Between trips to the shipyard, Perkins recently took on an entirely different challenge -- writing a modern romance novel. His newly published book, Sex and the Single Zillionaire, reflects the many changes in his life since the death of his first wife, Gerd, in 1994.

As a single 70-something, he was invited in 2003 to audition for a TV reality show involving a dozen 20-something women vying to marry a wealthy bachelor. He turned down that offer but suggested to author Danielle Steel -- who, after a brief marriage to Perkins in 1998, remains a good friend -- that she write a novel based on the idea. Steel dared him to write it himself. Although his protagonist shares some of Perkins's characteristics, such as having a son who is a computer-networking specialist and a daughter who is an artist, the book is fiction. "I wrote this book to have some fun," Perkins says. "I wanted to see if I could do it and then see if I could sell it." So he recently added a book tour to his pursuits as a KPCB partner emeritus and a competitive yachtsman.

Despite this full agenda, Perkins took time in March to address a gathering of the MIT Club of Northern California. He spoke about Silicon Valley history and his new life as a novelist, and reflected on the value of his MIT education. "Go to MIT!" Perkins advised young people at the Spring Spotlight event. "I have used what I learned at MIT every day. MIT taught me to be comfortable and confident with technology, cope with complexity, and build on principles." In addition to giving advice to students, Perkins has given back to MIT, establishing the Thomas J. (1953) and Gerd Perkins Professorship of Electrical Engineering.

Although the professorship bearing his name is in electrical engineering, Perkins sees an especially bright future for biotech, a field that he helped galvanize through his work with Genentech. "Go into biotechnology," he said at the Spring Spotlight event. "Biotech has changed our lives, and this is just the beginning."

Given his track record for recognizing ideas with potential, it's probably sound advice.

For a review of Perkins's book, see Class Notes, p. M31.
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