معرفی
Maja Mataric is the Chan Soon-Shiong Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southern California (USC), with courtesy appointments in Neuroscience and Pediatrics. She is also a Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind. She is the founding director of the USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center and co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab.
Education:
- PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, MIT (1994)
- MS in Computer Science, MIT (1990)
- BS in Computer Science, University of Kansas (1987)
Research Interests: Mataric is a pioneer in socially assistive robotics (SAR), a field she named and developed. Her work focuses on enabling robots to assist humans through social interaction rather than physical support. She has made foundational contributions to human-robot interaction (HRI), multi-robot coordination, and distributed robotics. Her research is applied in real-world environments such as schools, rehabilitation centers, retirement homes, and private homes to support individuals with autism, stroke, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, and anxiety/depression.
Scientific Awards: She has received numerous prestigious awards including:
- 2024 ACM Athena Lecturer Award
- 2024 ACM Eugene L. Lawler Award
- 2020 ACM Fellow
- 2011 US Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math, and Engineering Mentoring
Mentoring & Outreach: Mataric has been a strong advocate for underrepresented groups in STEM. She has mentored early-career women through CRA-W and led USC Viterbi’s K-12 STEM outreach programs since 2019. She is also the author of The Robotics Prime, a book aimed at K-12 and undergraduate students.
