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My full name is Lawrence Jay Krakauer, and my nickname is "Larry". I was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. I grew up in Great Neck, New York, and attended Great Neck North Senior High School. I then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ("MIT"), receiving the degree "Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering" ("BSEE") in 1963. I am currently President of the MIT Class of 1963. I then continued on at MIT, receiving my Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees, also in Electrical Engineering, the latter in 1970. My thesis was in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and my thesis advisor was Professor Marvin Minsky.

It was also in 1970 (a great year for me) that I married Margret Berman, whom I met in the Boston area through computer dating (Data-Mate), although it turned out that we had relatives living next door to each other in the New York area. We have two daughters.

My work history:  I worked for Micronetic Systems, Incorporated, where I managed software development for a minicomputer-controlled industrial machine that trimmed thick-film resistors using a neodimium-doped YAG laser ("YAG" stands for Yttrium-Aluminum Garnet). I then worked for Codex Corporation, designing the hardware for a line of Statistical Multiplexors. Starting in April 1979, I worked for Kronos Incorporated in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, where I was Vice President - Research and Development. Kronos is the preeminent maker of Front-line Labor Management systems. I retired at the end of October, 2003.

During 1999, I spent an enormous amount of time seeing to it that all Kronos products were tested for any possible Y2K problems, and reporting the results on the Kronos Year 2000 web pages (which are no longer posted). Fortunately, our testing revealed virtually no Y2K problems, and the few that were detected were easily fixed. After the new year arrived, I was finally able to get back to doing real work. Follow the links in the "Where do I work?" section of my home page to take a look at the Year 2000 Emergency Kit that I kept in my office, or to read a humorous speech I gave on the Y2K.

I enjoy travel, and I'm interested in the study of foreign languages. In addition to my native English, I speak reasonably fluent French, everyday Spanish and Italian, and I still remember some of my college German. Since retiring, I've been able to further my study of Spanish and Italian.

I've also been volunteering at MIT's Venture Mentoring Service, which assists entrepreneurs from the MIT community (students, alumni/ae, and faculty).

I enjoy sailing, and particularly windsurfing.