David Mindell

David Mindell is an engineer, historian, and entrepreneur. He is Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing at MIT. An expert in human relationships with robotics and autonomous systems, he has led or participated in more than 25 oceanographic expeditions, written six books, and is an inventor on 34 patents in RF navigation, autonomous systems, and AI-assisted piloting. He teaches courses on entrepreneurship in aerospace, the history of aviation, and human and autonomous systems engineering. David co-Chairs MIT’s Task Force on the Work of the Future, and is the author, with David Autor and Elizabeth Reynolds, of The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines (MIT Press, 2022). He is also Founder and Executive Chair of Humatics Corporation, which develops technologies to transform how robots and autonomous systems work in human environments. He is co-Founder of Unless, which delivers unique insights and partnership for impact-oriented industrial entrepreneurs and investors. He flies a 1993 Beech Bonanza F33A and splits his time between Cambridge Mass and East Montpelier, VT.