The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers was awarded to Dr. Joshua C. Bongard, Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont.
Dr. Joshua C. Bongard
The researcher was given this high honor for his work in evolutionary robotics, how individual robots can learn and adapt over evolutionary time to their surroundings. He is the second faculty member of the University of Vermont to win the award.
The highest national award was announced by President Barack Obama on Monday. Bongard will receive $500,000 to continue his research over the next few years. 94 other people received the award along with him.
The 37 year old Bongard is to travel to the White House for the award ceremony later this month. Bongard said he felt greatly honored to receive this award and also heartened that they had leadership in Washington that supported basic research. Scientific discoveries not only create new technology and new jobs, but also inspire us all. Humans always were, and still are, explorers, he added.
Bongard was based in Toronto while growing up but has now shifted and stays in Jericho with his wife Jessica. He joined the UVM in 2007 and was awarded the Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship shortly after that. MIT Technology Review also named him one of its Top 35 Innovators Under 35, that very year.