Nathan Myhrvold

Coming Up

Nathan Myhrvold trained at Mirman School, Santa Monica High School, and Santa Monica College before stepping into the kitchen as a stagiaire at Rover’s in Seattle. From there, he moved into leadership as president at Dynamical Systems Research Inc. In Oakland, California (until 1986), then into executive positions at Microsoft (1986–1999), where he was founder at Microsoft Research (from 1991) and Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft (1996–1999). Today, Nathan is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Intellectual Ventures (since 2000) and Vice Chairman of TerraPower.

Where They Are Now

Modernist Cuisine in Bellevue, Washington is the center of Nathan Myhrvold’s current practice. The work there sits alongside his role as co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Intellectual Ventures in Seattle, Washington, and it is grounded in the same scientific curiosity that runs through his education and early work.

Signature

Nathan’s signature works are Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, Modernist Cuisine at Home, The Photography of Modernist Cuisine, Modernist Bread, and Modernist Pizza. Together, they define a reference approach that treats cooking as both technique and system.

In Their Words “I realized that there was an opportunity to create a comprehensive book that covers all aspects of cooking, from science to how traditional cooking works to these new techniques.”

Honors

Nathan’s honors include James Beard Foundation book award, James Beard Foundation Award for cookbook of the year, Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Award, Honorary degree, Named to Foreign Policy magazine's list of top 100 global thinkers, and James Madison Medal.