A version of this story was originally published on U of T Engineering News
Three Robotics Institute faculty members have been elected as 2026 fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE). Professors Timothy Barfoot (UTIAS), Alex Mihailidis (BME) and Goldie Nejat (MIE), are among the CAE’s 50 new fellows. The CAE is a national institution through which individuals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering in Canada provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada and to Canadians.
“The election of these exceptional faculty and alumni to the Academy is a significant recognition of their impact as engineering innovators, educators and leaders, both nationally and globally,” says U of T Engineering Dean Christopher Yip.
“On behalf of the faculty, congratulations to all our new CAE fellows.”
Barfoot is a leading researcher in autonomous navigation for mobile robots. He takes his ideas from theory to novel field tests in order to facilitate their transfer to industry.His work has found application in self-driving cars, mining, space exploration, the military and agriculture. Barfoot pioneered the Visual Teach and Repeat navigation framework and has continued to improve it over the past two decades. This technique allows a robot to be manually driven through a network of paths just once, and builds a map using its sensors; it can then accurately repeat these paths as often as desired. His widely adopted book, State Estimation for Robotics, has also had a significant impact on the field. A leader in his professional community, Barfoot is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and serves as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Field Robotics. He co-founded the Robotics Institute and the undergraduate robotics major at U of T.
Mihailidis has redefined how engineering addresses one of humanity’s most urgent challenges— population aging. His work has transformed how societies support and empower older adults by applying robotics, artificial intelligence and human-centred design to enhance health and independence. Over the past two decades, Mihailidis has been a global pioneer in the field now known as AgeTech, positioning Canada at its forefront. As scientific director and co-founder of AGE-WELL, Canada’s national technology and aging network, he has built an innovation ecosystem that translates engineering research into social and economic benefits. Mihailidis is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and past president of RESNA, the leading North American professional society for rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology. He was recognized as one of the Healthy Ageing 50 global leaders by the United Nations and appointed Chevalier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the Government of France.
Nejat is a pioneer in the development of intelligent socially assistive robots, which provide cognitive and social interventions, and assist with daily tasks to improve the quality of life of older adults. Her groundbreaking work includes the development of multimodal interactive robots and their perceptual, behavioral and affective intelligence. She has deployed these robots in partnership with care facilities to help with patient care. Nejat is the Canada Research Chair in Intelligent Assistive and Collaborative Robots and a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Canadian Institute for Applied Research. She has received the Engineers Canada Young Engineer Achievement Award, the Professional Engineers Ontario Engineering Excellence Medal, and the Robotics Society of Japan Pioneering Research Award in Robot & Human Interactive Communication. Her assistive robots were recognized by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers as one of the top 150 Canadian engineering innovations for Canada’s 150th birthday.