Biography

Professor Alex "Sandy" Pentland is a pioneer in organizational engineering, mobile information systems, and computational social science. Pentland's focus is on the development of human-centered technology, and the creation of ventures that take this technology into the real world. His work provides people with a clearer picture of their social environments, and helps companies and communities to reinvent themselves to be both more human and more productive.

Pentland oversees the Next Billion Network, established to support aspiring entrepreneurs in emerging markets, and the EPROM entrepreneurship program in Africa. He is among the most-cited computer scientists in the world, and in 1997 Newsweek magazine named him one of the 100 Americans likely to shape this century. He is the former co-director of the Digital Life consortium, a group of more than twenty multinational corporations exploring new ways to innovate. His book, Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World was published in 2008 by the MIT Press.