Alexander Wissner-Gross

Last updated
Alexander D. Wissner-Gross
Alexwg.jpg
Born1982
Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University
Scientific career
Fields Physics
InstitutionsCO2Stats
Website www.alexwg.org

Alexander D. Wissner-Gross (born in 1982 [1] ) is an American research scientist and entrepreneur. [2] He is a fellow at the Institute for Applied Computational Science at Harvard University. [3]

Contents

Education

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he researched nanotechnology, Wissner-Gross triple-majored in physics, electrical engineering and mathematics. He was awarded the Marshall Scholarship, and was the last student to triple-major at MIT before the option was discontinued. [4] Wissner-Gross also has a Ph.D in physics from Harvard University. [5]

Entrepreneurship

In 2007, [5] Wissner-Gross founded the technology company CO2Stats, which measures the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by using a website. [6] CO2Stats is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and received funding from the seed venture capital firm Y Combinator. [5] The company attracted controversy when Wissner-Gross was reported to have claimed that a single Google search emitted seven grams of CO2, which Google disputed. [7] Wissner-Gross denied making the claim. [5]

Activities

Wissner-Gross co-authored a paper with mathematician Cameron Freer describing a "biophysical model for explaining sophisticated intelligent behavior in human and nonhuman animals", published in the journal Physical Review Letters , [8] which he expected would be useful for artificial intelligence. Researcher Gary Marcus wrote an article in The New Yorker criticizing the paper, saying they were "essentially promising a television set that walks your dog". [2]

References

  1. ↑ www.eoht.info https://www.eoht.info/page/Alexander%20Wissner-Gross . Retrieved 2025-07-29.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 1 2 Marcus, Gary; Davis, Ernest (May 6, 2013). "A Grand Unified Theory of Everything". The New Yorker . Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Alexander Wissner-Gross". Institute for Applied Computational Science at Harvard University. Harvard University . Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Three MIT students win Marshall Scholarships". MIT News. December 4, 2002. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Buderi, Robert (January 14, 2009). "Tempest in a Tea Kettle: CO2Stats Founder Caught in Frenzy Around Environmental Costs of a Google Search". Xconomy . Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  6. ↑ St. John, Jeff (January 13, 2009). "Google CO2 Claim Throws CO2Stats Into Limelight". Greentech Media . Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "'Carbon cost' of Google revealed". BBC News. January 12, 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Wissner-Gross, Alexander D.; Freer, Cameron E. (April 19, 2013). "Causal Entropic Forces" (PDF). Physical Review Letters . 110 (16): 168702. Bibcode:2013PhRvL.110p8702W. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.168702 . PMID   23679649 . Retrieved 4 April 2016.
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