Bob Wallace was a software pioneer, activist, and philanthropist. He first became interested in computers and software as a method of mind expansion. He attended Brown University and later the University of Washington where he earned his M.S. in Computer Science. In 1978 he became the ninth employee of Microsoft. Bob left Microsoft and formed a company called Quicksoft in 1983 where he developed PC-write, an early word processing program. Bob sold Quicksoft in 1991 and left the company in 1993.

At that time, Bob became interested in helping fund the scientific investigation of psychedelic plants and chemicals. He had first experiened cannabis and various psychedelics in college and believed they had potential as a method of mind expansion.

In 1996, Bob and his wife Megan started Mind Books, a mail-order bookstore offering publications about mind expanding plants and compounds. Bob served on the Board of Directors for Heffter Institute and helped financially support many of the most important organizations in the field, including the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the Heffter Research Institute, Erowid, DanceSafe, the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, EcstasyData, and a number of smaller independent projects.

Without Bob's support it is unlikely that Erowid would ever have become more than a hobby. He was a good friend and his contributions were invaluable to the field of psychedelic research and mind exploration. We will miss him.