Rus is honored for revolutionizing robotics and dramatically improving the quality of human life
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., December 16, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT announced that its director, Daniela Rus, received the coveted 2024 John Scott Award on November 20 in Philadelphia. The Scott Award, administered by the Board of Directors of City Trusts, was established to recognize Benjamin Franklin’s scientific legacy.
Daniela Rus and two other leading robotic scientists were honored for revolutionizing the science of robotics and machine intelligence while dramatically improving the quality of human life. Rus’s research is designed to usher in a new era in which robots work intuitively with humans on a range of beneficial outcomes, including health outcomes and animal conservancy. Rus and her colleagues at CSAIL are working on projects such as a tiny ingestible robot that can remove dangerous button batteries from children’s bodies, as well as developing small robots that can aid in aquatic and marine life research and sustainability efforts.
In her award acceptance speech, Rus said, “Over the past decades, I’ve dedicated my research to developing both the mechanical and cognitive systems of robots, working alongside brilliant students, collaborators, and friends.” Rus says her most important work at CSAIL is working with, supporting, and mentoring the students and researchers to create the next generation of minds who believe that robotics and machine intelligence can improve people’s lives and the world.
Rus received the 2024 John Scott Award along with Dr. Takeo Kanade of Carnegie Mellon University and Dr. Vijay Kumar from the University of Pennsylvania. Past recipients include Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, and twenty Nobel Prize winners.
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 into the National Academy of Sciences in 2024 and is the recipient of the 2025 IEEE Edison Medal and the 2023 IEEE Robotics and Automation Technical Award.
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