Photo: Alexander Migl / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on May 14, 1967 in Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Sebastian Thrun is a computer scientist, university teacher and artificial intelligence researcher. As of 2026, Sebastian Thrun is 59 years old. Schooling on record includes University of Bonn. Awards on record include Braunschweiger Forschungspreis (2007), Max Planck Research Award (2011), The James Smithson Bicentennial Medal (2015) and 1 more.
My Take
Sebastian Thrun fascinates me because he refuses to stay in one lane. Born in Solingen in 1967 and trained at Bonn, he taught at Carnegie Mellon and Stanford, helped pioneer Google's self-driving car, then founded Udacity and led Kitty Hawk's flying-car ambitions. That arc, from rigorous AI research to mass online education to aerial mobility, shows someone determined to push technology out of the lab and into ordinary lives. The Max Planck Research Award and AAAI fellowship confirm the academic depth. What I respect most is his drive to democratize learning itself, treating knowledge as something everyone deserves access to.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Sebastian Thrun
- Name (Japanese)
- セバスチアン・スラン
- Reading
- せばすちあん・すらん
- Born
- May 14, 1967 (age 59)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Goat
- Origin
- Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Occupation
- computer scientist / university teacher / artificial intelligence researcher / roboticist
2. Background
- University
- University of Bonn
Awards & achievements
- 2007 Braunschweiger Forschungspreis
- 2011 Max Planck Research Award
- 2015 The James Smithson Bicentennial Medal
- 2006 AAAI Fellow
3. Links
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Sebastian Thrun born?
Born May 14, 1967 (age 59).
Where is Sebastian Thrun from?
Sebastian Thrun is from Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
What does Sebastian Thrun do?
Sebastian Thrun works as computer scientist, university teacher, artificial intelligence researcher, roboticist.
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