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Saul Griffith (born 1974) is an Australian–American inventor and renewable electricity advocate.[1] He is the founder or co-founder of multiple companies, including Otherlab (where he is currently CEO), Makani Power, and Instructables.[2]
Saul Griffith | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Griffith in 2008 | |
| Born | Sydney, Australia |
| Alma mater | University of New South Wales (B.MET.E) University of Sydney (M.E.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Known for | Energy conservation, Howtoons |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship (2007) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Material science |
In 2000, Griffith graduated from the University of Sydney with a Master of Engineering degree.[3] He won a scholarship to MIT Media Lab to study towards a PhD that he completed in 2004. The subject of his PhD thesis was "self-replicating machines". They were one of the first instances of artificial replication being demonstrated using real physics.[4]
Griffith is the co-founder and CEO of OtherLab, a research and development company working on computational manufacturing and design tools[5] and applying those tools to projects such as inflatable pneumatic robots and prostheses,[6] novel approaches to heliostat design,[7] and applications of computational origami to the design of pressure vessels (e.g. for compressed natural gas) in arbitrary shapes.[8] Otherlab's R&D is guided by a vast map of energy flows in the US economy,[9] which they use to identify key leverage points in building a more sustainable energy economy.
Griffith used this energy flow mapping for Rewiring America, a nonprofit organization working on electrification.[10] He argues that the United States can create 30 million jobs, save consumers money, boost energy resiliency, and accelerate achievement of a net zero economy.[11][12]
Previously, he was a co-founder of Squid Labs,[13] and its spinout companies and projects Makani Power,[14] Instructables, Wattzon, HowToons, OptiOpia, Potenco, Sunfolding, Other Machine Company and Monkeylectric.[15][2]
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Griffith used to live in San Francisco.[16] As of 2022, he has relocated to Australia, living in Wollongong.[1]
He is married to Tim O'Reilly's daughter Arwen.[17] He has two children.[18]
Griffith's mother is a wildlife artist, early Greenpeace activist and printmaker, while his father is a retired professor.[10]
A portrait of Griffith by artist Jude Rae was highly commended in the 2022 Archibald Prize.[19]
- Electrify: An Optimist's Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future (2021). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT University Press. ISBN 9780262046237 (Hardcover edition).[20]
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