Episode 08: Kirk Borne - Data science storyteller and influencer




It’s intimidating to even attempt an intro for today’s guest, Kirk Borne, simply because of the breadth of his experience and the extent of his accomplishments, but here are a few of the pivotal events in his life that particularly stick out to me: Kirk is an astrophysicist receiving a Masters and Ph.D. in the subject from Cal Tech, one of the premier institutions for the subject. But Kirk has never been and will seemingly never be satiated by a single discipline, and his life has decidedly ranged across all areas of space science. 

After Cal Tech, Kirk spent 20 years at NASA, discovering the universe across multiple missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope, by transforming massive amounts of data into new knowledge - a process that he formalized in a new field called Astroinformatics. He then started the first Data Science degree program while a professor at George Mason University. Now, Kirk is the Principal Data Scientist (the first and only) and Executive Advisor at Booz Allen Hamilton, the 25 thousand-employee management and information technology consulting firm. He’s a global speaker, the #1 Worldwide Digital Influencer, and perhaps my favorite Twitter follow. 

In addition to the aspects of Kirk that can be labeled, there are so many that do not come with a degree or position that make him such a fascinating and influential thought-leader. He is a wonderful communicator, an explorer of new ideas, and a creator of new fields of study.

Kirk is a unique thinker and it was a pleasure to talk with him. I hope you enjoy and get as much from this conversation as I did.


Show Notes:

Ryan McGranaghan