Alex Pentland

Alex (“Sandy”) Pentland
Alex Pentland
Institutions	Stanford University, MIT
Alma mater	MIT

Alex (“Sandy”) Pentland is the Toshiba Professor at MIT, a serial entrepreneur, and is one of the most cited authors in computer science. Pentland obtained his Ph.D. from MIT in 1981, was Lecturer at Stanford University in both computer science and psychology, and joined the MIT faculty in 1986, where he became Academic Head of the Media Laboratory and received the Toshiba Chair in Media Arts and Sciences.

Pentland's research focuses on the development of human-centered technology, and the creation of ventures that take this technology into the real world. This research attempts to provide people with a clearer picture of their social environment, and helps companies and communities to reinvent themselves to be both more human and productive.

He directs the MIT Human Dynamics Lab, helping companies to become more productive and creative through organizational engineering, and oversees the Next Billion Network, established to support aspiring entrepreneurs in emerging markets, and the EPROM entrepreneurship program in Africa. In 1997, Newsweek magazine named him one of the 100 Americans likely to shape the century.

Recent honors include his Honest Signals research being chosen as a Breakthrough Idea of the Year by Harvard Business Review, his Reality Mining research being chosen as one of the Top Ten Emerging Technologies by Technology Review, the Carlos Ghosn Award for automotive interface design, and the Future of Health Technology Award for `honest signals’ health assessment technology.

Recent spin-off companies from his research group include Sense Networks, Cogito Health, and United Villages.

His most recent book is Honest Signals, published by MIT Press.

External links

Compilations of Pentland's publications, video interviews, and current research:

• MIT Home Page and link to MIT Human Dynamics research group
• Books Published
• Computer Science Papers
• Reporting on Pentland's research (video)