Rosalind W. Picard is an international leader in envisioning and inventing innovative technology. She is founder and director of the Affective Computing group at the MIT Media Laboratory and is co-director of the Things That Think consortium, the largest industrial sponsorship organization at the Media Lab, and leader of the new and growing Autism Communication Technology Initiative at MIT. In April 2009 she co-founded Affectiva, Inc., where she serves as chairman and chief scientist. Her articles are highly cited, and two have earned best paper prizes. Her award-winning book, Affective Computing, lays the groundwork for giving machines the skills of emotional intelligence. Picard interacts regularly with industry and has consulted for companies such as Apple, AT&T, BT, HP, i.Robot, and Motorola.