Daniela
Rus

Shaping the future of AI
and robotics

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ABOUT

Roboticist. Scientist. Innovator.

Daniela Rus is a pioneer in robotics and artificial intelligence and a global leader in the science of autonomy. As the MIT Panasonic Professor of Computer Science and Director of MIT CSAIL, she has helped shape how machines can sense, reason, learn, move, and collaborate with people.

Her work spans the frontiers of robotics and AI, from soft robots and autonomous vehicles to Physical AI, distributed systems, and novel AI paradigms designed for the real world. Across these efforts, she is guided by a powerful vision: to build intelligent, energy-efficient, and trustworthy systems that amplify human capability, accelerate discovery, and help address society’s grand challenges.

Daniela’s impact extends beyond the laboratory through entrepreneurship, public service, mentorship, and thought leadership. A MacArthur Fellow and member of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is committed to advancing AI and robotics with purpose, responsibility, and imagination.

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WRITINGS

Recent Writings & Updates

Articles, essays, and conversations on robotics and AI — along with recent updates shared on LinkedIn.

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Jul 1, 2026

Computing the Future: How Computer Science Reshaped the World

Hardware breakthroughs and profound advances in software, algorithms, and system design together represent one of the most consequential engineering achievements of the past 250 years.

May 23, 2026

I left our MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) PIs 2026 Annual Meeting feeling deeply energized by the talent, ambition, and sense of purpose in this community. We began with an important conversation about…

May 17, 2026

It was a real pleasure to welcome Richard Sutton to MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) for a visit that included time with faculty and students, a thoughtful talk, and a wide-ranging discussion about…

May 14, 2026

At MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), few things are more exciting than new research and invention. Entrepreneurship adds another kind of excitement: the possibility that some of those breakthroughs will go on to…

May 12, 2026

Congratulations to Makram Chahine on a remarkable PhD defense. Makram has been a PhD student in my research group at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). His thesis develops an elegant and ambitious dynamical-systems…

Nov 26, 2025

Manufacturing with Multi-Robot Teams

Advancing flexible, autonomous factories by enabling teams of robots to assemble complex and diverse structures beyond rigid assembly lines.

AI
ROBOTS

Sep 24, 2024

To compete with China on AI, we need a lot more power

A ChatGPT query uses 10 times the wattage of a Google search. It may already be impossible for the U.S. to match China’s centralized energy system.

Jul 20, 2023

The future of AI innovation and the role of academics in shaping it

Universities founded centuries ago are the ones poised to tackle problems far enough removed from the market demands and day-to-day profit margins that drive industry’s shareholders.

We advance knowledge and build machines not to replace humans

but to
empower
them

PROJECTS

Recent Research Projects

Daniela Rus leads and contributes to pioneering projects that push the boundaries of robotics, AI, and autonomy.

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Research

Soft Robots

Soft robots provide an opportunity to bridge the gap between machines and people. In contrast to hard bodied robots, soft robots have bodies made out of intrinsically soft and/or extensible materials (e.g. silicone rubbers) that can…

Group