Daniela Rus, Ph.D.
MITRE Senior Visiting Fellow; Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Director, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, MIT
Daniela L. Rus is a senior visiting fellow at MITRE. She is the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT, and the deputy dean of research for the Schwarzman College of Computing.
Rus’s expertise in robotics, mobile computing, and data science has been instrumental in advancing the field. She was named a co-recipient of the John Scott Award for her robotics research, which has expanded our understanding of what a robot can do as a tool to support human precision and reach against real-world problems. At MITRE, Rus’s research plays a key role in creating solutions that enhance our national security and way of life.
Her vision is demonstrated through the focus of her research: to develop the science and engineering of autonomy—enabling users to build, access, and control their AI solutions for greater efficiency and scale. She has led transformative advancements in robotics through her development of liquid neural networks at Liquid AI, which she co-founded with her fellow MIT CSAIL colleagues. Inspired by the neural system of a tiny worm, liquid networks are a revolutionary class of AI that mimics the neural processes of simple organisms to navigate complex environments with remarkable efficiency.
Rus’s TED talk, How AI will step off the screen and into the real world, provided further depth on the potential of liquid networks and how the convergence of AI and robots can unlock new possibilities in everyday life.
Rus’s impact on fostering learning and education has also been celebrated in the industry as she is a recipient of the Engelberger Robotics Award for Education for her work as a leader, educator, and pioneer in the field of robotics. She earned her Ph.D. in computer science from Cornell University. Rus is a Class of 2002 MacArthur Fellow; a fellow of ACM, AAAI, and IEEE; and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the American Academy for Arts and Sciences.