MIT Innovators Honored with 2025 IEEE Medals for Groundbreaking Research

The IEEE has announced its prestigious 2025 medal, technical award, and fellowship recipients, highlighting the outstanding achievements of MIT’s faculty, staff, and alumni in advancing technology and innovation.

Leading Faculty Honored for Groundbreaking Contributions

Regina Barzilay, a distinguished MIT professor specializing in AI and Health, received the IEEE Frances E. Allen Medal for her pioneering work in machine learning algorithms that have transformed human language technology and accelerated medical advances, particularly in drug design and early cancer diagnostics. She also leads AI efforts at the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health.

James J. Collins, MIT’s Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science, was awarded the IEEE Medal for Innovations in Healthcare Technology. His seminal research on synthetic gene circuits and programmable cells has driven synthetic biology applications in healthcare, influencing over 25 biotech and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Innovators in Digital Health and Quantum Computing

Roozbeh Jafari, principal staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, became an IEEE Fellow for his impactful work in digital health, focusing on wearable sensors and AI-driven health paradigms, including cutting-edge digital twin technologies.

William Oliver, Henry Ellis Warren Professor at MIT, was also named IEEE Fellow for his leadership in superconductive quantum computing technology. As director of the MIT Center for Quantum Engineering, Oliver advances superconducting qubits and quantum processor development while educating professionals through online courses.

Robotics Leadership and Alumni Achievements

Daniela Rus, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and MacArthur Fellow, received the IEEE Edison Medal for her pioneering robotics research that enhances autonomy and human-robot collaboration on complex tasks.

Notable alumni recognized include Steve Mann (Masaru Ibuka Consumer Technology Award) for advances in wearable computing, Thomas Louis Marzetta (Eric E. Sumner Award) for Massive MIMO wireless technology, Michael Menzel (Simon Ramo Medal) for contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope, Jose Manuel Fonseca Moura (Haraden Pratt Award) for IEEE leadership, and Marc Raibert (Robotics and Automation Award) for dynamic legged locomotion innovations.

“These honors reflect MIT’s enduring commitment to pushing the frontiers of science and technology that profoundly impact society.”

Additional MIT alumni elected as IEEE Fellows include Solomon Assefa, Yuriy Brun, Whitfield Diffie, Brian P. Ginsburg, Saikat Guha, Cherie Kagan, Thierry E. Klein, Bennett A. Landman, Debra Lew, Karen Livescu, Patrick P. Mercier, Shayan Mookherjea, Ramakrishna Mukkamala, and Suresh Ramalingam.