Sebastian Thrun, Adjunct Prof, Stanford Computer Science and Engineering Departments: Bringing Flying Cars from Science Fiction to Reality and Making Them Safe Using Data

Sebastian Thrun, Adjunct Professor, Stanford Computer Science and Engineering Departments

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Our Leading Data Academic Leaders List 2022 honors these great academic leaders, introducing them on a global platform where they share their insights and work, highlighting their significant successes in the previous year, the challenges they faced, and their aspirations and goals for 2022.

Introducing: Sebastian Thrun, Adjunct Professor, Stanford Computer Science and Engineering Departments, CEO Kittyhawk, co-founder Udacity and Cresta (Mountain View, Calif., USA)

1. What were your most significant achievements in 2021, specifically in the last two years, and why? 

Turning flying cars from fiction into reality and using data to make them safe.

2. What challenges do you think you are facing in the academic data field? 

Crossing the chasm: Building truly intelligent systems that surpass all people.

3. What traits and qualities are required to be a successful academic data leader? 

Be at the edge of your seat all the time. So much is changing every day. Be on top of what's happening, but also have the endurance and attention to detail to turn data into knowledge.

4. Tell us about your priorities in 2022. What are your key targets?

Bringing eVTOL aircraft to market and let consumers experience the magic of flight.

5. What advice would you offer aspiring academic leaders to help them prepare for the role? 

Follow your instincts. Don't try to comply or to blend in. And most importantly, whatever you begin, you have to finish. Never give up. Finish it.

Sebastian Thrun is a German-American entrepreneur, educator, and computer scientist. He is CEO of Kitty Hawk Corporation, and chairman and co-founder of Udacity. Before that, he was a Google VP and Fellow, a Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, and before that at Carnegie Mellon University. At Google, Prof. Thrun founded Google X and Google's self-driving car team. As a professor at Stanford and at Georgia Tech, Thrun 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. His team also developed a vehicle called Junior, which placed second at the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2007.

Sebastian Thrun is one of our Leading Academic Data Leaders in 2022. To discover the full list, click here now.