PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Goldie Nejat

Goldie Nejat is a University of Toronto robotics researcher whose work develops intelligent socially assistive robots and studies human-robot interaction. She earned BASc and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering at Toronto, worked at SUNY Stony Brook, and received engineering awards from 2008 to 2020. With Saunderson, she coauthored a 2021 Science Robotics study on robot persuasion and received the 2025 Canada Research Chair in Intelligent Assistive and Collaborative Robots. In 2026, she coauthored PARAssist, a framework that uses vision-language models to personalize assistance for ambiguous service-robot requests. As of October 2026, she is a professor and ASBLab director and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Works
223
Citations
5,367
h-index
37
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 27 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. As of October 2026

    Engineering degrees and awards

    She holds BASc and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto. She researches intelligent assistive robots for disaster response and patient-centered care. She receives an NSERC University Faculty Award in 2008, the Ontario Professional Engineers Young Engineer Medal in 2012 and the Engineers Canada Young Engineer Achievement Award in 2013.

  2. By 2019

    Stony Brook to Toronto

    Before joining the University of Toronto, she serves as an assistant professor in SUNY at Stony Brook's Department of Mechanical Engineering, directs its Autonomous Systems Laboratory and is deputy director of the Rockwell/Anorad Mechatronics Laboratory. By 2019, she is a professor in U of T's Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and founder and director of ASBLab.

  3. 2020

    An Engineering Excellence medal

    In 2020, she wins the Engineering Excellence medal, which recognizes overall excellence in engineering practice. Her research focuses on assistive robots for elder care, disaster searches and tasks in homes and workplaces.

  4. 2021

    Persuasive robots and human authority

    With Saunderson, she coauthors the 2021 Science Robotics paper “Persuasive robots should avoid authority,” which examines how formal and real authority affect persuasion in human-robot interaction.

  5. October 2025

    A chair for assistive robots

    In October 2025, she receives the Canada Research Chair in Intelligent Assistive and Collaborative Robots. Her team's personalized socially assistive robots support older adults with daily activities and caregivers, and recognize speech, vocal intonation, facial expressions and body language to shape their behavior.

  6. May 2026

    A Canadian engineering fellowship

    She is elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2026, one of three Robotics Institute faculty included among the Academy's 50 new fellows.

  7. July 2026

    PARAssist and robot assistance

    In July 2026, she coauthors PARAssist, a framework for personalized assistance when service robots receive ambiguous requests. It uses vision-language models to assess task demands and learns user preferences to suggest suitable assistance.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and ASBLab director

    As of October 2026, she is a professor in U of T's Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and directs ASBLab. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Intelligent Assistive and Collaborative Robots. She is also an Adjunct Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Career

  1. NowUniversity of TorontoProfessor
  2. NowUniversity of TorontoFounder and director of ASBLab
  3. NowUniversity of TorontoCanada Research Chair in Intelligent Assistive and Collaborative Robots
  4. NowUniversity Health NetworkAdjunct Scientist
  5. 2021–2025Baycrest Academy for Research and Education
  6. 2021–2025Rotman Research Institute
  7. 2005–2010State University of New York
  8. Stony Brook UniversityAssistant professor
  9. Stony Brook UniversityDirector of the Autonomous Systems Laboratory
  10. Stony Brook UniversityDeputy director of the Rockwell/Anorad Mechatronics Laboratory
  11. University of TorontoFaculty Member, Robotics Institute

Education

  1. University of TorontoBASc in Mechanical Engineering
  2. University of TorontoPhD in Mechanical Engineering

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Checked career sources: robotics.utoronto.ca.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Goldie Nejat - Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering mie.utoronto.ca. Checked 27 October 2026.
  2. goldie | Autonomous Systems and Biomechatronics Lab asblab.mie.utoronto.ca. Checked 27 October 2026.
  3. Goldie Nejat, Ph.D., P.Eng. | Engineers Canada engineerscanada.ca. Checked 27 October 2026.
  4. Professor Goldie Nejat wins OPEA Engineering Excellence medal - Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering mie.utoronto.ca. Checked 27 October 2026.
  5. Autonomous Systems and Biomechatronics Lab | Introduction asblab.mie.utoronto.ca. Checked 27 October 2026.
  6. New Canada Research Chairs advance research in personalized robots, equitable clinical systems and more - University of Toronto Robotics Institute robotics.utoronto.ca. Checked 27 October 2026.
  7. Three Robotics Institute professors elected to the Canadian Academy of Engineering - University of Toronto Robotics Institute robotics.utoronto.ca. Checked 27 October 2026.
  8. [2608.24905] PARAssist: A Framework for Personalized and Adaptive Robotic Assistance from Ambiguous User Requests arxiv.org. Checked 27 October 2026.