Helen Greiner

Last updated
Helen Greiner
Helen Greiner.jpg
Born (1967-12-06) December 6, 1967 (age 57)
London, United Kingdom
NationalityAmerican
Engineering career
Employer(s) iRobot,
CyPhyWorks,
Robotic, AI & Autonomy Expert of US Army,
Tertill
Awards Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award

Helen Greiner (born December 6, 1967) is a co-founder of iRobot and former CEO of CyPhy Work, Inc., [1] a start-up company specializing in small multi-rotor drones for the consumer, commercial and military markets, and of Tertill Corporation.

Contents

Greiner was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2013 for leadership in the design, development, and application of practical robots.

Early life and education

Greiner was born in London on December 6, 1967. [2] Her father came to England as a refugee from Hungary, and met his wife, Helen's mother, while he was attending Imperial College London. When Helen was five, her family moved to Southampton, New York, US. [3]

At the age of ten, Greiner went to see the popular film Star Wars . She has said she was inspired to work with robots by R2-D2 in the film. [3] [4]

Greiner graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and earned her Master's in computer science. [5] She also holds an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). [6] Greiner has also received an honorary degree from Clarkson University. [7] Her long term goal is to understand the nature of intelligence. [8]

Career

In 1990, along with Rodney Brooks and Colin Angle, Greiner co-founded iRobot, a robotics company headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, which delivers robots into the consumer market. She co-designed the first version of the iRobot Roomba. [4]

Greiner served as President of iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) until 2004 and Chairman until 2008. During her tenure, iRobot released the Roomba, the PackBot and SUGV military robots. She built a culture of practical innovation and delivery that led to the deployment of 6,000 PackBots with the United States armed forces. In addition, Greiner headed up iRobot's financing projects, raising $35M in venture capital for a $75M initial public offering. [9]

She has worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. [10]

In 2008, Greiner founded CyPhy Works, [1] creator of the Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications (PARC) and Pocket Flyer multi-rotor drones. She also served on the board of the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF). [11] She left the company in late 2017, and subsequently resigned from her position on the board of directors to support a broader mission within the US Army. [12]

In 2012, Grenier purchased the noted Shingle Style Loring House by architect William Ralph Emerson on Massachusetts' North Shore. After spending many years attempting to restore Loring House with local preservation organizations refusing to negotiate, she demolished the home in 2014 and built a home in which to live. [13]

As of 2018, she works as an advisor to the United States Army, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, (OASA(ALT)). [14] She was sworn in on June 4, 2018 as a Highly Qualified Expert (HQE) for Robotics, Autonomous Systems & AI for the Army (ASA(ALT)). [15] [16]

In September 2020, Greiner was appointed as CEO and Chairman of robotic gardening startup, Tertill. [17]

Awards and recognition

Greiner was listed as one of the Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum [18] in 2000.

In 2003, Greiner and iRobot co-founder Colin Angle were named Ernst and Young New England Entrepreneurs of the Year. That same year, Greiner was named one of the “Top Ten Innovators” by Fortune Magazine.

Good Housekeeping [19] named her "Entrepreneur of the Year" by and she was named by the Kennedy School at Harvard in conjunction with the U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Leaders." [20]

Greiner received the Pioneer Award from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International(AUVSI) [21] in 2006.

In 2007, Greiner was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame. [22]

She received the 2008 Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award for Innovation for her work at iRobot. [23] She has also been honored as one of Technology Review Magazine's TR100 "Innovators for the Next Century."

Greiner spoke at TEDxBoston in 2013, discussing how robots can save lives, performing work that is either too monotonous or dangerous for humans. [6]

She received the DEMO God Award at the DEMO Conference in 2014. Following this achievement, she was named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Leadership (PAGE) by US President, Barack Obama and US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker. [24]

In 2018, she was named "woman of the year" at Wentworth Institute of Technology. [25]

Greiner will be one of several speakers at GoFly's 2020 Final Fly Off. Notably, she will be the only female speaker attendee. This competition, in Mountain View, California, will feature teams from around the world to compete for almost $2 Million in prizes. [26]

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References

  1. 1 2 "General Catalyst Partners page on Helen Greiner". Nov 5, 2010. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Business profile: Helen Greiner". Deseret News. Associated Press. May 30, 2005.
  3. 1 2 "Helen Greiner Biography". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Mayerowitz, Scott (January 11, 2015). "Market resembles valley's early days". San Jose Mercury News . Associated Press.
  5. ↑ "Helen Greiner: Filling the World with Robots". Spectrum: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  6. 1 2 "TedxBoston". Tedxboston.org. Archived from the original on 2020-01-30.
  7. ↑ "CNBC Helen Greiner". CNBC. April 30, 2019.
  8. ↑ "LinkedIn Profile".[ dead link ]
  9. ↑ "Helen Greiner". StartMIT. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Helen Greiner". NCWIT.ORG. National Center for Women and Information Technology. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  11. ↑ "Board of Directors, OSRF". Jan 28, 2013. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  12. ↑ Gross, Kyle. "BostInno: The Big One". americaninno.com.
  13. ↑ "Beverly's historic Loring House set to fall - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe .
  14. ↑ "CyPhy Works Raises $4.5M as Founder Helen Greiner Leaves The Company". June 14, 2018.
  15. ↑ Greiner, Helen. "Post". Twitter.com.
  16. ↑ "Why I Accepted an Offer From Army". LinkedIn.com. 2018.
  17. ↑ "iRobot cofounder Helen Greiner named CEO of robotic gardening startup, Tertill". TechCrunch. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  18. ↑ "GLT Class of 2000" (PDF). Weforum. World Economic Forum. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  19. ↑ "Good Housekeeping Announces the Winner of 11th Annual Good Buy Awards". ABC News . Dec 1, 2005.
  20. ↑ "How America's Best Leaders Were Picked". USNews. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Unmanned Systems Industry Members Receive Prestigious Awards". Hydro International. 13 September 2006. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  22. ↑ "WITI Hall of Fame Featured Profile". WITI. Women in Technology International. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "Women of Vision awards presented at Anita Borg Institute banquet". Diversity/Careers. August–September 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  24. ↑ Zuberi, Bilal (2 July 2014). "Proud of Helen Greiner, Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship". Medium. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  25. ↑ Greiner, Helen (March 17, 2018). "Woman of the Year". Twitter.
  26. ↑ "GoFly Prize Final Fly Off". eventbrite.com.
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