Rob Turknett

Senior Consultant and AI Integrator

Robert Turknett is a seasoned software engineer leader who directs the firm’s AI integration initiative. With over two decades of experience in software engineering, his career includes pivotal roles at Microsoft, IBM, and the University of Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC). At Microsoft, Rob led the design and development of proofs of concept, demos, and code accelerators to help enterprise customers adopt generative AI and other cutting-edge technologies. His leadership in engineering and architecture for various AI projects has driven significant advancements in technology and business solutions.

Career Highlights

  • Microsoft: Led the development of solution accelerators to help enterprise customers adopt generative AI and other cutting-edge technologies
  • IBM: Led UI engineering for IBM Real World Evidence, a data science platform to advance scientific discovery.
  • Won first place out of 39 teams in IBM Watson Health Disruptor Forum innovation startup competition in January 2019
  • Received US Patent for Determining and Representing Health of Cognitive Systems in 2016
  • Directed the NEH grant-awarded 1000 Words visualization software project, which won Best Digital Humanities Visualization or Infographic from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2012

Areas of Specialization

  • AI adoption and integration
  • Software Engineering
  • Cognitive Science
  • Design thinking
  • Rapid prototyping
  • Agile methodology
  • User interface design and implementation

Unique Attributes

  • Co-founded the Austin Museum of Digital Art
  • Advisory board member for Planet Word museum in Washington, DC
  • Songwriter and musician, plays in a band called Wandering South with his brother Josh Turknett
  • Helped to write and edit “Decent People, Decent Company: How to Lead with Character at Work and in Life”
  • Master of Science in Advanced Design Research from the University of Texas at Austin
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Honors from Trinity University

  • Hobbies

    Reading, Songwriting, Tennis

  • Food

    Vietnamese Pho Soup

  • Band

    Buttercup

  • Movie

    Perfect Days

  • TV Show

    Silicon Valley

  • Super Power

    Empathy

  • Book

    Fiction: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen Nonfiction: In Over Our Heads by Robert Kegan

  • Quote

    “Relax, nothing is under control” -Anonymous

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