PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Garnet Hertz

Garnet Hertz is a researcher whose cockroach-controlled robot treats an animal as the CPU in a pseudo-intelligent system. After studying studio art and arts computation, he developed the robot at UC Irvine. With Jussi Parikka, he coauthored research that used media archaeology as an artistic method, and he received a 2014 SIGCHI Best of CHI Best Paper Award. In 2015, he became Director of Emily Carr's Studio for Critical Making, and MIT Press published his book Art + DIY Electronics in 2023. As of October 2026, he is an Associate Professor at Emily Carr.

Timeline

  1. 1997

    A BFA in studio art

    In 1997, he earns a BFA in Studio Art, magna cum laude, at the University of Saskatchewan.

  2. 2004

    The cockroach as robot CPU

    In 2004, he develops the Cockroach Controlled Mobile Robot at UC Irvine, with a cockroach walking on a trackball to steer a three-wheeled vehicle. Distance sensors feed navigation cues back to the insect, which acts as the CPU of a pseudo-intelligent system.

  3. 2005–2009

    Graduate degrees at UC Irvine

    At UC Irvine, he earns an MFA in Arts Computation Engineering in 2005 and completes a PhD in Visual Studies in 2009.

  4. 2012–2014

    Research Scientist at UC Irvine

    From 2012 to 2014, he serves as a Research Scientist and Artist in Residence at UC Irvine's Laboratory for Ubiquitous Computing and Interaction. With Jussi Parikka, he publishes “Zombie Media: Circuit Bending Media Archaeology into an Art Method” in Leonardo in 2012. The paper treats media archaeology as a method for contemporary artistic practice.

  5. 2014

    A SIGCHI Best Paper Award

    He receives the SIGCHI Best of CHI Best Paper Award at CHI 2014.

  6. 2015

    The Studio for Critical Making

    In 2015, he becomes Director of the Studio for Critical Making at Emily Carr University.

  7. 2023

    Art + DIY Electronics

    The MIT Press publishes his book Art + DIY Electronics in 2023.

  8. As of October 2026

    Associate Professor at Emily Carr

    As of October 2026, he is an Associate Professor at Emily Carr.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Garnet Hertz yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Garnet Hertz - CV (September 2019) conceptlab.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Cockroach Controlled Mobile Robot - Garnet Hertz conceptlab.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. When Cockroaches Seize Controls | WIRED wired.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. Visual Studies Alumni | UCI School of Humanities humanities.uci.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Leonardo, Volume 45, Issue 5 leonardo.info. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. Garnet Hertz – Art + DIY Electronics | Neural neural.it. Checked 19 October 2026.
  7. People | Media Archaeology Lab | University of Colorado Boulder colorado.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.