AI and Robotics Development Lead
Dan is a former NASA astronaut and a veteran of three space flights, four spacewalks and two trips to the International Space Station. He retired from NASA in 2005 and started his own company, Denbar Robotics that focuses on smart robots and artificial intelligence interfaces, concentrating on assistive devices for people with disabilities. In 2011 he co-founded Fellow Robots, a company that sells custom robots to businesses.
He received numerous honors. A few of them are the following: two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, 2001 Top 10 in the world career spacewalk hours, 100 Most Notable Princeton Graduate School Alumni of the 20th Century, Harvard Medical School Paul J. Corcoran Award and honorary doctoral degrees from Beloit College and St. Louis University. Dan is also a frequent speaker and has given keynote addresses to audiences throughout the world.
Dan’s educational background includes a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1975; a master of engineering degree and a master of arts degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University in 1977; a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University in 1980; and a doctorate in medicine from the University of Miami in 1982. He has ten patents, over 50 articles in scientific journals and has served on two scientific journal editorial boards. He has film and television experience as well, including roles in two documentary films, a cast member in season 12 of CBS Survivor, and the team lead for “Black Ice”, a combat robot on the 2016 season of ABC Battlebots. He was a finalist for two NASA robotic competitions and was the winner of the 2018 NIST ARIAC robot arm competition.