He ran a research institute called the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and helped design Harvard’s open online course offerings. He also co-founded the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), a nonprofit, open-source alternative to Google Books that has the ambitious goal of making the entire cultural heritage of the United States accessible through a single online portal. During his years at Harvard, Palfrey even found time to launch a national campaign against cyberbullying, in partnership with Lady Gaga. “He has a capacity for work that I’ve never seen anywhere,” says Maura Marx, a former Berkman Center fellow who worked with Palfrey on the DPLA project.

Source: Class Rebel