The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Business
    • Financial
      • Investments
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Earnings
    • Markets
      • Agriculture
      • Healthcare
      • Logistics
      • Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Security
    • RBR50
      • RBR50 Winners 2025
      • RBR50 Winners 2024
      • RBR50 Winners 2023
      • RBR50 Winners 2022
      • RBR50 Winners 2021
  • Resources
    • Automated Warehouse Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • eBooks
    • Publications
      • Automated Warehouse
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Ayanna Howard elected to NAI class of fellows

By Brianna Wessling | December 30, 2021

Ayanna Howard was elected to the NAI 2021 class of fellows. | Source: Ohio State University

Ayanna Howard, the dean of the college of engineering at Ohio State University, has been elected to the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 2021 class of fellows.

The NAI will be adding 164 academic innovators from universities as well as governmental or nonprofit research institutions to its fellows program this year.

Howard became the first woman to be head of the Ohio State college of engineering in March. This was just the latest of accomplishments for the roboticist, entrepreneur and educator.

For 12 years, Howard worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where she helped to develop SmartNav, an autonomous, next-generation Mars rover. While at NASA JPL she held several roles, including senior robotics researcher and deputy manager in the Office of the Chief Scientist.

Howard’s time at NASA would be just the beginning of her career. After leaving NASA in 2005, she joined Georgia Tech as an associate professor and founder of the HumAnS lab. The lab has generated more than 250 publications, and focuses on humanized intelligence. Researchers at the lab use techniques like sensing and learning to enhance the autonomous capabilities of robots.

During her time at Georgia Tech, Howard ran STEM camps for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Running these camps would give Howard inspiration for creating a toy controller for children who can’t swipe or pinch on a tablet or touchscreen.

The controller, which looks like a stuffed animal but has buttons, makes adaptive use of a tablet possible. It allows children with physical disabilities to interact with STEM education.

In 2013, the controller led Howard to found a spinoff company, Zyrobotics, that now develops mobile therapy and educational products for children with special needs. Howard is the president of the company’s board of directors. Zyrobotics became a nonprofit in 2020.

While at Georgia Tech, Howard was also the program director of the nation’s first multidisciplinary robotics PhD program, the associate chair for faculty development in the school of electrical and computer engineering and the associate director of research at the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines.

Howard’s passion for advocacy in robotics didn’t stop with Zyrobotics. In 2020, she co-founded Black in Robotics, an organization that advocates for diversity and inclusion in the robotics industry. Howard is the academic co-lead of the organization.

The NAI fellows program honors academic inventors that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and welfare of society.

Howard’s accolades include being named to Forbes’ America’s Top 50 Women in Tech list in 2018 and being named the Association for Computing Machinery’s Athena Lecturer in recognition of fundamental contributions to developing accessible human-robotic systems.

Last year, Howard and Monroe Kennedy III, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University and founding member of Black in Robotics, were recent guests on The Robot Report Podcast. They shared their personal journeys, challenges they overcame throughout their careers, and what can be done to level the playing field for minorities in robotics and engineering fields. You can listen to the podcast below.

About The Author

Brianna Wessling

Brianna Wessling is an Associate Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media. She joined WTWH Media in November 2021, after graduating from the University of Kansas with degrees in Journalism and English. She covers a wide range of robotics topics, but specializes in women in robotics, autonomous vehicles, and space robotics.

She can be reached at bwessling@wtwhmedia.com

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles Read More >

Monogram's orthopedic surgery system.
Zimmer Biomet to acquire Monogram Technologies for $177M
A graph comparing model size and average benchmark score of LFM2.
Liquid AI releases on-device foundation model LFM2
The global industrial robot market has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to this Interact Analysis graph.
Global industrial robot market contracted 5.8% last year, reports Interact Analysis
The founders of MOTOR Ai, a German self-driving software startup.
MOTOR Ai gets seed funding toward explainable self-driving software

RBR50 Innovation Awards

“rr
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Robotics Professionals.
The Robot Report Listing Database

Latest Episode of The Robot Report Podcast

Automated Warehouse Research Reports

Sponsored Content

  • How to Set Up a Planetary Gear Motion with SOLIDWORKS
  • Sager Electronics and its partners, logos shown here, will exhibit at the 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo. Sager Electronics to exhibit at the Robotics Summit & Expo
  • The Shift in Robotics: How Visual Perception is Separating Winners from the Pack
  • An AutoStore automated storage and retrieval grid. Webinar to provide automated storage and retrieval adoption advice
  • Smaller, tougher devices for evolving demands
The Robot Report
  • Automated Warehouse
  • RoboBusiness Event
  • Robotics Summit & Expo
  • About The Robot Report
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Business
    • Financial
      • Investments
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Earnings
    • Markets
      • Agriculture
      • Healthcare
      • Logistics
      • Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Security
    • RBR50
      • RBR50 Winners 2025
      • RBR50 Winners 2024
      • RBR50 Winners 2023
      • RBR50 Winners 2022
      • RBR50 Winners 2021
  • Resources
    • Automated Warehouse Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • eBooks
    • Publications
      • Automated Warehouse
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe