CSAIL Graduate Student

Aisha Walcott

Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in Howard County located in central Maryland. One exciting fact about Howard County is that two well-known early pioneers, Benjamin Banneker and Andrew Ellicott, worked together to survey the boundaries of our nation's capital, Washington D.C.

What was your academic path before coming to grad school at MIT?

I received my BS in Computer Science from Clark Atlanta University (CAU) in Atlanta, GA. During my time at CAU, I developed microcontroller-based applications for home automation. Summers afforded me the opportunity to gain rich valuable research experience at other research institutions. Projects undertaken at the University of Iowa, MIT Lincoln Labs, UC Berkeley, and Johns Hopkin's University Applied Physical Lab employed various aspects of artificial intelligence. Those undergraduate experiences played a pivotal role in my decision to attend graduate school and focus on artificial intelligence and robotics during my graduate studies.

When did you join a grad program at MIT and what department are you in?

My tenure at MIT began in the Fall of 2000 when I joined the EECS department.

What are you working on and why are you passionate about it?

I am truly passionate in seeing physical environments becoming seamlessly enhanced with robotics and autonomous systems. I am currently working on an architecture and probabilistic algorithms for a persistent mobile robot operating in dynamic environments. My research focuses on two key challenges. The first is to develop autonomous exploration and mapping algorithms for a sustained operation in dynamic environments for extended periods (i.e., days, weeks, or even months). The second is to develop a strategy that enables a persistent robot to maintain an up-to-date model of its environment, while coping with physical changes. One day I hope my research will aid emergency personnel in natural disasters.

What are your future plans?

One of my primary ambitions is to combine my passion for robotics, teaching, and community service. My goal is to work with communities to help them identify problems in which robot technologies can be used to address their real-life needs. I plan to teach fundamental robotics and computer science from an application-specific perspective, as it relates to needs of the communities. In particular, I would like to help improve the conditions and quality of life in developing and underserved nations. By making use of the talents of both researchers and community members we can bring to bear new and innovating ways of using robots to solve local needs.

Anything else to share?

I am proud to be apart of a large family including 4 siblings. Growing up, community service was a key value in our household and remains an important part of my life.