Hunter Lloyd

Hunter Lloyd is an entertainer and educator known for integrating comedy, robotics, and computer science. Lloyd began his career in comedy as a finalist in the "Funniest College Student in America" competition. He postponed his college education to pursue stand-up comedy, touring the country for six years and working alongside acts such as Jerry Seinfeld and Tim Allen. Lloyd headlined his first comedy show at Laffs in Tucson at age 23 and appeared on television networks including MTV, VH1, and The Comedy Channel.

Lloyd later returned to school to study engineering and computer science, which led to a focus on robotics. He became a professor of Computer Science and Robotics at Montana State University, where he has held a faculty position for more than two decades. In this role, Lloyd has built robots for organizations such as the Department of Defense, border patrol, ATF, and NASA. He and his students, with their Montana MULE robot, outperformed teams from institutions including Carnegie Mellon and Harvard to win the NASA Robotics Championship. Lloyd also founded a robotics company that contributed to the development of RangeWatcher and WatchKeeper technologies for the Predator Unmanned Aircraft Group.

Lloyd is recognized for the "Robot Comedy Show," which combines comedy, robotics, and video games in a family-friendly format. The show has been presented at more than 200 schools, reaching over 30,000 people. Lloyd's robotic sidekicks have earned numerous world titles, including 11 medals at the Robot Olympics and a World Championship in NASA's Mars Robotic Competition. As an early software developer for NAO robots, Lloyd helped create his chief robot, Looney, who is occasionally joined on stage by Ocean, another NAO robot. Tango is the first robot entirely designed and built by Lloyd, who assembled all mechanical, electrical, and software components.

Lloyd has performed at comedy festivals such as the North Carolina Comedy Festival, the Last Best Comedy Festival, and the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas. He is also the author of the book "The Mighty Worrier," which is popular among middle school readers. Lloyd's invention, SnoozeBear, was featured on the Jay Leno show. Combining expertise in robotics engineering and comedy, Lloyd performs for student audiences, encouraging interest in math and science.