Daniela Rus

Daniela Rus is a leading expert in robotics and artificial intelligence, serving as director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT. In this role, Rus oversees more than 1,700 researchers and leads MIT's largest research organization. She also holds the title of Panasonic Professor of Computer Science and serves as deputy dean of research for the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing. Rus was the first woman to serve as director of CSAIL and its predecessor institutions, the AI Lab and the Lab for Computer Science.

Rus earned a doctorate in computer science from Cornell University. Her research focuses on distributed robotics, mobile computing, soft robotics, programmable matter, and data science, with an emphasis on autonomy in intelligent systems. Notable projects include self-driving vehicles, the BakeBot robot chef, and a silicone robot fish capable of autonomous swimming. Rus is also a co-founder of Liquid AI, an MIT spinout commercializing liquid-neural-network research developed within her group.

Rus is the author of several books, including "The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots," "Computing the Future," and "The Mind's Mirror: Risk and Reward in the Age of AI." In "The Heart and the Chip," co-written with science writer Gregory Mone, she explores robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, addressing the moral and ethical implications of intelligent machines. Her writing examines how robots and AI can advance fields such as healthcare, space exploration, and climate science.

Rus has received several honors, including the IEEE Edison Medal for sustained leadership and pioneering contributions in modern robotics, the High-Tech Prize of the Bavarian Minister-President for work in self-organizing robot collectives, soft robotics, autonomous mobility, and brain-inspired AI, and the John Scott Award for expanding the concept of robotics. She has also been recognized as a MacArthur Fellow and received both an NSF Career Award and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship.

Rus is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the French National Academy of Medicine. She is a fellow of ACM, AAAI, and IEEE, and has served on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, providing expertise on computing and AI. Rus is recognized for her contributions to robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, and is a prominent voice in technology and engineering.