PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Emanuel Todorov

Also known as Emo Todorov

Emanuel Todorov is a researcher in intelligent control whose work connects motor neuroscience, robotics and reinforcement learning. He earned a PhD in cognitive neuroscience at MIT in 1998 and published research from UCL's Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit by 2000. With Michael Jordan, he proposed stochastic optimal feedback control, received a Sloan Research Fellowship in 2004, and joined the University of Washington's Computer Science & Engineering faculty in 2008. His lab presented MuJoCo for model-based control in 2012, and he helped develop a biomimetic robotic hand at UW in 2016. He is a professor at the University of Washington.

Born
1971
Links
Website and Google Scholar

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1998–2000

    MIT doctorate and Gatsby research

    He earns a PhD in cognitive neuroscience at MIT in 1998. By 2000, he publishes a reply in Nature Neuroscience while affiliated with UCL's Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit.

  2. 2002

    Optimal feedback control

    In 2002, he and Michael I. Jordan propose stochastic optimal feedback control as a theory of motor coordination, allowing variability in task-irrelevant movement dimensions.

  3. 2004

    A Sloan Research Fellowship

    In 2004, he receives a Sloan Research Fellowship while working on neural control of movement at UCSD's Department of Cognitive Science.

  4. 2008

    Joining UW faculty

    In 2008, he joins the University of Washington's Computer Science & Engineering faculty.

  5. 2012

    MuJoCo for model-based control

    In 2012, his lab presents MuJoCo as a physics engine designed for model-based control, using recursive algorithms in generalized coordinates and contact impulse solvers.

  6. 2016

    A biomimetic robotic hand

    In 2016, he and Zhe Xu develop a biomimetic robotic hand at UW that achieves human-like dexterity.

  7. June 2025

    Optimizing dynamical systems

    In June 2025, he posts Dynamical System Optimization, a framework that transfers control authority to a specified policy.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor at Washington

    He is a professor at the University of Washington.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Emanuel Todorov yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Physics-Based Optimization for Robot Control - Robohub robohub.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Reply to 'One motor cortex, two different views' | Nature Neuroscience nature.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. Optimal feedback control as a theory of motor coordination | Nature Neuroscience nature.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. UC San Diego Places in Top Tier of Institutions Awarded 2004 Sloan Research Fellowships jacobsschool.ucsd.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Emanuel Todorov wikipedia.nlaha.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. New Engineering Faculty Members 2008 | UW College of Engineering engr.washington.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  7. Emo Todorov - Lab Projects roboti.us. Checked 19 October 2026.
  8. UW CSE researchers create 'the most amazing' robot hand IEEE Spectrum has ever seen news.cs.washington.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  9. Dynamical System Optimization arxiv.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  10. CR2@ICRA2026 | cr2-icra cr2-icra.github.io. Checked 19 October 2026.