James McLurkin

Biography

As a child, James McLurkin was constantly building with LEGO bricks, cardboard boxes, or any other materials he could access. Today, he continues this tradition using Mother Nature as a model, researching and developing algorithms and techniques for constructing and programming large swarms of autonomous robots.

James McLurkin is a Sr. Hardware Engineer at Google and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Rice University. He researches distributed algorithms for multi-agent systems, which is software that produces complex group behaviors from the interactions of many simple individuals. These ideas are not new: ants, bees, wasps, and termites have been running this type of software for 120 million years. In order to test these ideas, he has lead research teams using some of the largest groups of robots in the world. Previously, McLurkin was a Lead Research Scientist at iRobot, and was the 2003 recipient of the Lemelson-MIT student prize for invention. He holds a S.B. in Electrical Engineering with a Minor in Mechanical Engineering from M.I.T., a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley, and a S.M. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from M.I.T.

As an independent consultant, McLurkin has advised many mechanical and engineering projects for clients such as Walt Disney Imagineering, Sensable Technologies, and MicroDisplay Corp. As a speaker for organizations such as Interval Research, Inc., Dartmouth College, LEGO Advanced Design Center, and the Association of Science-Technology Centers, he is dedicated to illustrating the fun and excitement in science and engineering.

In 2003, McLurkin received the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, which is awarded to burgeoning MIT student inventors. Also in 2003, he was recognized by Time magazine as one of five leading robotics engineers in their “Rise of the Machines” feature, and by Black Enterprise magazine as a “Best and Brightest Under 40.” In 2002, he was featured in the Lemelson Center’s nationwide interactive traveling exhibit, “Invention at Play,” which began at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

McLurkin is a native of Baldwin, New York, where his parents were very encouraging and began cultivating his inventiveness and engineering prowess at a young age. From Lego bricks to BMX bicycling to programming self-designed video games, he continues to follow his passion. “My goal is to understand where intelligence comes from, how it works, and how to construct artificial intelligence on real robots.”

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Thanks a million for doing such an dynamite job on Saturday night. What a terrific sendoff for our InvenTeams! Those kids were completely riveted to your remarks from start to finish.

– Kristin Finn, Executive Director, Lemelson MIT Program

I knew since the first time that I heard your presentation that you have the gift of relating to kids. It is a gift that many think they have but that few truly possess. The work that you are doing with robotics . . . will lead us into the future.

– Wesley Fondal, Jr., Director, STARBASE ROBINS

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