Alex 'Sandy' Pentland, PhD has helped create and direct the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, the Media Lab Asia and the Center for Future Health.

He chairs the World Economic Forum's Data Driven Development Council and is a member of the Advisory Boards for Google, Nissan, Telefonica, the United Nations Secretary General, Monument Capital and the Minerva Schools.

In 2012 Forbes named Pentland one of the 'seven most powerful data scientists in the world.' He is among the most-cited computational scientists in the world and a pioneer in computational social science, organizational engineering, wearable computing (Google Glass), image understanding and modern biometrics.

His research has been featured in Nature, Science and Harvard Business Review, as well as being the focus of TV features on BBC World, Discover and Science channels. His most recent book is Social Physics.