Nathan Myhrvold

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Nathan Paul Myhrvold

| image = File:-NRCRIC2019 - Special Guest Nathan Myhrvold (40403705463) (cropped).jpg

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| caption = Myhrvold in 2016

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|08|03}}

| birth_place = Seattle, Washington, US

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| workplaces = Intellectual Ventures, University of Cambridge, Microsoft Research

| alma_mater = University of California, Los Angeles (BS, MS)
Princeton University (MS, PhD)

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| spouse = Rosemarie Havranek

| website = {{URL|http://www.nathanmyhrvold.com/}}

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Nathan Paul Myhrvold (born August 3, 1959), formerly Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, is co-founder of Intellectual Ventures and the principal author of Modernist Cuisine and its successor books.

Early life and education

Myhrvold was born on August 3, 1959, in Seattle, Washington, to Norwegian American parents. He was raised in Santa Monica, California,{{cite magazine |last1=Auletta |first1=Ken |title=The Microsoft Provocateur |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/05/12/the-microsoft-provocateur |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=15 July 2019 |date=May 4, 1997}} where he attended Mirman School[http://csmp.ucop.edu/cmp/comet/2000/11_27_2000.html "Where Bright Minds Can Shine"], Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, November 22, 2000 and Santa Monica High School, graduating in 1974,{{cite web|title=Honored Vikings|url=http://www.samohialumni.org/hall-of-fame.html|website=Hall of Fame - Samohi Alumni Association}} and began college at age 14.[http://judiciary.house.gov/OversightTestimony.aspx?ID=357 Oversight Testimony] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210083636/http://judiciary.house.gov/OversightTestimony.aspx?ID=357 |date=February 10, 2007 }} “Patent Quality and Improvement” before the Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, House Committee on the Judiciary, United States Congress, April 28, 2005

Transferring from Santa Monica College, he studied mathematics (B.Sc.), and geophysics and space physics (Master's) at UCLA.{{cite web |last1=Renaud |first1=Jean-Paul |title=Renowned entrepreneur, UCLA alumnus Nathan Myhrvold to deliver 2015 College Commencement address |url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/renowned-entrepreneur-ucla-alumnus-nathan-myhrvold-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-2015-college-commencement |website=UCLA Newsroom |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles |access-date=31 March 2023}} He was awarded a Hertz Foundation Fellowship for graduate study and studied at Princeton University, where he earned a master's degree in mathematical economics and completed a Ph.D. in applied mathematics after completing a doctoral dissertation titled "Vistas in curved space-time quantum field theory" under the supervision of Malcolm Perry.{{Cite book|last=Myhrvold|first=Nathan Paul|url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/154630|title=Vistas in curved space-time quantum field theory|date=1983|language=en}} For one year, he held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cambridge working under Stephen Hawking.

Career

= Early career =

Myhrvold left Cambridge to co-found a computer startup in Oakland, California. The company, Dynamical Systems Research Inc., sought to produce Mondrian, a clone of IBM's TopView multitasking environment for DOS. Myhrvold served as Dynamical Systems Research's president. Microsoft purchased Dynamical Systems Research in 1986 for $1.5M in stock.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/A_History_of_the_Personal_Computer|title=A History of the Personal Computer: The People and the Technology |date=2001-10-01|author=Roy A. Allan|publisher=Allan }} Myhrvold worked at Microsoft for 13 years in a variety of executive positions, culminating in his appointment as the company's first chief technology officer in 1996.{{Cite news|url=https://news.microsoft.com/1996/10/29/microsoft-realigns-product-groups-creates-chief-technology-officer-enhances-focus-on-internet-interactive-media-and-future-technologies/|title=Microsoft Realigns Product Groups, Creates Chief Technology Officer; Enhances Focus on Internet, Interactive Media and Future Technologies|date=1996-10-29|work=Microsoft Press Release|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en-US}} At Microsoft he founded Microsoft Research in 1991.{{cite press release|title=Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold Takes Leave of Absence|date=June 1, 1999|publisher=Microsoft|url=https://news.microsoft.com/1999/06/01/microsoft-chief-technology-officer-nathan-myhrvold-takes-leave-of-absence/|access-date=January 5, 2018|work=Press Release}}

= Intellectual Ventures =

After Microsoft, in 2000 Myhrvold co-founded Intellectual Ventures,{{cite web |url=http://webreprints.djreprints.com/2032070014238.pdf |title=Myhrvold of Intellectual Ventures |access-date=September 15, 2008}} Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2008 a patent portfolio developer and broker in the areas of technology and energy, which has acquired over 30,000 patents.{{cite news |url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article7127608.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522013719/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article7127608.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 22, 2010 |title=Green Pioneers: Godfather of nutty inventions |access-date=June 2, 2010 | location=London | work=The Times| first=Mark| last=Harris| date=May 16, 2010}} Mark Harris, The Sunday Times, May 16, 2010 Intellectual Ventures takes part in the market for inventions and patents, buying patents from companies and inventors under the assumption the patents will be more valuable in the future. Intellectual Ventures also files patents through the work of a team of on-site inventors. Startup companies spun out of Intellectual Ventures, including TerraPower, Kymeta, Echodyne, Modern Hydrogen, Lumotive, Evolv Technology, and Pivotal Commware, have developed commercial products from Intellectual Ventures' inventions. Through its Global Good unit, which Myhrvold founded in collaboration with Bill Gates, Intellectual Ventures has also invented and produced commercial products, such as improved vaccine coolers and milking cans, aimed at low-income markets in Africa and Asia.{{Cite news|url=https://www.devex.com/news/with-help-from-bill-gates-this-lab-is-reinventing-its-approach-to-invention-89204|title=With help from Bill Gates, this lab is reinventing its approach to invention|last=Cheney|first=Catherine|date=2016-11-22|work=Devex|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en-US}} However, in most cases, Intellectual Ventures' inventions are limited to the descriptions provided in their patents, which are bundled into portfolios for licensing.

Myhrvold has described his goal for Intellectual Ventures as helping to create a market for patent-backed securities.{{cite news |url=http://hbr.org/2010/03/the-big-idea-funding-eureka/ar/1 |title=The Big Idea: Funding Eureka! |access-date=October 21, 2012 | location=Cambridge | work=Harvard Business Review| first=Nathan| last=Myhrvold| date=March 16, 2010}} Nathan Myhrvold, Intellectual Ventures, March 2010 The company's business practices have caused controversy, however, with some deprecating the firm as a patent troll, accusing the company of stifling innovation by buying patents and then forcing inventors to license their ideas by means of litigation.{{cite web|url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/441/when-patents-attack|title=This American Life: When Patents Attack |access-date=July 25, 2011 | date=July 24, 2011}} Ira Glass, NPR, July 24, 2011{{cite news |last1=Baskin |first1=Morgan |title='The Ultimate Patent Troll' |url=https://psmag.com/magazine/a-patent-boogieman-with-the-potential-to-obliterate-aspiring-startups |access-date=31 March 2023 |issue=Aug/Sep 2017 |publisher=Pacific Standard |date=2018-09-16}} Myhrvold has publicly defended his firm's practices, arguing that they foster innovation by serving as a marketplace for intellectual property. He has noted that many of the largest companies in Silicon Valley, including Google, Apple, and Facebook, have also bought large patent portfolios and used litigation to protect them, but he has criticized them as focusing too much on creating "tools or toys for rich people."{{Cite news|url=https://www.1843magazine.com/content/features/myth-buster|title=Nathan Myhrvold, myth buster|last=Renton|first=Alex|date=2015-01-26|work=1843 (The Economist)|access-date=2018-01-06}} Walt Mossberg interviewed Myhrvold about Intellectual Ventures' role as a "patent troll" during the 10th annual All Things Digital conference.{{cite news |last1=Murph |first1=Darren |title=Intellectual Ventures' Nathan Myhrvold defends patent trolling, calls tech industry immature |url=https://www.engadget.com/2012-05-30-intellectual-ventures-nathan-myhrvold-defends-patent-trolling.html |access-date=31 March 2023 |publisher=Engadget |date=2012-05-30}}

According to The New York Times, Intellectual Ventures at one point controlled nearly 70,000 intellectual property assets (patents and patents pending) that it has used to generate approximately $3 billion in revenues, primarily in the form of license fees from large corporations. The company responds that it has returned more than $500 million to individual inventors and most of the remaining revenues to its investors.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/business/ftc-turns-a-lens-on-abusers-of-the-patent-system.html|title=Inventive, at Least in Court|last=Wyatt|first=Edward|date=2013-07-16|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

= Nuclear power =

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, that is designed to be safer, cheaper, and cleaner than current nuclear power plants. In 2020, the company launched a joint venture with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to build and operate a prototype reactor of this kind that combines a sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt energy storage system.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nei.org/news/2020/natrium-nuclear-pairs-renewables-energy-storage|title=With Natrium, Nuclear Can Pair Perfectly with Energy Storage and Renewables|last=Wald|first=Matt|date=2020-11-03|work=NEI.org|access-date=2021-07-10}} In 2024, TerraPower broke ground at a site in Wyoming where it intends to build its first reactor.{{cite news |last1=Powers |first1=Mary B. |title=Next-Gen $4B Nuclear Power Plant in Wyo. Gets Key Approvals, Union Labor Agreement |url=https://www.enr.com/articles/60398-next-gen-4b-nuclear-power-plant-in-wyo-gets-key-approvals-union-labor-agreement |access-date=15 March 2025 |publisher=Engineering News-Record |date=6 March 2025}}

= Science =

In addition to his business activities, Myhrvold is a working scientist who has published original, peer-reviewed research in the fields of paleobiology,{{Cite journal|last=Myhrvold|first=Nathan P.|date=2013-12-16|title=Revisiting the Estimation of Dinosaur Growth Rates|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=8|issue=12|pages=e81917|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0081917|pmid=24358133|pmc=3864909|issn=1932-6203|bibcode=2013PLoSO...881917M|doi-access=free}} climate science,{{Cite journal|last1=Caldeira|first1=K.|last2=Myhrvold|first2=N. P.|date=2013|title=Projections of the pace of warming following an abrupt increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration|journal=Environmental Research Letters|language=en|volume=8|issue=3|pages=034039|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034039|issn=1748-9326|bibcode=2013ERL.....8c4039C|doi-access=free}} and astronomy.{{Cite journal|last=Myhrvold|first=Nathan|s2cid=118511665|title=Asteroid thermal modeling in the presence of reflected sunlight|journal=Icarus|volume=303|pages=91–113|doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2017.12.024|year=2018|bibcode=2018Icar..303...91M|arxiv=1605.06490}} A prize-winning nature and wildlife photographer, he has also been involved with paleontological research on expeditions with the Museum of the Rockies.{{cite news |last1=Eberling |first1=Ashley |title=Dig It |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2000/0612/6514418a.html |access-date=15 March 2025 |work=Forbes |date=12 June 2000}} His work has appeared in scientific journals including Science,{{Cite journal | last1 = Myhrvold | first1 = N. | s2cid = 153642361 | author-link = Nathan Myhrvold| title = ESSAYS ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Supporting Science | doi = 10.1126/science.282.5389.621 | journal = Science | volume = 282 | issue = 5389 | pages = 621–622 | year = 1998 | bibcode = 1998Sci...282..621M }} Nature,{{Cite journal

| last1 = Barsbold | first1 = R.

| last2 = Currie | first2 = P. J.

| last3 = Myhrvold | first3 = N. P.

| author-link3 = Nathan Myhrvold

| last4 = Osmólska | first4 = H.

| last5 = Tsogtbaatar | first5 = K.

| last6 = Watabe | first6 = M.

| s2cid = 2329675

| title = A pygostyle from a non-avian theropod

| journal = Nature

| volume = 403

| issue = 6766

| pages = 155–156

| year = 2000

| doi = 10.1038/35003103

| pmid = 10646588

| bibcode = 2000Natur.403..155B

}} Paleobiology,{{cite journal |last1=Currie |first1=Philip |last2=Myhrvold |first2=Nathan |year=1997 |title=Supersonic sauropods? Tail dynamics in the diplodocids |journal=Paleobiology |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=393–409 |doi= 10.1017/S0094837300019801|bibcode=1997Pbio...23..393M |s2cid=83696153 |url=http://paleobiol.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/4/393 |url-access=subscription }} PLOS One,{{Cite journal

| last1 = Horner | first1 = J. R.

| last2 = Goodwin | first2 = M. B.

| last3 = Myhrvold | first3 = N.

| author-link3 = Nathan Myhrvold

| editor1-last = Roopnarine

| editor1-first = Peter

| title = Dinosaur Census Reveals Abundant Tyrannosaurus and Rare Ontogenetic Stages in the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation (Maastrichtian), Montana, USA

| doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0016574

| journal = PLOS ONE

| volume = 6

| issue = 2

| pages = e16574

| year = 2011

| pmid = 21347420

| pmc =3036655

| bibcode = 2011PLoSO...616574H

| doi-access = free

}} and the Physical Review,{{Cite journal | last1 = Myhrvold | first1 = N. | author-link = Nathan Myhrvold| title = Runaway particle production in de Sitter space | doi = 10.1103/PhysRevD.28.2439 | journal = Physical Review D | volume = 28 | issue = 10 | pages = 2439–2444 | year = 1983 |bibcode = 1983PhRvD..28.2439M }} as well as in Fortune, Time, Scientific American,{{Cite journal|last=Myhrvold|first=Nathan|title=Even Genius Needs a Benefactor|journal=Scientific American|language=en|volume=314|issue=2|pages=11|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0216-11|pmid=31013516|year=2016|bibcode=2016SciAm.314b..11M}}{{Cite journal

| doi = 10.1038/scientificamerican0311-23a

| last1 = Gibbs | first1 = W. W.

| last2 = Myhrvold | first2 = N.

| author-link2 = Nathan Myhrvold

| title = A new spin on cooking

| journal = Scientific American

| volume = 304

| issue = 3

| pages = 23

| year = 2011

| pmid = 21438483

| bibcode = 2011SciAm.304c..23G }} National Geographic Traveler, and Slate. He and Peter Rinearson helped Bill Gates write The Road Ahead, a book about the future that reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list in 1995 and 1996. Myhrvold has contributed $1 million to the nonprofit SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA, for the development of the Allen Telescope Array, which was envisioned to be the most powerful instrument for SETI.{{cite web|title=Technologists Paul G. Allen and Nathan P. Myhrvold announce $12.5 million in support for revolutionary new telescope|url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=2320|publisher=spaceref.com|date=August 1, 2000|access-date=September 1, 2014}}

After the Science Museum in London successfully built the computing section of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine #2 in 1991, Myhrvold funded the construction of the output section, which performs both printing and stereotyping of calculated results. He also commissioned the construction of a second complete Difference Engine #2 for himself, which was on display at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, from May 10, 2008, to January 31, 2016, and currently resides in the Intellectual Ventures Laboratory.{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2008/04/21/computer-history-museum-unboxes-a-babbage-difference-engine/ |title=Computer History Museum unboxes a Babbage difference engine |date=April 21, 2008 |access-date=April 28, 2008}}{{cite web |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/press/babbage-engine-extension.html |title=The Computer History Museum Extends Its Exhibition of Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2 |website=press release |publisher=Computer History Museum |date=March 31, 2009 |access-date=November 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223042457/http://www.computerhistory.org/press/babbage-engine-extension.html |archive-date=February 23, 2010 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/|title=The Babbage Engine exhibit at Computer History Museum|access-date=April 7, 2011}}[http://www.mv-voice.com/news/2016/01/29/computer-museum-bids-farewell-to-babbage-engine Difference Engine Leaves Computer History Museum], Mark Moack, Mountain View Voice, January 28, 2016{{Cite news|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2016/inside-intellectual-ventures-lab/|title=Inside the invention factory: Get a peek at Intellectual Ventures' lab|last=Boyle|first=Alan|date=2016-09-11|work=GeekWire|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en-US}}

In research presented at scientific conferences and published in the astronomy journal Icarus, Myhrvold has been a vocal critic of procedures and results about asteroid diameters published by the NEOWISE team.Myhrvold, Nathan P. "An Empirical Examination of WISE/NEOWISE Asteroid Analyses and Results". Poster at the 49th Annual Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting, October 2017. https://dps2017-aas.ipostersessions.com/default.aspx?s=1D-29-3E-5C-5D-47-88-F8-6F-EA-4C-F1-63-B2-D1-89 Retrieved January 6, 2018.Myhrvold, Nathan P. "An Empirical Examination of the NEOWISE Results and Data Analysis". Abstract of talk presented at the 229th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, January 5, 2017.https://aas.org/files/aas229-abstracts-pdf.pdf Retrieved January 6, 2018.{{cite journal |last=Myhrvold |first=Nathan |author-link=Nathan Myhrvold |title=An empirical examination of WISE/NEOWISE asteroid analysis and results |date=May 22, 2018 |journal=Icarus |volume=314 |pages=64–97 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2018.05.004 |bibcode=2018Icar..314...64M |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Asteroids and Adversaries: Challenging What NASA Knows About Space Rocks - Two years ago, NASA dismissed and mocked an amateur's criticisms of its asteroids database. Now Nathan Myhrvold is back, and his papers have passed peer review. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/science/asteroids-nasa-nathan-myhrvold.html |date=June 14, 2018 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 14, 2018 }} A 2016 preprint of his work on the subject{{cite journal|last=Myhrvold|first=Nathan|s2cid=118511665|title=Asteroid thermal modeling in the presence of reflected sunlight with an application to WISE/NEOWISE observational data|arxiv=1605.06490|doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2017.12.024|bibcode=2018Icar..303...91M|volume=303|date=2017|journal=Icarus|pages=91–113}} received wide press coverage{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/science/asteroids-nathan-myhrvold-nasa.html|title=How Big Are Those Killer Asteroids? A Critic Says NASA Doesn't Know.|last=Chang|first=Kenneth|date=2016-05-23|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/billionaire-technologist-accuses-nasa-asteroid-mission-bad-statistics|title=Billionaire technologist accuses NASA asteroid mission of bad statistics|last=Hand|first=Eric|date=2016-05-23|work=Science {{!}} AAAS|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/for-asteroid-hunting-astronomers-nathan-myhrvold-says-the-sky-is-falling1/|title=For Asteroid-Hunting Astronomers, Nathan Myhrvold Says the Sky Is Falling|last=Billings|first=Lee|work=Scientific American|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en}} prompting NASA to release a public statement defending their published research and pointing out the lack of peer review and methodological errors in Myhrvold's preprint.{{Cite web|date=May 25, 2016|title=NASA Response to Recent Paper on NEOWISE Asteroid Size Results|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-response-to-recent-paper-on-neowise-asteroid-size-results/|access-date=2018-01-06|website=NASA/JPL}} However, the preprint was published in the peer-reviewed literature in 2017 and Myhrvold subsequently published results for thousands of asteroids.{{cite journal |last1=Myhrvold |first1=Nathan |last2=Pinchuk |first2=Pavlo |last3=Margot |first3=Jean-Luc |title=Analysis of Four-band WISE Observations of Asteroids |journal=The Planetary Science Journal |date=1 February 2022 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=30 |doi=10.3847/PSJ/ac3232|doi-access=free |arxiv=2110.12098 |bibcode=2022PSJ.....3...30M }} The WISE team's response to Myhrvold's 2017 article{{cite journal |last=Wright |first=Edward|title=Response to 'An empirical examination of WISE/NEOWISE asteroid analysis and results' |journal=Icarus (Withdrawn) |date=2018 |arxiv=1811.01454}} did not settle the dispute but acknowledged clerical and software errors brought to light by Myhrvold's work. Others have reported potential issues with uncertainties in WISE measurements.{{cite journal |last1=Hanuš |first1=J. |last2=Delbo’ |first2=M. |last3=Ďurech |first3=J. |last4=Alí-Lagoa |first4=V. |title=Thermophysical modeling of asteroids from WISE thermal infrared data – Significance of the shape model and the pole orientation uncertainties |journal=Icarus |date=August 2015 |volume=256 |pages=101–116 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2015.04.014|arxiv=1504.04199 |bibcode=2015Icar..256..101H }}{{cite journal |last1=Lam |first1=Adrian L. H. |last2=Margot |first2=Jean-Luc |last3=Whittaker |first3=Emily |last4=Myhrvold |first4=Nathan |title=Determination of 1929 Asteroid Rotation Periods from WISE Data |journal=The Planetary Science Journal |date=1 April 2023 |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=61 |doi=10.3847/PSJ/acc5e4|doi-access=free |arxiv=2211.16409 |bibcode=2023PSJ.....4...61L }}

= Cooking =

File:Fistful of liquid nitrogen Nathan Myhrvold magical science dinner (26516294393).jpg

While working as chief technology officer at Microsoft, Myhrvold took a leave to earn a culinary diploma from École de Cuisine La Varenne in France. Myhrvold's early culinary training was as an observer and unpaid apprentice at Rover's, one of Seattle's leading restaurants, with Chef Thierry Rautureau.{{cite news |last1=Clifton |first1=Denise |title=Nathan Myhrvold, the man top chefs turn to for food science advice |url=https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/nathan-myhrvold-the-man-top-chefs-turn-to-for-food-science-advice-20160509-goq1sk |access-date=1 April 2023 |publisher=The Australian Financial Review |date=2016-06-23}} Myhrvold is the principal author of a culinary text entitled Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking,{{Cite book|title=Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking|last=Nathan Myhrvold|first=Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet|publisher=The Cooking Lab|year=2011|isbn=978-0982761007|location=Bellevue, Washington|oclc=711381030}} released in March 2011, on the application of scientific research principles and new techniques and technology to cooking.{{cite web |url=http://www.modernistcuisine.com |title=Modernist Cuisine |access-date=September 15, 2010}} That book, which earned a James Beard Foundation Award for "cookbook of the year" in 2012, was followed by the books Modernist Cuisine at Home,{{Cite book|title=Modernist Cuisine at Home|last=Nathan Myhrvold|first=with Maxime Bilet|publisher=The Cooking Lab|year=2012|isbn=978-0982761014|location=Bellevue, WA|oclc=794709458}} The Photography of Modernist Cuisine,{{Cite book|title=The Photography of Modernist Cuisine|last=Myhrvold|first=Nathan|publisher=The Cooking Lab|year=2013|isbn=978-0982761021|edition=First|location=Bellevue, WA|oclc=844729041}} Modernist Bread,{{Cite book|title=Modernist Bread: The Art and Science|last=Nathan Myhrvold|first=Francisco J. Migoya|publisher=The Cooking Lab|year=2017|isbn=978-0982761052|location=Bellevue, WA|oclc=959037081}} and Modernist Pizza,{{Cite book|title=Modernist Pizza|last=Nathan Myhrvold|first=Francisco J. Migoya|publisher=The Cooking Lab|year=2021|isbn=978-1734386127|location=Bellevue, WA|oclc=1252411781}} all self-published by Myhrvold and with him as lead author. Myhrvold was part of a team that won first place at the world barbecue championships in Memphis. He has appeared as a guest judge on Top Chef.

= Advocacy =

In interviews with CNN, SuperFreakonomics author Stephen Dubner, and Scientific American, Myhrvold has discussed ways to reverse some of the effects of global warming/climate change by using geoengineering.{{Cite news|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/albedo-yachts-and-marine-clouds/|title="Albedo Yachts" and Marine Clouds: A Cure for Climate Change?|last=Mims|first=Christopher|work=Scientific American|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en}} Myhrvold and other inventors working with Intellectual Ventures have proposed several approaches, including one that would use hoses, suspended from helium balloons {{convert|25|km|mi|sp=us}} above the Earth at high latitudes, to emit sulfur dioxide, which is known to scatter light.{{Citation|last=IntellectualVentures|title=The Stratoshield "Hose to the Sky" Could Reverse Global Warming|date=2009-10-26|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrimZzgqwdo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/JrimZzgqwdo| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-01-06}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news |last1=Zakaria |first1=Fareed |title=Solving Global Warming with Nathan Myhrvold |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0912/20/fzgps.01.html |access-date=1 April 2023 |work=GPS |publisher=CNN |date=2009-12-20}}{{cite journal |last1=Caldeira |first1=Ken |last2=Wood |first2=Lowell |title=Global and Arctic climate engineering: numerical model studies |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A |date=2008-08-29 |volume=366 |issue=1882 |pages=4039–4056 |doi=10.1098/rsta.2008.0132 |pmid=18757275 |bibcode=2008RSPTA.366.4039C |s2cid=891722 |doi-access=free }}

= Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein =

Myhrvold was one of the acquaintances of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and attended dinner at his house.{{cite news |last1=Chas Danner, Benjamin Hart, and Matt Stieb |title=Who Are the Newly Revealed Jeffrey Epstein Associates? |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/who-are-the-newly-revealed-jeffrey-epstein-associates.html |access-date=15 March 2025 |publisher=New York Magazine |date=3 June 2024}} According to an anonymous source, Myhrvold was one of the people who introduced Epstein to Bill Gates.{{Cite magazine |last=Ward |first=Vicky |date=2021-08-03 |title=What Was the Real Relationship Between Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Gates? |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates-connection-1206453/ |access-date=2024-08-28 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} According to Vanity Fair writer Gabriel Sherman, Epstein allegedly visited Myhrvold's investment company Intellectual Ventures and brought young girls with him. Myhrvold denied being involved in Epstein's criminal activities or ever having known about them. His spokesperson stated, "Back in the day Epstein was a regular at TED conferences and he was a large donor to basic scientific research, so while Nathan knew him and has socialized with him, that’s exactly where their association ends."{{Cite magazine |last=Sherman |first=Gabriel |date=2019-07-23 |title=The Epstein Case Puts New Focus on Old Names—Including Clinton |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/the-epstein-scandal-spirals-a-new-focus-on-clinton |access-date=2024-08-28 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}

= Affiliations and awards =

Myhrvold received the James Beard Foundation Award for cookbook of the year in 2012[http://jamesbeard.org/sites/default/files/attachments/050712-JBF-WINNERS%281%29.pdf "2012 James Beard Foundation Book Awards"] (PDF). The James Beard Foundation. Retrieved January 6, 2018. and an honorary degree from The Culinary Institute of America in 2013{{Cite web|url=http://modernistcuisine.com/2011/03/dr-nathan-myhrvold-receives-honorary-degree-from-cia/|title=Dr. Nathan Myhrvold Receives Honorary Degree from CIA|website=modernistcuisine.com|date=March 24, 2011 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-06}} for his book Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. His book Modernist Bread received a James Beard Foundation book award in 2018.[https://jbf-media.s3.amazonaws.com/production/pressreleases/JBF%202018%20Media%20Awards%20Winners%20Press%20Release%20FINAL.pdf "2018 James Beard Foundation Book Awards"] (PDF). The James Beard Foundation. Retrieved June 25, 2018. In 2010, Myhrvold was named by Foreign Policy magazine to its list of top 100 global thinkers.{{cite magazine |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/29/the_fp_top_100_global_thinkers?page=0,37 |title=Foreign Policy's Second Annual List of the 100 Top Global Thinkers |magazine=Foreign Policy |access-date=March 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308081012/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/29/the_fp_top_100_global_thinkers?page=0,37 |archive-date=March 8, 2011 |df=mdy-all }} He was selected as the keynote speaker for the UCLA College commencement ceremonies on Friday, June 12, 2015{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdHEHaXF-zA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/EdHEHaXF-zA| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=2015 UCLA College Commencement Ceremony I 2pm|website=YouTube|date=June 12, 2015 |access-date=2018-01-06}}{{cbignore}} and received the Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Luminary Award from the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences in 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/physical-sciences-centennial-awards-faculty-alumni|title=UCLA Division of Physical Sciences' Centennial Awards honor faculty, alumni|website=UCLA.edu|access-date=2021-07-10}} In 2013, Myhrvold was a judge for the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Princeton University awarded him the James Madison Medal in 2005.{{Cite news|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2005/02/26/myhrvold-reflects-magic-invention|title=Myhrvold reflects on 'Magic of Invention'|work=Princeton University|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en}} He received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1996.{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#business}}

Myhrvold endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.Mandelbaum, R., [https://www.forbes.com/sites/robbmandelbaum/2016/09/23/more-business-leaders-sign-on-with-clinton/#4d1ff10750b0n More Business Leaders Sign On With Clinton], Forbes, September 23, 2016.

Personal life

Myhrvold is married to Rosemarie Havranek, whom he met while studying at Princeton. They have twin sons, Conor and Cameron A. Myhrvold.{{cite web |title=The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Welcomes Two New Directors |url=https://hertzfoundation.org/newsevents/pressrelease/298/The-Fannie-and-John-Hertz-Foundation-Welcomes-Two-New-Directors |publisher=The Hertz Foundation |access-date=15 July 2019 |date=April 25, 2017}}{{cite web |title=Inventing the future: The very cool world of Nathan Myhrvold *83 |url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/inventing-future |publisher=Princeton University |access-date=23 October 2020 |date=January 28, 2009}} Cameron heads a lab researching CRISPR-based technologies for studying RNA as an assistant professor of molecular biology at Princeton University.{{cite web |title=Cameron A. Myhrvold |url=https://molbio.princeton.edu/people/cameron-myhrvold |website=Department of Molecular Biology |date=June 17, 2020 |publisher=Princeton University |access-date=31 March 2023}}

Nathan Myhrvold has a younger brother, Cameron. Myhrvold prefers to use a Dvorak keyboard.{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2002/02/loving-the-dvorak-keyboard.html |title=Make Mine Dvorak |last=Thompson |first=Nicholas |date=February 5, 2002 |website=slate.com |publisher= |access-date=July 6, 2023 |quote=}}

References

External links

[http://www.intellectualventures.com/index.php/about/leadership/nathan-myhrvold Biography from Intellectual Ventures]
[https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/07/10/8380798/index.htm Who's afraid of Nathan Myhrvold?], Fortune, July 10, 2006
[https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/12/080512fa_fact_gladwell In the Air: Who says big ideas are rare?], Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, May 12, 2008
[https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/02/features/intellectual-ventures The intellectual venturer, by Michael Watts 21.January 2011 Wired UK]
[https://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/02/ff_myhrvold/ Microsoft’s Former CTO Takes On Modernist Cuisine, by Mark McClusky February 24, 2011 Wired.com]
[http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/271 TED talk (embedded video): Nathan Myhrvold: A life of fascinations]
[http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/nathan_myhrvold_could_this_laser_zap_malaria.html TED talk (embedded video): Nathan Myhrvold: Could this Laser Zap Malaria?] TED lecture with demonstration Feb 2010
{{cite news|title=Inside Nathan Myhrvold's Mysterious New Idea Machine|url=http://edboyden.org/06.06.intven.comment.businessweek.pdf|access-date=June 24, 2011|newspaper=BusinessWeek|date=July 3, 2006}}
[https://www.1843magazine.com/content/features/myth-buster "Nathan Myhrvold, Myth Buster". 1843 (The Economist). January/February 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2018.]