Maria Yang

Maria Yang

she/her
Mechanical Engineering
Professor with foresight

“We are beyond lucky to have such a caring, supportive, empathetic and compassionate leader and mentor,” one of Maria Yang’s students acclaimed.

Prof. Maria Yang is the Deputy Dean of Engineering, Kendall Rohsenow Professor, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering. She works in the area of design theory, with a focus on the early stages of the process of design. Her current research interests include the hybrid ways in which humans and AI can collaborate during the design process and also ways in which we can design products to encourage users to behave more sustainably.

Yang has been selected as a recipient of the Committed to Caring award for 2023-2025. She is known for her inclusive, interdisciplinary work as well as her continuous fostering of students.

Inclusivity

Yang founded and leads the Ideation Laboratory at MIT which is characterized by interdisciplinary work in design, including product design, engineering design, and system design. Students may not feel like they “fit” in their traditional department, but find a home in the Ideation Laboratory. Yang’s “students collaborate and connect from their shared experiences.”

Yang is one of the mentors of a student-led research project which works towards understanding how users and other stakeholders who are traditionally not considered are embedded in design education & practice, and how to support deeper engagement with such users and stakeholders. Yang supported her students on this project in multiple ways, including providing mentorship and feedback as well as supporting her students to apply to grants to ensure they secure funding to continue growing the project.

The students and Yang held a first ever Summit as a part of this project. The summit brought together faculty and students from MIT, and other universities and companies working to support instructors in thoughtfully considering users and stakeholders in their courses, and working to create a community for students and instructors engaged in this space.

“Maria will never take credit for the outcomes of the project, giving all the credit to other members of the project team,” the nominator shared, “but she has been instrumental in supporting us and encouraging us to continue.”

Continual Fostering

Yang continued to be a supportive and caring mentor, championing and supporting students’ work. When a nominator was still a prospective student, Yang met with them in support of their application. When the student was eventually admitted into the Media Lab rather than mechanical engineering, Yang welcomed the student into her research group. 

As the student’s career evolved, Yang became a member of their thesis committee and provided letters of recommendation for their academic job search. The nominator turned to Maria for advice on how to strategize what applications they would submit and which departments were the best fit for them. 

Yang took time to sit with the student, practiced their presentation with them, and gave support where the student was lacking confidence.All in all, Yang fostered the student’s growth and helped them have the strength to continue to achieve their goals, ultimately enabling them to earn their PhD.

The nominator was grateful for the crucial role Maria played in fostering their growth: “my MIT experience would have been very different without Maria.”