Autonomous Vehicle Technology Expert & Professor Emeritus at Stanford; Director of Center for Automotive Research; Former Chief Innovation Officer at U.S. Department of Transportation; Co-Founder of Peloton Technology
Chris Gerdes Biography
J. Christian Gerdes, known as Chris, is a professor emeritus of mechanical engineering and, by courtesy, of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University. He serves as director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS). Gerdes leads Stanford's Dynamic Design Lab, which focuses on vehicle dynamics, autonomous systems, and the design of future vehicles that work cooperatively with drivers or operate autonomously. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining Stanford, Gerdes worked as a senior research engineer at Daimler-Benz Research and Technology North America, specializing in safety analysis and simulation-based design for Freightliner heavy trucks.
At Stanford, Gerdes has advanced research in autonomous vehicles and vehicle safety. His lab has developed several prototypes, including Shelley, an Audi TTS capable of lapping a racetrack without a human driver, and MARTY, an electrified, automated DeLorean engineered for precise drifting maneuvers. In collaboration with the Toyota Research Institute, Gerdes and his team created the world's first autonomous Tandem Drift system, featuring two driverless cars performing synchronized drifting maneuvers guided by GPS and Wi-Fi, separated at times by less than 10 inches at speeds up to 35 mph. This research aims to translate racetrack innovations into safety technologies for everyday roads. Gerdes has expressed a commitment to developing vehicles that can avoid any accident preventable within the laws of physics.
Gerdes is recognized for his work at the intersection of autonomous vehicle technology, ethics, and public policy. He has collaborated with philosophers to examine the moral decisions required in self-driving systems and is regarded as a neutral voice on complex industry questions. His expertise in vehicle safety led him to serve as the inaugural chief innovation officer of the U.S. Department of Transportation, where he contributed to the development of the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. Gerdes is also a co-founder of Peloton Technology, a truck platooning company, and has served as a safety advisor to Ford Next.
Gerdes has received honors including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the Ralph Teetor Award from SAE International, and the Rudolf Kalman Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has delivered a TED Talk, "The Future Race Car — 150mph, and No Driver," and has spoken at venues such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's deep learning series and Mercedes-Benz North American R&D facility. Gerdes is known for bridging engineering, ethical philosophy, and government policy in the field of transportation technology.
Chris Gerdes Speaking Topics
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How safe is safe enough?
How safe should automated vehicles be? While there are numerous answers to this question, one in particular stands out – the answer implicit in our current traffic code and legal system. Looking at automated vehicles from the perspective of the Duty of Care placed on human drivers, we can derive engineering requirements for safe roads and even resolve the troublesome “Trolley Car” problem. Going further, experiments from the track suggest that future cars will be able to handle emergency maneuvers with the skill of a race driver. Taken together, we can envision automated vehicles that always uphold their duty to others and do their best to avoid crashes when others aren’t so careful.
Chris Gerdes Videos
MIT 6.S094: Chris Gerdes (Stanford) on Technology, Policy and...
This is a guest talk for course 6.S094: Deep Learning for Self-Driving Cars taught in Winter 2017. Course website: http://cars.mit.edu Contact: ...
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What topics does Chris Gerdes speak about?
Chris Gerdes is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Art & Design, Artificial Intelligence, Business Consulting, Communication, Computer Science, Disruptive Thinking, Engineering, Futurism, Manufacturing, Marketing, Professors, Research & Exploration, Robotics, Science, Technology, TED, Thought Leadership -
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Chris Gerdes is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as How safe is safe enough?. The estimated speaking fee range to book Chris Gerdes for your event is $30,000 - $50,000. Chris Gerdes generally travels from Berkeley, CA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Peter van Manen, Vito Di Bari, R "Ray" Wang, Janelle Shane and Fei-Fei Li. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Chris Gerdes for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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