Research Areas Artificial intelligence Robotics Surgical robots Embodied intelligence Digital twins Human-machine cooperative systems Medical imaging and modeling Computer-integrated interventions

Russell H. Taylor is a John C. Malone Professor in the Department of Computer Science with secondary appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Medicine’s Departments of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Radiology and Radiological Science, and Surgery. He is also the director of the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics and of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology.

Taylor’s research interests include artificial intelligence, robotics, human-machine cooperative systems, medical imaging and modeling, and computer-integrated interventional systems. In addition to his more than 40 years of professional experience in the fields of computer science, robotics, and computer-integrated interventional medicine, Taylor is editor-in-chief emeritus of the IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation and has served on numerous other editorial and scientific advisory boards.

In 1994, he was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) “for contributions in the theory and implementation of programmable sensor-based robot systems and their application to surgery and manufacturing.” He is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) Society, and the Engineering School at the University of Tokyo. In 2020, Taylor was elected to the National Academy of Engineering “for contributions to the development of medical robotics and computer-integrated systems.”

He is also a recipient of numerous awards, including four IBM Outstanding Achievement Awards, four IBM Invention Awards, the Maurice Müller Award for Excellence in Computer-Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery, the IEEE Pioneer in Robotics and Automation Award, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society’s Technical Field Award, the MICCAI Society Enduring Impact Award, and the Honda Prize.

Taylor received a BSE from Johns Hopkins University in 1970 and a PhD in computer science from Stanford University in 1976. He joined IBM Research in 1976, where he developed the AML robot programming language and managed the automation technology department. He then managed IBM’s computer-assisted surgery group before returning to Johns Hopkins in 1995.