Desney Tan was born August 7th, 1976 to Tony & Lorna on the island republic of Singapore. His sister Dawne is 7 years younger. Desney lived in Singapore till he moved to Monroe, Louisiana with his Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Gan at age 14.  In 1993 Desney graduated valedictorian at St Frederick High School and began attending the University of Notre Dame. In 1996 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. He then returned to Singapore to complete his two and a half year military obligation.  Always the inquisitive and innovative one, Desney returned to Carnegie Mellon University in 1998, where he is currently working on his PhD. His work is focused on using large display systems to augment human cognition and make computer users more productive.