CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT announced that its director, Daniela Rus, has been awarded the 2025 Edison Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics (IEEE). The award recognizes Rus’s “sustained leadership and pioneering contributions in modern robotics” and follows her 2023 Robotics and Automation Award also from the IEEE.
“I share this prestigious award with all of my students, postdoc, and collaborators and draw inspiration from my brilliant colleagues, whose research and insights create such a dynamic and intellectually rich environment at CSAIL as we work together to pioneer research in computing and robotics that improves the quality of human life,” said Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL. “While our advancing the frontiers of knowledge is highly important, equally important is our commitment to supporting and mentoring the students and researchers so we can create the next generation of minds who believe that robotics and machine intelligence can improve people’s lives and the world.”
Since 1909, the Edison Medal, named for Thomas Edison, has been awarded to scientists who have built a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering, or the electrical arts and demonstrate leadership, individual contributions, originality, and breadth in their work. The Medal has been awarded to prominent scientists, including Alexander Graham Bell, Nikola Tesla, and Vincent Chan.
Rus joins this impressive list of scientists in being recognized for the research and projects she and her colleagues at CSAIL are developing to revolutionize robotic systems to become more helpful tools that enhance human strength and precision to assist people in solving real-world problems. The applications for Rus’s work are broad and can create significant advancements in transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, underwater exploration, and medicine.
Daniela Rus is the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). She is the author of The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots and The Mind's Mirror: Risk and Reward in the Age of AI. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2024 and received the 2024 John Scott Award.