Julie Shah

Julie Shah is the H.N. Slater Professor and Department Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, co-leader of MIT’s Work of the Future Initiative, and director of the Interactive Robotics Group. Her research focuses on autonomous systems, human-robot collaboration, AI planning and scheduling, and interactive robotics for aerospace, healthcare, and manufacturing. She aims to design collaborative robots that enhance human capabilities and has translated her work into real-world applications, including manufacturing assembly lines, healthcare, transportation, and defense.

Prof. Shah has received numerous accolades, including the National Science Foundation CAREER award, MIT Technology Review’s "35 Innovators Under 35," and the IEEE RAS Academic Early Career Award for her contributions to human-robot collaboration. Her research has also earned international recognition with best paper awards and nominations from leading organizations such as the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

She holds S.B., S.M., and Ph.D. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT and is co-author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration. In addition to her academic roles, she serves as Associate Dean for Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing in the Schwarzman College of Computing at MIT.