CISE Affiliate Alyssa Pierson Honored by MassRobotics for Contributions to Robotics
On October 21st, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering and CISE Affiliate Alyssa Pierson will be recognized by Mass Robotics, the world’s largest robotic startup support organization at The Women in Robotics Gala. The Gala is the world’s first major award ceremony celebrating the crucial contributions of women to the future of robotics.
The award from MassRobotics is one of two awards Pierson has received recently. In June, she was one of three BU faculty members to receive a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. The grants are among the most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty. She then received the inaugural MassRobotics Star in Robotics Medal at the 2023 IEEE ICRA conference in London, and will finally be recognized at the Museum of Science in Boston on October 21.
The Rising Star Robotics Award is given to “an early-career professional woman making strides in research that will lead to significant impact in the field of robotics.” The evening will highlight the achievements of the inaugural award winners, and celebrate the impact of countless women in the robotics industry. Award winners will be recognized by the Museum of Science in their current Women in Technology initiative.
Pierson, the chief scientist at Ava Robotics, was recognized for her important contributions to the cooperative and distributed control of multi-agent teams. She also focuses on designing robotic systems that interact with humans and other robots in complex environments.
The award recipients are selected by a committee of robotics experts, piloted by MassRobotics. The committee follows the values and code of ethics requirements laid out by MassRobotics. After nominations are made, candidates are evaluated on the achievement and impact in the field of robotics. These stipulations include significance, depth, and originality of the impact on robotics. MassRobotics’ core values include technical excellence, education and technical advancement, ethical technology with a positive impact, and diversity and inclusion.
The Gala will showcase an interactive display including a Wall of Women in Robotics History, recognizing female champions and groundbreakers in the field of robotics, including Pierson.