Ruzena Bajcsy

Ruzena Bajcsy, born in 1933, is a distinguished American engineer and computer scientist renowned for her contributions to the field of robotics. Currently, she serves as a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, where she also holds the title of director emerita of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS).

Previously, Bajcsy was a professor and chair of computer science and engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. There, she established the General Robotics and Active Sensory Perception (GRASP) Laboratory, which has become a cornerstone of research in robotics. Additionally, she was a member of the Neurosciences Institute within the School of Medicine and led the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate, overseeing a substantial budget of five hundred million dollars.

Throughout her illustrious career, Bajcsy has supervised at least twenty-six doctoral students at the University of Pennsylvania, nurturing the next generation of innovators in computer science. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with her election as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2005.

Beyond her professional achievements, Ruzena Bajcsy is also the proud mother of Klara Nahrstedt, a fellow computer science professor, highlighting a legacy of academic excellence within her family.