Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Ruzena K. Bajcsy was recently presented with the Simon Ramo Founders Award for her research contributions and leadership in engineering during the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) 2016 annual meeting on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016.
Ruzena K. Bajcsy is regarded as a leader in the fields of electrical and computer engineering. With the Simon Ramo Founders Award, she is recognized “for seminal contributions to the fields of computer vision, robotics, and medical imaging, and technology and policy leadership in computer science education and research.”
The award acknowledges outstanding professional, educational, and personal achievements to the benefit of society and includes a commemorative medal. Bajcsy is the second woman to receive the Simon Ramo Founders Award.
Bajcsy, who is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, has led pioneering research in her field for nearly 50 years. She is honored for two groundbreaking contributions: active perception, the basic principle and methodology that combines sensing and perception with the control of sensors to build intelligent robots; and computational anatomy, the discipline that has enabled many exciting developments in medical imaging that have clinical and research applications.
The impact of her work has spread far beyond the lab, spanning scientific, engineering, and health fields. Bajcsy has also been responsible for the establishment of significant institutions that promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education. In 1978 she established at the University of Pennsylvania the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Laboratory, recognized internationally for bringing together a broad diversity of scholars. Bajcsy is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine.
The mission of the NAE is to advance the well-being of the nation by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and by marshalling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to the federal government on matters involving engineering and technology. The NAE is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, an independent, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to provide objective analysis and advice to the nation on matters of science, technology, and health.