Robert Wood wins prestigious NSF CAREER and ONR Young Investigator program awards

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - May 1, 2008 - Robert Wood, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), has won a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award from the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The two honors are considered among the most prestigious ways to recognize rising stars in science and engineering.

Wood's current research focuses on all aspects of mobile microrobot design, fabrication, control, and analysis. His lab's expertise in microfabrication and microsystem design combined with insights from nature have enabled the creation high-performance microrobots for aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. Such systems can be used for search and rescue, hazardous environment exploration, environmental monitoring, and reconnaissance.

The $400,000 CAREER Award will support his work on developing bio-inspired automatic control of a flying robotic insect and the YIP Award will support related research on refining hovering and control for microrobotic systems. 

Wood earned his Ph.D. (2004) and M.S. (2001) in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He earned his B.S. (1998) in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University, graduating Suma Cum Laude with High Honors. 

Before coming to Harvard in 2006, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Engineer at the Robotics Lab in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley. He is co-chair of the IEEE/RAS Technical Committee on Aerial Robotics and a member of the IEEE/RAS Technical Committee on Micro-Nano Robotics.

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About the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.

About the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award
ONR's YIP award seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who have received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees within the last five years who show exceptional promise for doing creative research. The objectives of this program are to attract outstanding faculty members of institutions of higher education to the Department of the Navy's research program, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers.