Maja received her Ph.D. from MIT in Computer Science & AI. She has been at USC since 1997 and is a Chaired and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, with appointments in Neuroscience and Pediatrics.  She has served as the USC President if the Faculty, Viterbi Dean of Research, and USC Vice President of Research. Her is a pioneer of the field of socially assistive robotics, which creates human-machine interaction interventions; her lab has worked with children with autism, stroke and dementia patients, and with students with anxiety and/or depression.  She is a member of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of AAAS, AAAI, ACM, and IEEE, and received a Presidential mentoring award from President Obama.