Russell Tedrake

Russell Tedrake is the Toyota Professor at MIT, holding joint appointments in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Mechanical Engineering. He serves as Director of the Center for Robotics at CSAIL and leads MIT's DARPA Robotics Challenge team. Additionally, he is Senior Vice President of Robotics Research at the Toyota Research Institute.

Research focuses on merging systems theory with machine learning for robotic manipulation, particularly through non-smooth mechanics and optimization. His work bridges dynamical systems control with AI for autonomous vehicles, industrial machines, and dexterous robotics.

• Developed Drake toolbox for nonlinear system analysis
• Innovated PhysicsGen simulation pipeline
• Created tactile perception systems using proprioceptive sensors

His research has produced impactful publications in robotics and machine learning, emphasizing stability guarantees and physical interaction modeling. Awards include multiple MIT teaching honors, NSF CAREER Award, and Microsoft Research New Faculty Fellow.

• Education: B.S.E. from University of Michigan (1999), Ph.D. from MIT (2004)
• Labs: Robot Locomotion Group at CSAIL