Ford-MIT Alliance
Ford and MIT have been collaborating since the 1950s. In 1998 the Ford-MIT Alliance was formalized and has created a model for mutually beneficial university-corporate research. The Alliance has prospered by evolving to keep pace with MIT's changing expertise and Ford's changing priorities and needs and the Alliance has conducted more than $45 million of collaborative research to date. Ford and MIT collaborate on a broad range of technical, business, and policy topics focused on the future of transportation including:
- vehicle autonomy,
- active safety,
- materials science,
- energy storage,
- powertrain efficiency,
- enterprise modeling, and
- health and wellness.
The research projects are also linked with recruiting and with MIT's conferences and professional educational programs.
MIT faculty and principal research scientists interested in exploring research opportunities with Ford should contact Co-Director John Leonard ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) for more information. The Alliance issues a call for new project ideas every spring.
Faculty and staff
- John Leonard, Co-Director
- Edward Krause, Co-Director
- Anuradha M. Annaswamy, Senior Research Scientist, Mechanical Engineering
- Hari Balakrishnan, Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
- Cynthia Barnhart, Associate Dean of Engineering, School of Engineering
- Dimitris Bertsimas, Professor, Sloan School of Management
- Gerbrand Ceder, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
- Gang Chen, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
- Wai K. Cheng, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
- Joseph F. Coughlin, Director, Age Lab; Director New England University Transportation Center; MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics
- Munther A. Dahleh, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- James R. Glass, Principal Research Scientist, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
- Yang Shao-Horn, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
- Leslie Kaelbling, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Randolph Kirchain, Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering Systems
- Christopher Knittel, Professor, Sloan School of Management
- John Leonard, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
- Rob Miller, Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Richard de Neufville, Professor, Engineering Systems Division
- Cynthia Rudin, Assistant Professor, Sloan School of Management
- Devavrat Shah, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- David Simchi-Levi, Co-Director, Leaders for Global Operations; Professor, Engineering Systems Division and Civil Engineering
