Maja Matarić facts for kids

Maja Matarić is an American computer scientist and roboticist. She is also an AI (Artificial Intelligence) researcher. She is a special professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics at the University of Southern California.

Maja Matarić is famous for her work in a new field called socially assistive robotics. She helped start this field. It's all about making robots that can help people in a friendly way, not by doing physical tasks for them. These robots give personalized help and care. They encourage people to help themselves through social interaction.

Her work has helped many people. This includes older adults, people who have had a stroke, and children with autism. Her robots have been used and tested in hospitals, therapy centers, schools, and homes.

Before this, she also worked on other cool robot topics. These include robots learning by watching people, swarm robotics (many small robots working together), robot teams, and how robots find their way around (robot navigation).

Maja Matarić also does a lot to encourage young people, women, and other groups to get involved in computing, engineering, and science.

About Maja Matarić

Maja Matarić was born in Belgrade. This city was the capital of Yugoslavia back then. Today, Belgrade is the capital of Serbia.

She went to the University of Kansas for her first college degree. After that, she studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, she earned her MSc (Master of Science) degree in 1990. She then got her Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) degree in 1994. Both of her advanced degrees were supervised by Rodney A. Brooks.

In 1995, she became a professor of Computer Science at Brandeis University. Then, in 1997, she moved to the University of Southern California. She started there as an assistant professor of Computer Science. She also worked with the Neuroscience Program. Later, she became an associate professor and then a full professor. She also worked with the Department of Pediatrics.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Maja Matarić has received many important awards and honors for her work.

In 2009, she received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. This award came from President Barack Obama. It recognized her efforts in guiding and supporting students in science and engineering.

She was chosen to be a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2023. This is a very respected group of leaders in many fields. She was also elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2025.

She is also a "Fellow" of several important organizations. Being a Fellow means she is recognized as a top expert in her field.

• She became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2007.
• She became a Fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in 2011.
• She became a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) in 2016.
• She became a Fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) in 2020.

In 2013, she won the ABIE Award for Innovation from the Anita Borg Institute. She also received the Okawa Foundation Award and the National Science Foundation Career Award. She was a winner of the MIT Technology Review TR35 Award. This award recognizes young innovators. She also received the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Career Award.

In 2024, she was named the ACM Athena Lecturer. This honor recognized her "groundbreaking contributions" in areas like robots working together and socially assistive robotics.

She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, which is an honor society. In 2010, LA Times Magazine named her one of five "Visionaries."

Maja Matarić has been featured in many media stories. She appeared in the Emmy Award-nominated documentary Me & Isaac Newton. She was also in articles like "Robots that Care" in The New Yorker and "The New Face of Autism Therapy" in Popular Science. Other articles include "Caregiver Robots" in IEEE Spectrum and "How to Build Robots People Can Relate To" in The Wall Street Journal. She has also been featured on BBC News.