NAME: Helen Greiner
TITLE: Chairwoman and co-founder, iRobot Corp.
AGE: 37
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1989; Master's degree in computer science, at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, 1990.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: Worked on space satellites at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a student. Founded California Cybernetics in 1989 to commercialize JPL technology and do government-sponsored robotics research. Co-founded iRobot Corp. in 1990 with MIT classmate Colin Angle and Professor Rodney Brooks.
PERSONAL: Born Dec. 6, 1967 in London, raised on Long Island. Single. Lives in Wayland, Mass.
QUOTE: "People's perception of robots has really changed recently, to, 'Hey, this is something I can really have in my home,' to 'This is something that is out there today, saving lives.' It's something that has real applications and real uses."