstar International Group, Ltd., in 1989, after wrestling
with a dilemma most of us have faced—programming a VCR.

In 1988, Yuen tried to tape a game of his favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox. In spite of his Caltech PhD and a JD from Loyola University Law School (he is a member of the State Bar of California), when he went to watch the game, he found that all he had recorded was a screen full of snow. Instead of simply shaking his head in frustration, Yuen invented the new technology called VCR Plus+. Still in use today, it’s the nearly foolproof way of recording shows by punching in a number that’s listed in most television guides next to a particular program.

Prior to Gemstar, Yuen was a research scientist and technical fellow at TRW, Inc., held faculty positions at Caltech and New York University, and practiced law in California for over 10 years.
Yuen has maintained close ties to Caltech. In 1999, he was awarded the Institute’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Yuen sponsors the annual Program for Law and Technology, a joint venture of Caltech and Loyola Law School that brings scientists and lawyers together to explore issues related to emerging technologies, and also brings renowned academic, industry, and government leaders to both campuses for workshops and lectures.
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