Prof. Sebastian Thrun
Founder and CEO, Kitty Hawk. Founder and President, Udacity
United States of America
Thrun led the team developing the GoogleGlass and has his share in lots of amazing things Google develops. He also led development of the robotic vehicle ‘Stanley’ which won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and which has since been placed on exhibit in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
Thrun is also known for his work on probabilistic programming techniques in robotics, with applications including robotic mapping. In recognition of his contributions, and at age 39, Thrun was elected into the National Academy of Engineering and also into the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in 2007. In 2011, Thrun received the Max-Planck-Research Award. and the inaugural AAAI Ed Feigenbaum Prize. Fast Company selected Thrun as the 5th most creative person in business in the world.