Harvard University
Physics
2003 - 2008
Alexander Wissner-Gross received his PhD in Physics from Harvard University. He was named a 2008 Environmental Fellow at the Harvard Center for the Environment. Alex has authored 14 publications, received 7 patents, and founded 4 companies. In 2003, Alex became the last person in MIT history to receive a triple major, with bachelors in Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Mathematics, while simultaneously graduating first in his class from the MIT School of Engineering. His research has been featured in BusinessWeek, Wired, USA Today, New Scientist, and The New York Times. He is also a recipient, among other distinctions, of the Dan David Prize Scholarship (2007), MRS Graduate Student Silver Medal (2007), USA Today College First Team (2003), Marshall Scholarship (2003), Goldwater Scholarship (2001), Intel Science Talent Search 10th Prize (1999), and USA Computer Olympiad 2nd Prize (1998). Before his science career, Alex performed as a boy soprano with the New York City Opera Company and the New York Grand Opera Company, and has continued singing to this day.
Dr. Wissner-Gross' startup company, Enernetics, Inc., has become the world's largest environmental certifier of websites and the world's largest green search provider. Enernetics is now profitable and has accepted funding from Y Combinator and the founders of Gmail, FriendFeed, Google Presentations, and Reddit. If any Hertz alums are interested in making their websites green, they can contact Alex at
alexwg@co2stats.com.
