She is known for her work in human-robot interaction for socially assistive robotics, a new field she pioneered,[1][2] which focuses on creating robots capable of providing personalized therapy and care that helps people help themselves, through social rather than physical interaction.
Her work has focused on aiding special needs populations including the elderly,[3] stroke patients,[4] and children with autism,[5][6] and has been deployed and evaluated in hospitals, therapy centers, schools, and homes.
Matarić is also known for her many outreach activities aimed at engaging children, youth, educators, women, and other groups that are under-represented in computing, engineering, and science.
She then moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she earned her MSc in 1990 and her Ph.D.[10] in 1994, both under the supervision of Rodney A. Brooks.
Matarić received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring[12] from President Barack Obama (2009).