Chan Soon-Shiong Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics, and founding director, USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center

Maja Matarić served as Vice Dean (2006-19) and then Vice President of Research (2020-21). Her PhD and MS are from MIT, BS from Kansas University. She is Fellow of AAAS, IEEE, AAAI, and ACM, recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics & Engineering Mentoring, Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision for Innovation, NSF Career, MIT TR35 Innovation, and IEEE RAS Early Career Awards, and authored “The Robotics Primer” (MIT Press). She leads the K-12 STEM Center and actively mentors and empowers K-12 students and women and other underrepresented groups toward pursuing STEM careers. Her research is developing socially assistive robots for personalized support in convalescence, rehabilitation, training, and education for autism spectrum disorders, stroke, dementia, anxiety, and other major health and wellness challenges.