April 17, 2015

UW’s Jonathan Bricker a finalist for ‘Geek of the Year Award’

Some people think Jonathan Bricker is a geek, and they mean it in the best way possible.

Bricker, an affiliate professor of psychology at the UW and a psychologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is among five finalists for the annual “Geek of the Year Award” from Seattle technology news site GeekWire. The award honors “someone who created a technological breakthrough that made the world a better place, or strengthened the community through their work or good deeds.”

Bricker, a behavioral scientist at the Hutch, studies an approach known as acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT, to help people smoking. His research provided the foundation for the development of a smartphone app called “SmartQuit,” which offers an evidence-based plan for quitting smoking that includes personalized plans and new ways for thinking about the urge to smoke.

Listen to Bricker’s appearance on the GeekWire radio show and check out his TEDx talk, The Willingness to Crave.

Other finalists for the award include Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who has been a leader in recent efforts to fight Ebola. The public can vote for the winner on GeekWire’s website.

Now in their seventh year, the GeekWire Awards will be held May 7 at EMP in Seattle and include winners chosen in more than a dozen categories, including “Startup of the Year” and “Tech Titan of the Year.”