Illah Nourbakhsh

Illah Nourbakhsh is the Kavčić-Moura Professor of Robotics and Executive Director of the Center for Shared Prosperity at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He directs the CREATE Lab, focusing on community-driven robotics, education, and technology empowerment. His research spans human-robot interaction, ethics in AI, and environmental sensing, with projects like Smell Pittsburgh and the Owlet math program. He holds roles at NASA (retired civil servant), multiple foundations, and global advisory boards.

Education: PhD, MS, and BS in Computer Science from Stanford University (1997).

Research Interests: Human-robot collaboration for learning, roboethics, community citizen science, and AI ethics. Recent projects emphasize participatory design and scalable social impact, such as air quality monitoring and educational robotics kits.

Awards: Kavli Fellow (2009), West Virginia Hall of Fame (2013), Hastings Fellow (2019). Authored books include Robot Futures, AI and Humanity, and Turn Left.

Grants & Labs: Leads the CREATE Lab’s initiatives, including EarthTime, Hear Me, and Explorables. Collaborates globally on humanitarian robotics and environmental health projects.

Labs/Teams: CREATE Lab, Center for Shared Prosperity, and partnerships with NASA, Open Planet, and the Benedum Foundation.