PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Claire Tomlin

Also known as Claire Jennifer Tomlin, C Tomlin, C. J. Tomlin, C. Tomlin, C.J. Tomlin, Claire J Tomlin

Claire Tomlin is a Berkeley professor whose work connects machine learning and control theory to safety in autonomous systems. She was born in Southampton, earned degrees at Waterloo, Imperial College London and UC Berkeley, and developed aircraft safety methods during her Stanford career. She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2006, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019, led Berkeley EECS from 2021 to 2025, and received the IEEE Mildred Dresselhaus Medal in 2024 and the Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award in 2026. As of October 2026, she holds Berkeley’s James and Katherine Lau Chair in Engineering and studies safe learning for autonomous systems.

Works
671
Citations
26,475
h-index
76

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1969–1998

    Degrees at three universities

    She is born in Southampton, England in 1969 and earns a B.A.Sc. from Waterloo in 1992, an M.Sc. from Imperial College London in 1993, and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1998.

  2. 1998–2007

    Stanford and Berkeley appointments

    She teaches at Stanford from 1998 to 2007, directs its Hybrid Systems Laboratory, and joins UC Berkeley’s faculty in 2005 while studying hybrid control for aircraft collision avoidance.

  3. 2006

    A MacArthur Fellowship

    She receives a 2006 MacArthur Fellowship for developing algorithms that identify unsafe conditions and keep hybrid systems within safe limits.

  4. 2019

    Election to two academies

    In 2019, she is elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

  5. 2021–2025

    Leading Berkeley EECS

    She chairs Berkeley EECS from 2021 to 2025 and helps place the department under two colleges. In 2024, she receives the IEEE Mildred Dresselhaus Medal for work on cyber-physical systems with applications to safety in autonomous systems.

  6. 2025

    AI with mathematical models

    In 2025, she returns to full-time research and studies how to combine AI with mathematical models to build more predictable safety measures for autonomous machines.

  7. 2026

    A Bellman Control Heritage Award

    She receives the 2026 Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award for work on safe control, including aircraft collision avoidance, embedded autopilot design, and autonomous vehicle control.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor at Berkeley

    As of October 2026, she holds the James and Katherine Lau Chair in Engineering and is a professor in EECS at Berkeley. She combines machine learning with control theory in safe-learning research.

Sources and credits

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  1. Claire Tomlin - MacArthur Foundation macfound.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Claire Tomlin | EECS at UC Berkeley www2.eecs.berkeley.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. UW Daily Bulletin, October 9, 2007 bulletin.uwaterloo.ca. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. Claire J. Tomlin | Canadian Studies Program canada.berkeley.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. Claire Tomlin | Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science miller.berkeley.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Guiding Berkeley’s largest academic department into new territory cdss.berkeley.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. 2024 IEEE Honors Ceremony & VIC Summit ieeetv.ieee.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  8. Claire Tomlin receives the Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award eecs.berkeley.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.