Julie Shah has been named the new head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as of May 1st. Shah is recognized for her visionary contributions to the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence.
She currently heads the Interactive Robotics Group in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and directs MIT’s Industrial Performance Center. She also served as associate dean of Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing at MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing from 2019 to 2022, where she helped launch a curriculum engaged by over 2,000 students per year. In 2020, Shah co-wrote the book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting Robots”, an exploration of the future of human-robot collaboration.
Shah’s research is focused on the future of work and designing robotics that improve human capability. She integrates human cognitive models with artificial intelligence. Her research has spanned several fields, including manufacturing assembly lines, health care applications, transportation, and defense.
In addition to her research work, Shah was named co-director of the Work of the Future Initiative, a successor group of MIT’s Task Force on the Work of the Future. She was recently assigned as a co-leader of the Working Group on Generative AI and the Work of the Future, examining the impact of generative AI tools on job quality and accessibility.
Shah has been the recipient of various awards throughout her career. In 2017, she was named an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and in 2018, she was awarded the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Academic Early Career Award. Other notable acknowledgments include her appointment to the AIAA Aerospace Artificial Intelligence Advisory Group and her recognition as a “Committed to Caring” mentor in 2019.
She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering and a PhD in autonomous systems, all from MIT. After receiving her doctorate, Shah spent some time at Boeing as a postdoc, before returning to MIT as a faculty member in 2011.
Now, as head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, she’ll succeed Professor Steven Barrett, who has been in the position since May 2023.
