Professor Receives National Science Foundation Award

Harvard Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Robert J. Wood will be one of this year’s recipients of the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation, according to a recent NSF press release. The award recognizes outstanding researchers under the age of 35 in the fields of science and engineering.

Each of this year’s recipients will receive a $1 million grant over a five year period to continue their research.

“I am thrilled to receive this honor and humbled to be in the company of past winners,” Wood said. “The support structure at Harvard is really fantastic, and my colleagues have been incredibly supportive throughout the whole process.”

Wood and his team were recognized for their work developing a technique to build millimeter-size electromechanical devices.

The technique is cheap and efficient, according to Wood. He added that he and his team are excited to explore new applications of the technology.

“We’ve come up with a process which is sufficiently generic that we can apply it to other fields like microsurgery,” he said. “This award will enable us to pursue novel topics in microfabrication and bio-inspired robotics.”

In addition to using the money from the grant to help fund further research, Wood said that he plans to use the award to help promote the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

“We’ve realized that the devices we make here in the lab are fantastic tools to excite younger students,” he said. “A couple of my students have taken raw materials from our research outputs and created presentations for schools. We’re looking at the robots we’ve build and examining how we can further leverage them to promote [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.]”

Members of the Harvard community said that Wood’s talent as a researcher and as a teacher are major reasons why he was selected.

Michael Karpelson, a graduate student who worked in Wood’s lab, said he commended Wood for his strong leadership in the lab.

“He provides guidance without descending into micromanagement, and cultivates a friendly and cohesive work environment,” he said.

This praise was also accompanied by accolades from University President Drew G. Faust, who highlighted the relevancy of Wood’s work to other scientific fields.

“Wood’s research is an intriguing example of the growing interplay of biology and engineering, as well as the power of university research both to advance our basic understanding of how things work and to envision potential solutions to real-world challenges,” Faust said in a press release.

In addition to Wood, MIT Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Scott Aaronson has also been awarded this year’s Alan T. Waterman Award.