Dr. Cathy Wu

Professor

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Biography

Cathy Wu is the Class of 1954 Career Development Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specializing in the intersection of machine learning, optimization, and large-scale societal systems. Her recent research focuses on mixed-autonomy systems in mobility, exploring the integration of automation and self-driving cars within existing urban infrastructures. Cathy is committed to developing principled computational tools that enable reliable decision-making in complex societal contexts. Throughout her career, she has collaborated extensively across various fields, including transportation, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, urban planning, and public policy, along with partnerships at prestigious organizations like Microsoft Research, OpenAI, and Google X Self-Driving Car Team. Additionally, she is the founder and chair of the Interdisciplinary Research Initiative at the ACM Future Computing Academy, which aims to foster international research collaboration in computing.

Research Interests

Awards

#2025

Ole Madsen Mentoring Award

#2023

National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award

#2018

CUTC Milton Pikarsky Memorial Dissertation Award

#2018

Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, UC Berkeley

#2017

ACM Future Computing Academy, Interdisciplinary Research Initiative, Chair

#2017

Outstanding Graduate Student Award, UC Berkeley

#2016

IEEE Paper Award, Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference (ITSC)

#2016

Rising Stars Workshop

#2015

Dwight David Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship

#2013

National Defense Science Engineering (NDSEG) Graduate Fellowship

#2013

National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellowship, Fellow

#2013

Chancellor’s Fellowship Graduate Study, UC Berkeley