Nancy Leveson

Nancy Leveson is the Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Professor of Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) within the School of Engineering. An elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, she pioneered a paradigm-changing approach to system safety that enables engineering safer critical systems globally.

Her educational background includes:

• B.A. from UCLA
• M.S. from UCLA
• Ph.D. from UCLA

Leveson's research revolutionized system safety through interdisciplinary work spanning software safety, organizational safety culture, and human-computer interaction in complex systems. Her methodologies address safety in software-controlled systems where traditional engineering approaches fail, particularly in aerospace, medical devices, and transportation. This work established foundational principles for preventing catastrophic failures in increasingly autonomous systems.

Her major honors include:

• Member of the National Academy of Engineering (2000)
• ACM Allen Newell Award for outstanding computer science research (1999)
• AIAA Information Systems Award for developing software safety practices (1995)
• ACM Fellow (1995)
• ACM Faculty Award for Women (1990)
• ACM Sigsoft Outstanding Research Award (2005)

Leveson consults extensively with aerospace, automotive, and healthcare industries on accident prevention methodologies. She has supervised numerous graduate students and led research initiatives translating theoretical safety frameworks into practical engineering standards. Her advisory work informs regulatory policies for safety-critical systems worldwide.

She directs research through the MIT Partnership for Systems Approaches to Safety and Security (PSASS) and the Engineering Systems Lab, focusing on next-generation safety engineering for autonomous systems and AI-driven technologies.