Sebastian Thrun is a Google VP and Fellow, and a Research Professor at Stanford University. He has published over 370 scientific papers and 11 books, and he is a member of the German Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the US. Fast Company named Thrun the fifth most creative person in business, Fortune Magazine included him in their list of the smartest people in tech, and Popular Science honored him as one of their "Brilliant Ten". In 2011, Thrun won the Max Planck research award.