Alice Agogino

Alice Agogino is a Professor of the Graduate School in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley, known for her wide-ranging contributions to design theory, intelligent systems, AI-driven engineering tools, and sustainable technology development. Her research integrates computer-aided design, design databases, nonlinear optimization, multiobjective product design, information retrieval, and probabilistic modeling to advance next-generation design methodologies and intelligent decision systems. Agogino has also made foundational contributions to intelligent control, manufacturing systems, diagnostics and sensor validation, and wireless sensor networks. A significant branch of her work stems from collaborations with NASA on space exploration technologies, which inspired the creation of Squishy Robotics, a start-up translating research on rapidly deployable tensegrity robots into real-world applications. These robots are being developed for disaster response, hazardous environment sensing, and early detection and characterization of wildfires and methane leaks. Agogino’s research emphasizes interdisciplinary innovation across engineering, AI, human-centered design, and social impact, and she has also been a long-standing advocate for diversity and gender equity in STEM fields.