Jeff Lieberman
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Birthdate: March 1978
Degrees: Four (B.S. in physics, B.S. in math, M.S. in mechanical engineering and M.S. in media arts and sciences)
Masters theses: "Teaching a Robot Manipulation Skills Through Demonstration" and "Accelerated and Improved Motor Learning With Kinesthetic Feedback"
URL: http://bea.st
Thirty-year-old Jeff Lieberman is a musician wrapped in a roboticist sculptor wrapped in a photographer. The host of Discovery Channel's TIME WARP may already have four degrees (two Bachelors of Science and two Masters) behind him, but that hasn't stopped him from pursuing yet another in the form of a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. And when he isn't studying, teaching or filming, Jeff is making music, inventing robotics-related stuff and creating "technological sculpture."
But it has been a lifelong struggle to get the perfect mix of art and science in his life. It all started as a kid growing up in Miami, Florida, where Jeff discovered his love for music and the arts. He took up the drums at the age of six, saxophone at 11 and piano at 14. But he also liked the sciences, everything from playing with Lego as a kid to making the state ranking in many school math competitions. When he turned 18, it was off to MIT, where Jeff gained a double major in physics and math… and also started the improvisational music group Listen-Silence.
Post-graduation, after working at several start-up companies, Jeff decided to focus on the intersection between art and technology and returned to MIT to work at the Media Lab in the Robotic Life Group. There he headed design on the Cyberflora installation, a robotic flower garden that senses and responds to people in a lifelike manner, and the Motor Learning Robotic Wearable Suit, a robotic suit that teaches motor skills (dance, sports, rehab, etc). Jeff has produced kinetic art sculptures, including Absolut Quartet, a music-making machine that incorporates the audience into the performance, and an electromagnetically levitated and wirelessly powered light bulb. Among the pending patents are "Accelerated Motor Control With Tactile Feedback" and "System and Method for Device Levitation and Wireless Power Generation"
In addition to his robotic research (published in several papers and publications) and pursuit of higher learning, Jeff continues to make art. Not only is he a passionate high-speed photographer, but he's been on several concert and performance tours around the world including performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and has released an album with his duo Gloobic.