When the robotics engineering field that Maja Matarić wanted to work in didn’t exist, she helped create it. In 2005 she helped define the new area of socially assistive robotics.

As an associate professor of computer science, neuroscience , and pediatrics at the University of Southern California , in Los Angeles, she developed robots to provide personalized therapy and care through social interactions.

Maja Matarić

Employer

University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Job Title

Professor of computer science, neuroscience, and pediatrics

Member grade

Fellow

Alma maters

University of Kansas and MIT

The robots could have conversations, play games, and respond to emotions.

Today the IEEE Fellow is a professor at USC. She studies how robots can help students with anxiety and depression undergo cognitive behavioral therapy.…