Jacob Andreas and Brett McGuire named Edgerton Award winners | MIT News
Professor Jacob Andreas of MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science [EECS] and MIT Associate Professor Brett McGuire of the Department of Chemistry have been named winners of the 2026 Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award. Established in 1982 as a permanent memorial to Institute Professor Emeritus Harold E. Edgerton for his outstanding and enduring support of young faculty members, this award is presented annually to recognize exceptional distinction in teaching, research and service.
“The Department of Medicine is thrilled to see Brett recognized for the science that has changed the way we think about carbon in the atmosphere,” said 1942 Professor of Medicine and Department Head Matthew D. Shoulders. “Brett’s lab combines laboratory spectroscopy, radio astronomy, and sophisticated signal analysis techniques to extract molecular fingerprints from subtle details. His discovery of aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons in the cold interstellar medium has opened a powerful new window into astronomy. In addition, Brett is developing this unique and unique discovery tool.”
“Jacob Andreas represents the best of MIT EECS” said Asu Ozdaglar, head of the EECS department. “He is an innovative researcher whose work combines computational and linguistic methods to build the foundations of language learning. He is an outstanding teacher who has brought these cutting-edge ideas to our core classes in natural language processing and machine learning. His ability to combine basic theory with real-world impact, while advancing the social and ethical standards of the Achieverton Edgeing Award, makes him a true winner of the Computing Award.”
Andreas joined the MIT faculty in July 2019, and is affiliated with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. His work is in natural language processing (NLP), and more broadly in AI. He aims to understand the computer fundamentals of language learning, and to build intelligent systems that can learn from human guidance. Among other honors, Andreas has received Samsung’s AI Researcher of the Year award, MIT’s Kolokotrones and Junior Bose teaching awards, the 2024 Sloan Research Fellow award, and paper awards from the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, the International Conference on Machine Learning, and the Association for Computational Linguistics.
Andreas received his BS from Columbia University, his MPhil from Cambridge University (where he studied as a Churchill Scholar), and his PhD in natural language processing from the University of California at Berkeley. His work in natural language processing has tackled major problems in the skills gap between humans and computers. “The defining feature of human language use is our ability to generalize,” explains Antonio Torralba, Professor of Delta Electronics and head of the Artificial Intelligence and Decision-Making unit in the Department of EECS. “Many of the main challenges in natural language processing are solved by simply training larger and larger neural models, but this type of generalization remains a persistent difficulty, and without the ability to generalize, the deep learning toolkit will not be powerful enough for challenging real-world NLP tasks. symmetries and other algebraic structures and, by using them, they were able to build NLP models that show a large number of new language acquisition behaviors, human-like learning, including single-word learning, learning through segmentation barriers, and learning grammar rules in low-resource environments.”
Within EECS, Andreas has developed several advanced courses in natural language processing, as well as innovative exercises designed to make students face important social and ethical considerations in the use of machine learning. “Jacob has played a leading role in modernizing and expanding our natural language processing studies,” said award nominee Leslie Pack Kaelbling, Panasonic Professor in the EECS Department. “He led the development of two state-of-the-art disciplines, which are the foundation of the new AI+D. [artificial intelligence and decision-making] large, enrolling several hundred students each semester. His command of the area is broad and deep, and his classes combine an understanding of the ancient structure of the language with modern methods based on learning. He put MIT EECS on the global map as a destination for natural language learning at all levels. “
Brett McGuire joined the MIT faculty in 2020 and was promoted to full professor in 2025. His research works at the intersection of physical chemistry, molecular spectroscopy, and observational astrophysics, where he seeks to reveal how the chemicals that make up life evolve closely and help shape the birth of stars and planets. A former Jansky Fellow turned Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, McGuire has a BS in chemistry from the University of Illinois and a PhD in physical chemistry from Caltech. His awards include the 2026 Sloan Fellowship, the Beckman Young Investigator Award, the Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy, and the MIT Award for Teaching with Digital Technology.
Faculty who nominated McGuire for this award praised his extraordinary community involvement, his willingness to immediately take the 5.111 (Principles of Science) teaching class, an Institutional General Required Course (GIR) with 150-500 students, and his service to both the MIT and astronomy communities.
“Brett is at the very top of the astrophysicists in his age group because of the discovery of the fused carbon ring complex in the cold ISM. [interstellar medium]observations that provide a pathway for the incorporation of carbon into the planets,” said Sylvia Ceyer, the John C. Sheehan Professor of Chemistry in her nomination statement. His remarkable organizational skills have made his contribution to graduate admissions and seminar management at MIT the envy of the department. And most importantly, Brett is an outstanding teacher, who cares deeply about the understanding and success of students, not only in his course, but also in their future endeavors.”
“As an assistant professor, Brett volunteered to teach 5.111, a large GIR course with 150–500 students, and received the best teaching evaluation among all the faculty who have led the course,” said Mei Hong, David A. Leighty Professor of Chemistry. “He has a natural ability to explain abstract physical chemistry concepts in an engaging way. His slides, which he prepared from scratch instead of regurgitating old material from other professors, are clear, and …
Reviews of articles from McGuire’s lectures praised his humor, the clarity of his explanations, and his ability to turn a lecture into a “science fair.” “I have never felt such a desire for depth of understanding in a subject beyond the direct distance [in some time],” said another student.” “Brett certainly inspired that love of learning in me.”
“Brett is an outstanding faculty member dedicated to promoting student learning and success,” said Jennifer Weisman, assistant director of academic programs in chemistry. “He is thoughtful, caring, and goes above and beyond to help his colleagues, students and staff.”
“I am very happy to be nominated for the Edgerton Award this year,” said McGuire. “This award is for teaching, research, and service; MIT and the chemistry department in particular have been an amazing place to learn and grow in all of these areas. I am so grateful for the training, enthusiasm, and support I have received from my colleagues, from my students both in the lab and in the classroom, and from MIT this community. I look forward to many exciting things during my time together here. It is a one-of-a-kind community.”
