Professor Muriel Médard

Muriel Médard is the NEC Professor of Software Science and Engineering in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department at MIT, where she leads the Network Coding and Reliable Communications Group in the Research Laboratory for Electronics at MIT and Chief Scientist for Steinwurf, which she has co-founded. She obtained three Bachelor’s degrees (EECS 1989, Mathematics 1989 and Humanities 1991), as well as her M.S. (1991) and Sc.D (1995), all from MIT. Muriel is a Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (elected 2022), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 2021), the US National Academy of Engineering (elected 2020), a Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors (elected 2018), and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (elected 2008). She holds Honorary Doctorates from the Technical University of Munich (2020), from The University of Aalborg (2022) and from the Budapest Institute of Technology and Economics (BME) (2023).

    Muriel was co-winner of the MIT 2004 Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award and was named a Gilbreth Lecturer by the US National Academy of Engineering in 2007. She received the 2017 IEEE Communications Society Edwin Howard Armstrong Achievement Award and the 2016 IEEE Vehicular Technology James Evans Avant Garde Award. Muriel was awarded the 2022 IEEE Kobayashi Computers and Communications Award. She received the 2019 Best Paper Award for IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, the 2018 ACM SIGCOMM Test of Time Paper Award, the 2009 IEEE Communication Society and Information Theory Society Joint Paper Award, the 2009 William R. Bennett Prize in the Field of Communications Networking, the 2002 IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer Prize Paper Award, as well as nine conference paper awards. Most of her prize papers are co-authored with students from her group.

    Muriel has served as technical program committee co-chair of ISIT (twice), CoNext, WiOpt, WCNC and of many workshops. She has chaired the IEEE Medals committee, and served as a member and chair of many committees, including as inaugural chair of the Millie Dresselhaus Medal. She was Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications and has served as editor or guest editor of many IEEE publications, including the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, the IEEE Journal of Lightwave Technology, and the IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security. Muriel was a member of the inaugural steering committees for the IEEE Transactions on Network Science and for the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Information Theory. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. Muriel was elected president of the IEEE Information Theory Society in 2012 and served on its board of governors for a dozen years.

    Muriel received the inaugural MIT Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring Award (2022) and in 2013 the inaugural MIT EECS Graduate Student Association Mentor Award, voted by the students. She was recognized nationally as a Siemens Outstanding Mentor (2004) for her work with High School students. She set up the Women in the Information Theory Society (WithITS) and Information Theory Society Mentoring Program, for which she was recognized with the 2017 IEEE Aaron Wyner Distinguished Service Award. She served as an undergraduate Faculty in Residence for seven years in two MIT dormitories (2002–2007). Muriel was elected by the faculty and served as a member and later chair of the MIT Faculty Committee on Student Life and as the inaugural chair of the MIT Faculty Committee on Campus Planning. She was chair of the Institute Committee on Student Life. She has served on the Board of Trustees since 2015 of the International School of Boston, for which she is treasurer. She serves on the Nokia Bell Labs Technical Advisory Board. 

    Muriel has over eighty US and international patents awarded, the vast majority of which have been licensed or acquired. For technology transfer, she has co-founded CodeOn, for which she consults, and Steinwurf, for which she is Chief Scientist.

    Muriel has supervised over 40 master’s students, over 20 doctoral students and over 25 postdoctoral fellows.