MIT Open Learning

News, ideas, and thought leadership on the future of learning. Discover more at openlearning.mit.edu.

Learn from MIT professors named 2024 AAAS Fellows

4 min readMar 31, 2025

--

2 by 3 grid of headshots
Among the 2024 AAAS Fellows are six current faculty, research staff, and MIT Corporation members. Top row (l-r): Noubar Afeyan, Cynthia Breazeal, and Alan Edelman; bottom row (l-r) Robert Millard, Jagadeesh Moodera, and Noelle Selin. Photos courtesy of the fellows.

Cynthia Breazeal, a trailblazer in artificial intelligence education, Alan Edelman, an expert in high-performance computing, and Noelle Eckley Selin, a leader in modeling the impacts of air pollution on human health, are three of six current MIT affiliates and 27 alumni who have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Through MIT Open Learning resources, you can learn online from Breazeal, Edelman, and Selin.

Other MIT affiliates honored as 2024 AAAS Fellows include: Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87, life member of the MIT Corporation; Robert B. Millard ’73, life member and chairman emeritus of the MIT Corporation; and Jagadeesh S. Moodera, senior research scientist in the Department of Physics. Learn more about the 2024 AAAS Fellows.

Cynthia Breazeal: Innovating in artificial intelligence education and social robots

Cynthia Breazeal SM ’93, ScD ’00 is dean for digital learning at MIT Open Learning and a professor of media arts and sciences. At Open Learning, she leverages her experience in emerging digital technologies and business, research, and strategic initiatives to lead Open Learning’s business and research and engagement units. Breazeal founded and directs the Personal Robots group in the MIT Media Lab. She is also the director of the MIT-wide Initiative on Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education.

Breazeal co-founded the consumer social robotics company, Jibo, Inc., where she served as chief scientist and chief experience officer. She is author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications on personalized learning companions for language, literacy, and social-emotional development. Breazeal is recognized for distinguished contributions in the field of artificial intelligence education, particularly around the use of social robots, and learning at scale.

Learn with Professor Breazeal:

  • Driving Innovation with Generative AI: Explore the generative AI landscape and the future of productivity with this six-week course.
  • Relational Machines: Dive into issues, principles, and challenges toward building relational machines through a combination of studio-style design.
  • AI Literacy for All: Listen to this Chalk Radio podcast episode, where Breazeal discusses artificial intelligence in our lives, digital citizenship, and AI education for all.

Alan Edelman: Leading in high-performance computing, linear algebra, random matrix theory, and computational science

Alan Edelman PhD ’89 is an applied mathematics professor for the Department of Mathematics and leads the Applied Computing Group of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the MIT Julia Lab. He is recognized as a 2024 AAAS fellow for distinguished contributions and outstanding breakthroughs in high-performance computing, linear algebra, random matrix theory, computational science, and in particular for the development of the Julia programming language.

Edelman has been elected a fellow of five different societies — AMS, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and AAAS.

Learn with Professor Edelman:

Noelle Eckley Selin: Modeling the impacts of air pollution on human health

Noelle Eckley Selin, the director of the MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy and a professor in the Institute for Data, Systems and Society and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, uses atmospheric chemistry modeling to inform decision-making strategies on air pollution, climate change, and toxic substances, including mercury and persistent organic pollutants.

Selin has also published articles and book chapters on the interactions between science and policy in international environmental negotiations, in particular focusing on global efforts to regulate hazardous chemicals and persistent organic pollutants. She is named a 2024 AAAS Fellow for world-recognized leadership in modeling the impacts of air pollution on human health, in assessing the costs and benefits of related policies, and in integrating technology dynamics into sustainability science.

Learn with Professor Selin:

This article was adapted from MIT News. Read the original story.

The courses and resources listed in this article are available through MIT OpenCourseWare and MIT xPRO, both part of MIT Open Learning. OpenCourseWare offers free, online, open educational resources from more than 2,500 courses that span the MIT undergraduate and graduate curriculum. MIT xPRO provides professional development opportunities to a global audience via online courses and blended programs.

--

--

MIT Open Learning
MIT Open Learning

Published in MIT Open Learning

News, ideas, and thought leadership on the future of learning. Discover more at openlearning.mit.edu.

MIT Open Learning
MIT Open Learning

Written by MIT Open Learning

Transforming teaching and learning at MIT and around the globe through the innovative use of digital technologies.

No responses yet