Daniela Rus

Daniela Rus is the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, where she serves as Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Deputy Dean of Research for the Schwarzman College of Computing. She also directs the Toyota-CSAIL Joint Research Center focused on AI applications for intelligent vehicles.

Her research vision centers on creating robots that become as ubiquitous as smartphones, with capabilities spanning reasoning, learning, and adaptability in human-centric environments. Rus develops user-friendly interfaces for natural human-robot interaction and innovative tools for rapid robot design and production. Her work impacts diverse sectors including transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, environmental monitoring, underwater exploration, smart cities, healthcare, and domestic applications.

Rus has received numerous prestigious honors including the MacArthur Fellowship, the Engelberger Robotics Award, and membership in the National Academy of Engineering. She serves as an MITRE senior visiting fellow, USA expert member for GPAI (Global Partnerships in AI), member of the Scientific American board of advisers, and member of the Defense Innovation Board.

• Class of 2002 MacArthur Fellow
• Fellow of ACM, AAAI, and IEEE
• Member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2017 Engelberger Robotics Award

Rus earned her PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University. Her recent work focuses on Physical AI, exploring how machines think, how they are designed, and how they learn. She actively contributes to advancing AI research and policy discussions through her various board memberships and advisory roles.