G Neil Haven

Biographical Summary

G. Neil Haven is a technologist, company founder, and research leader whose career spans four decades in machine vision, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and the mathematical analysis of algorithms. He is the founder, Chair, and President of the Inner Planets Terraforming Foundation, an Idaho nonprofit corporation, where he is responsible for board governance, strategic direction, and oversight of the Foundation's charitable and research programs.

Mr. Haven brings extensive board-level and governance experience. He founded Liberty Reach Inc. (later Liberty Robotics Inc.) in 2005 and chaired its board through the company's 2024 acquisition by the TKH Group of the Netherlands, serving first as Chief Executive Officer and later as Chief Technology Officer and Director of Research. Earlier founding and board service at Autospect Inc. and FiberDent/Sitca Inc. adds two further decades of experience in forming, governing, and guiding technology organizations from inception through successful exit.

Governance and Board Leadership

• Inner Planets Terraforming Foundation — Founder, Chair, and President. Responsible for board governance, strategic direction, and oversight of the Foundation's charitable and research programs as an Idaho nonprofit corporation.
• Liberty Reach Inc. / Liberty Robotics Inc. — Founder and Chairman of the Board. Founded 2005; served as Chief Executive Officer (2005–2014) and as Chief Technology Officer and Director of Research (2014–2026). Bootstrapped the company to a successful exit — its 2024 acquisition by the TKH Group (Netherlands) — without external investment, retaining ownership control throughout.
• Autospect Inc. — Co-Founder and Board Member. Contributed to strategic, financial, and technical governance through the company's sale in 1996.
• FiberDent / Sitca Inc. — Co-Founder and Board Member. Oversight of technology strategy, FDA-compliance strategy, and intellectual-property management.

Research and Technical Leadership

• Applied research and product development. Directed programs in three-dimensional and depth sensing, robot guidance, artificial intelligence, and machine-vision algorithms; named inventor on numerous granted U.S. patents.
• Analysis of algorithms. Conducted graduate research on backtracking algorithms for satisfiability problems, with peer-reviewed publications including the SIAM Journal on Computing.
• Scientific breadth. Formal training in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computational linguistics; professional working knowledge of German.

Education

• Indiana University. Doctoral program in Computer Science (fellowship).
• Stanford University. Graduate study in Linguistics (National Science Foundation fellowship).
• Purdue University. Graduate study in Philosophy (fellowship).
• Michigan State University. Bachelor's, Physics, with Highest Honors; minor in Mathematics.

Relevance to the Foundation's Mission

The Foundation's research agenda spans the chemistry and materials science of resource use in closed environments and the sociology of how settlements organize and govern themselves. Mr. Haven's scientific training, research leadership, and experience founding and governing technical organizations equip him to lead the Foundation's board, set its research priorities, and uphold its standards of documentation and procedural integrity.