PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Magnus Egerstedt

Magnus Egerstedt is a robotics researcher whose work centers on control theory and multi-robot systems. He earned degrees in philosophy and engineering physics in Stockholm, completed a Ph.D. in applied mathematics at KTH, and joined Georgia Tech after postdoctoral work at Harvard. At Georgia Tech, he led the GRITS Lab and the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines, then led the Robotarium, a remote testbed for swarm robotics; a paper he coauthored there won ICRA’s Best Multi-Robot Systems Paper Award in 2017. He became Stacey Nicholas Dean of Engineering at UC Irvine in 2021 and wrote Robot Ecology about long-duration autonomy. Since March 2026, he serves as executive vice chancellor and provost at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Born
1971
Badges

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1996

    Philosophy and engineering physics

    He earns a B.A. in philosophy and linguistics at Stockholm University and an M.S. in engineering physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 1996.

  2. 2000

    A doctorate in applied mathematics

    He earns a Ph.D. in applied mathematics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2000.

  3. 2001–2016

    Georgia Tech and GRITS Lab

    After postdoctoral work in electrical engineering at Harvard, he joins the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech as an assistant professor in 2001. By 2016, he leads the Georgia Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory (GRITS Lab), which focuses on control and coordination of complex networks.

  4. 2016

    Directing a robotics institute

    In 2016, Georgia Tech appoints him executive director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines.

  5. 2017

    The Robotarium paper

    He leads Georgia Tech’s Robotarium, a remotely accessible swarm-robotics testbed where researchers upload code and run experiments. In 2017, he coauthors a paper about the testbed that wins ICRA’s Best Multi-Robot Systems Paper Award.

  6. 2021

    Dean of engineering at UCI

    In the summer of 2021, he takes up the Stacey Nicholas Dean of Engineering role at UC Irvine’s Henry Samueli School.

  7. 2021

    Robot Ecology

    He publishes Robot Ecology: Constraint-Based Design for Long-Duration Autonomy in 2021, exploring slow robots designed for long field deployments.

  8. Since March 2026

    UNC provost

    UNC-Chapel Hill appoints him executive vice chancellor and provost in November 2025, effective March 2, 2026. By July 2026, he serves as executive vice chancellor and provost at the university.

Career

  1. Since 2026University of North Carolina at Chapel HillExecutive Vice Chancellor and Provost
  2. From 2021University of California, IrvineStacey Nicholas Dean of Engineering
  3. From 2001Georgia Institute of TechnologyAssistant Professor, Executive Director
  4. Harvard UniversityPostdoctoral researcher

Education

  1. 2000KTH Royal Institute of TechnologyPh.D. in applied mathematics
  2. 1996Stockholm UniversityB.A. in philosophy and linguistics
  3. 1996KTH Royal Institute of TechnologyM.S. in engineering physics

From the biography.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Magnus Egerstedt. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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

  1. Robotics research leader Magnus Egerstedt named dean of UCI engineering school news.uci.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. ECE's Magnus Egerstedt Named New Executive Director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines coe.gatech.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. New Lab to Give Nation’s Researchers Remote Access to Robots mshci.gatech.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. IRIM Team Awarded ICRA Best Paper Award ae.gatech.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. IEEE ICRA Best Paper Award on Multi-Robot Systems ieee-ras.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. UCI Podcast: Taking it easy news.uci.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Magnus Egerstedt named executive vice chancellor and provost unc.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. 'Adjust yourself accordingly.' UNC-Chapel Hill academic departments urged to adhere to student demand and workforce needs wunc.org. Checked 20 October 2026.