Tania Morimoto is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Diego. She received the B.S. degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, all in mechanical engineering. Her research lab focuses on the design and control of soft and flexible robots for increased dexterity and accessibility in uncertain environments. They are also working to address the challenges of designing human-in-the-loop interfaces for controlling these soft continuum robots, including the integration of haptic feedback. She is a recipient of the Hellman Fellowship (2021), the Beckman Young Investigator Award (2022), the NSF CAREER Award (2022), the ASEE Outstanding New Mechanical Engineering Educator Award (2023), a 2024 National Academy of Science (NAS) Kavli Fellow, and the MassRobotics Rising Star in Robotics (2025).

Professor Croft holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of British Columbia, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo, and a doctoral degree in robotics from the University of Toronto. She is an expert in the field of human-robot interaction. Her work advances the design of intelligent controllers and interaction methods that underpin how people and autonomous, collaborative systems can work together in a safe, predictable, and helpful manner. She has led large-scale collaborative research projects utilising robots alongside people in manufacturing and guided multidisciplinary initiatives with automotive and aerospace industry partners. Her outstanding contributions have earned Professor Croft considerable recognition, including the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Alan Blizzard Award, WXN’s Top 100 most powerful women in Canada award, and the Engineers and Geoscientists BC RA McLachlan Award.

Professor Croft is a fellow of the American Society of Engineers, the Institute of Engineers Australia, Engineers Canada, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.