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United States Nathan Myhrvold is a highly accomplished inventor, scientist, and businessman, known for his leadership roles at Microsoft, co-founding Intellectual Ventures, and his contributions to culinary science.
Nathan Myhrvold joined Microsoft in 1986, two years after completing postdoctoral research with Stephen Hawking at Cambridge University. He served as the company's director for special projects, oversaw advanced technology and business development teams, founded Microsoft Research, and became the company's first Chief Technology Officer.
After leaving Microsoft in 2000, Nathan Myhrvold founded Intellectual Ventures, a technology invention, investment, and incubation company based in Bellevue. He serves as CEO and is a prolific inventor within the company, contributing to more than 875 U.S. patents.
Nathan Myhrvold co-created Global Good with Bill Gates, an initiative dedicated to inventing technologies for global health and development. This includes the Institute for Disease Modeling, a leader in computational epidemiology.
Myhrvold is vice chairman of TerraPower, a spin-out of Intellectual Ventures that is developing a new kind of nuclear reactor, known as a traveling-wave reactor, designed to be safer, cheaper, and cleaner than current nuclear power plants. In 2020, they launched a joint venture with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.
Combining his interests in food, science, and technology, Nathan Myhrvold founded The Cooking Lab in 2010. Through this, he has authored and published a series of influential and award-winning cookbooks.
In Fall 2025, National Geographic will publish "Natural Wonders," a photo book authored by Nathan Myhrvold that features his landscape, snowflake, and astrophotography.
Nathan Myhrvold was born on August 3, 1959, in Seattle, Washington. He began his higher education at age 14, eventually earning a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and a Master of Science in geophysics and space physics from UCLA. He further pursued his studies at Princeton University, where he received a master’s degree in mathematical economics and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics. Following his doctoral studies, Myhrvold completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cosmology with Stephen Hawking at Cambridge University, focusing on quantum field theory and theories of gravitation.
In 1986, Myhrvold co-founded Dynamical Systems Research Inc., a software company that was later acquired by Microsoft. This acquisition marked the beginning of his 13-year tenure at Microsoft. He initially served as director for special projects and advanced through various executive roles, overseeing advanced technology and business development teams. A significant milestone was his proposal to Bill Gates in 1991, which led to the establishment of Microsoft Research, a substantial corporate research lab. He was instrumental in recruiting its first researchers and contributed to the best-selling book “The Road Ahead” with Bill Gates in 1995. Myhrvold became Microsoft’s first Chief Technology Officer in 1996, a position he held until his retirement from the company in 2000.
After departing from Microsoft, Myhrvold co-founded Intellectual Ventures in 2000, serving as its Chief Executive Officer. The company focuses on technology invention, investment, and incubation, leading to the creation of over 15 successful startups. Myhrvold is a prolific inventor himself, holding more than 875 U.S. patents. He also co-founded Global Good with Bill Gates, an initiative dedicated to inventing technologies for global health and development, which includes the Institute for Disease Modeling, a leader in computational epidemiology. Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavors, Myhrvold has published original scientific research in fields such as paleontology, planetary science, and climate science, and authored a series of award-winning cookbooks including “Modernist Cuisine” (2011) and “Modernist Bread” (2017).
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