Women working within the robotics industry often find they might be one of the only ones on their team or even at their company. This can be an isolating experience, making it difficult for women in robotics to find a community to support them.
Currently, women make up 48% of the total workforce and just 34% of the STEM workforce, according to the National Girls Collaborative Project. When it comes to engineering and robotics roles, the number is even smaller, with women only making up about 16% of the workforce.
The Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on April 30-May 1, 2025, will once again include the Women in Robotics Breakfast. This networking event will provide female engineers and roboticists an opportunity to connect with others in the industry. It will be at 8:00 a.m. ET on Day 2 of the show.
The event will feature a conversation between Laura Major, the interim CEO and CTO at Motional, and Joyce Sidopoulos, the co-founder and chief of operations at MassRobotics.
Major brings experience from a range of industries
Major began her career as a Cognitive Engineer for Draper Laboratory, where she combined her psychology and engineering skills to design decision-making support devices for U.S. astronauts and soldiers. After 12 years with the company, she served as Division Leader for the Information and Cognition Division.
During this time Major was recognized by the Society of Women Engineers as an emerging leader in 2014. She also spent time at Aria Insights, Inc. (formerly known as CyPhy Works), a U.S.-based drone manufacturer that specialized in developing highly advanced drones. She served as VP of engineering, and then Chief Technology Officer, working on the development of autonomous aerial vehicles.
Major is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an accomplished writer and co-author of the book What To Expect When You’re Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration.
Tickets can be purchased before the event for $35 and are open to all-access pass holders, speakers, and sponsors.
More about the 2025 Robotics Summit
This year’s Robotics Summit & Expo, produced by The Robot Report, will bring together more than 5,000 attendees focused on building robots for various commercial industries. Attendees will gain insights into the latest enabling technologies, engineering best practices, emerging trends, and more.
The show will have more than 50 educational sessions in tracks on artificial intelligence, design and development, enabling technologies, healthcare, and logistics. The Engineering Theater on the show floor will also feature presentations by industry experts.
Keynote speakers will include:
- Aaron Saunders, the chief technology officer at Boston Dynamics
- Aaron Parness, the director of applied science in robotics and AI at Amazon Robotics
- James Kuffner, the CTO of Symbotic
- Dr. Aadeel Akhtar, the founder and CEO of PSYONIC
Over 200 exhibitors in the expo hall will showcase the latest enabling technologies, products, and services that can help robotics engineers throughout their development journeys.
The Robotics Summit also offers numerous networking opportunities, a Career Fair, a robotics development challenge, the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Gala, and more.
Co-located with the event is DeviceTalks Boston, the premier event for medical technology professionals, currently in its tenth year. Both events attract engineering and business professionals from a broad range of healthcare and medical technology backgrounds.
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