About Pito Salas

About Me

I'm Pito Salas — software engineer, educator, entrepreneur, and tinkerer based in Cambridge, MA.

Earlier in my career I am credited with having invented the "pivot table" while working at Lotus Development's Advanced Technology Group (released as Lotus Improv in 1989 — yes, before Excel had it). I co-founded eRoom Technology, one of the first internet-based project collaboration platforms, which was acquired by Documentum in 2002. I also created BlogBridge, an open-source RSS reader for power users.

After a full career in industry I joined Brandeis University as Professor of the Practice of Computer Science at the Michtom School of Computer Science. I taught Software Engineering, Software Entrepreneurship, Software Design, and Autonomous Robotics. In 2025 I retired.

I have remained very busy and involved with robotics. I founded the Boston Robot Hackers group last year and continue to build, test, and experiment with Robots.

You can find me on LinkedIn — if we've met in person I'll generally accept a connection, especially with a note.

Brief Bio

Pito Salas is a software developer, entrepreneur, and educator based in Cambridge, MA. He has been credited with inventing the pivot table while at Lotus Development in the late 1980s. He co-founded eRoom Technology, one of the first internet-based project collaboration platforms (acquired by Documentum in 2002). He served as Professor of the Practice of Computer Science at Brandeis University until retiring in 2025, where he taught software engineering, entrepreneurship, and autonomous robotics. He is now active in the Boston robotics community as founder of Boston Robot Hackers.

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