Dr. Lanterman grew up in St. Louis, MO and attended Washington University,where he finished a triple major consisting of a B.A. in music, B.S. in computer science, and a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1993. He stayed on for graduate school, receiving an M.S. (1995) and D.Sc. (1998) in electrical engineering. His graduate work focused on target recognition for infrared imagery as part of the U.S. Army Center for Imaging Science. After graduation, he joined the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he managed a large project on covert radar systems which exploit "illuminators of opportunity" such as commercial television and FM radio signals. He joined the Georgia Tech faculty in the fall of 2001.

He has worn many hats in the music industry, including those of concert promoter, recording engineer, and soundman. While in St. Louis, he worked as a writer, photographer, typesetter, and eventually managing editor for a local music publication. He plays keyboard and guitar.