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Eric "Astro" Teller (born 29 May 1970) is an American entrepreneur,
computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...
, and author, with expertise in the field of intelligent technology.


Early life and education

Teller was born in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England, and raised in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
. He is the son of Paul Teller, who was an instructor in the philosophy of science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chantal DeSoto, a buyer and clothing designer for
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
who later became a teacher of gifted children. His grandparents include French economist and mathematician
Gérard Debreu Gérard Debreu (; 4 July 1921 – 31 December 2004) was a French-born economist and mathematician. Best known as a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he began work in 1962, he won the 1983 Nobel Memorial Prize ...
and Hungarian-born American theoretical physicist Edward Teller. He received the nickname "Astro" after high school friends compared his flat-top haircut to AstroTurf, and he reportedly had the image of cartoon dog Astro from '' The Jetsons'' painted on his car door in college by his first wife, Elizabeth Jennings. Teller holds a Bachelor of Science in
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
from
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, Master of Science in
symbolic computation In mathematics and computer science, computer algebra, also called symbolic computation or algebraic computation, is a scientific area that refers to the study and development of algorithms and software for manipulating mathematical expressions ...
(symbolic and
heuristic A heuristic or heuristic technique (''problem solving'', '' mental shortcut'', ''rule of thumb'') is any approach to problem solving that employs a pragmatic method that is not fully optimized, perfected, or rationalized, but is nevertheless ...
computation), also from Stanford, and a PhD in
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
from
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...
, where he received a Hertz fellowship.


Career

After working as a faculty member at Stanford University, Teller became a business executive. Since 2010, he has directed Google X (which has become X) laboratories.Gertner, John
"The Truth About Google X: An Exclusive Look Behind The Secretive Lab's Closed Doors"
''
Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...
'' magazine, May 2014 issue.
Projects at Google X include Google Glass, Google Self-Driving Car Project, Google Contact Lens and Project Loon. Google X spun its project called Flux out into a stand-alone business in 2012. Teller gave a TED Talk at TED2016 on the importance of failure in Google X's approach to pioneering new projects. On 18 October 2016, it was announced that Teller would temporarily be in charge of X's Project Wing while the search for its next permanent leader was underway.


Entrepreneur

Teller was the co-founder and chairman of BodyMedia, makers of the BodyMedia FIT, Bodybugg, and Sensewear armbands (wearable devices that measure sleep, perspiration, motion, and calories burned). He is also co-founder, director, and former CEO of Cerebellum Capital.


Speaker

In May 2001, Teller was featured on NPR's radio program ''
All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'', discussing how the good economy has shaped the attitudes of 30-year-olds towards their jobs. He is the co-founder and co-host of the Solve for X annual event and internet community. He has lectured at the TEDMED Conference (2003 and 2004),
South By Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
(2013), and ideaCity (2004). In 2008, he appeared as a political commentator on the national French television station
France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...
.


Author

Teller's novel, ''Exegesis'', was published in 1997. It was translated into Dutch, Japanese, Danish, German, Italian and Greeklish. A second novel, ''Among These Savage Thoughts'', was published in 2006. An experimental novel, it deals with the protagonist's journey to reinvent himself in the imaginary mountain society of Karabas. His third book, ''Sacred Cows'', is a non-fiction work examining society's attitudes about marriage and divorce, co-written with his wife Danielle Teller. It was published by Diversion Books in 2014; in the same year, he gave a TEDxBoston talk on the book.


Personal life

Teller is married to Danielle Teller.


Notes


References


External links

*
Cerebellum Capital
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teller, Astro 1970 births Living people Google employees American computer scientists American computer businesspeople Alphabet Inc. people American technology company founders American artificial intelligence researchers British emigrants to the United States Businesspeople in software Stanford University alumni American information technology businesspeople Carnegie Mellon University alumni American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent British transhumanists People from Evanston, Illinois People from Cambridge