Peter W. Frey

Peter W. Frey is a research scientist whose experience covers a wide range of disciplines and interests. He is a professor emeritus at Northwestern University, where he served on the faculty for thirty years, teaching in the computer science department, the psychology department, and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. While at Northwestern, his research focused on machine learning and computer-based decision systems. He is the author of over sixty academic publications and several commercial software products. In recent years, he managed a small technology company that pioneered commercial applications in predictive analytics. Peter graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and earned his PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Wisconsin.

Peter enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, mountain climbing, road biking, and stone masonry. In his early sixties, he acquired a staph infection from cuts he received while landscaping his property. The infection that settled in his lower spinal cord was almost fatal— he was paralyzed from the waist down for over a month. He began working out on a three-wheel recumbent road bike to rebuild his legs and slowly gained lower body strength. These workouts led to him ultimately participating in three Ride the Rockies cross-country tours that involved daily, 80-mile rides with multiple climbs over mountain passes exceeding 12,000 feet in elevation. He cites those workouts as being his salvation and the reason he continues to enjoy an active outdoor lifestyle. Every morning, he gets up knowing that each day is a precious gift.