Ken Goldberg named to National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering has elected Ken Goldberg, a professor of industrial engineering and operations research (IEOR) at the University of California, Berkeley, to its membership—one of the highest professional distinctions in engineering.
Election to the NAE honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education, including advances in emerging and established fields and leadership that has shaped the profession.
Goldberg was recognized “for contributions to practice, research, and education in robotics and automation for industrial parts handling,” according to the Academy.
Goldberg’s work spans robotics, artificial intelligence, automation, and human-centered systems. His research has advanced robotic manipulation, networked robotics, and automation under uncertainty, with applications in manufacturing, logistics, health care, and online platforms. He developed the first provably complete algorithms for robotic part feeding and helped pioneer early networked robotics systems, including one of the first robots accessible via the internet. He serves as director of UC Berkeley’s AUTOLab, where he supervises research on robotics, with an emphasis on AI and robot learning.
The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and provides independent, objective advice on matters involving engineering and technology. Members are elected by their peers and contribute expertise on issues of national and global importance.
This year, the academy elected 130 members and 28 international members, bringing total membership to 2,534 in the United States and 356 internationally. Goldberg joins three other University of California, Berkeley faculty members elected to the academy’s class of 2026: Jennifer Doudna, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at UC Berkeley; Kam Yin Lau, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer science; and Nitash Pervez Balsara, Charles W. Tobias Professor of Electrochemistry in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Inductees will be formally inducted during the NAE’s annual meeting this fall.