Lydia E. Kavraki, Ph.D.

Researcher recognized for advancements in robotics, AI and computational biomedicine

Rice University computer scientist Lydia Kavraki has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional honors accorded to an engineer, for her work on “developing randomized motion-planning algorithms for robotics and robotics-inspired methods in biomedicine.”

Kavraki is Rice’s Kenneth and Audrey Kennedy Professor of Computing, and a professor of computer science, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and bioengineering. She also serves as director of the Ken Kennedy Institute, whose mission is to solve global challenges by fostering collaborative research and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and computing… Continue reading.

Lydia Kavraki, the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science at Rice, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Rapid Response Research grant to implement a computational pipeline to help identify fragments of SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins that could be used as targets for vaccine development.

“Efforts are already underway to produce new drug inhibitors, repurpose existing drugs and devise combination treatments for COVID-19,” said Kavraki, who is also a professor of bioengineering, electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering… Continue reading.

Lydia Kavraki, Rice’s Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science and a professor of bioengineering, has been named the winner of the 2015 Award for Technical Leadership by the Anita Borg Institute.

The institute, which promotes the progress of women in technology, will present the award to Kavraki at the 2015 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Rice is a gold academic sponsor of the Oct. 14-16 event, which will bring 12,000 women technologists to Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center.

The award recognizes women who demonstrate leadership through contributions and achievements that raise the impact of women on technology.

Kavraki, who joined Rice in 1996, continues to push the boundaries of fundamental computer science, but with her own agenda. While she and her Rice students tackle specific problems in both robotics and biomedical sciences, she wants each solution to address a bigger picture.

“We try to connect our work with current applications,” she said. “My students enjoy working on applications, but they also gain a lot by understanding that we need to develop fundamental computational methodologies for us to be able to tackle larger problems.