From 'Zero Chance' Astronauts to AI Founders: Berkeley's Unhinged Overachievers

You know that friend who's really good at something and just won't quit? Imagine an entire university department filled with them. That's essentially what Professor Pieter Abbeel at UC Berkeley seems to be cultivating in his AI and robotics labs. He recently dished on some of his former students, and frankly, they make the rest of us look like we're still trying to figure out how to unmute on Zoom.

Take Aravind Srinivas, for example. In 2020, he wanted into Abbeel's robotics lab, but it was full. Most people would shrug and find another lab. Srinivas? He offered to work for six months for free just to prove himself. Abbeel literally had to ask him if he was sleeping. Srinivas's reply? Not until he was officially in. The man earned an "amazing Ph.D.," then went on to OpenAI, and finally founded Perplexity, an AI company that basically answers your questions with receipts. Because apparently, just knowing things isn't enough; you need to know where you knew them from.

Then there's Woody Hoburg. He rocked up to Berkeley from MIT in 2011, telling Abbeel his astronaut chances were "effectively zero." Which, if you're a professor, probably sounds like a challenge. Hoburg snagged a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer sciences. Fast forward to 2017, he joins NASA's astronaut class. By 2023, he's piloting NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission, spending 186 days floating around in space. "Effectively zero," indeed. Let that satisfying number sink in.

Abbeel, clearly a man who knows how to spot talent (and maybe how to convince them to take a nap), says his students aren't just brilliant. They're also "super nice" and generous, especially to their peers and new recruits. So, apparently, you can be a world-beating, sleep-deprived genius and still be a decent human being. Which, in the cutthroat world of AI and space travel, is probably the most surprising revelation of all.