MIT's Andreas and McGuire Win 2026 Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award

MIT Associate Professor Jacob Andreas of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and MIT Associate Professor Brett McGuire of the Department of Chemistry have been selected as the winners of the 2026 Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award. Established in 1982 to honor Institute Professor Emeritus Harold E. Edgerton's enduring support for younger faculty members, this award recognizes exceptional distinction in teaching, research, and service.

Jacob Andreas: Advancing Natural Language Processing and AI

Jacob Andreas represents the very best of MIT EECS, combining computational and linguistically informed approaches to build foundations of language learning. Since joining the MIT faculty in July 2019, Andreas has been affiliated with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where his work focuses on natural language processing (NLP) and broader artificial intelligence challenges.

Andreas's research aims to understand the computational foundations of language learning and build intelligent systems that can learn from human guidance. His work addresses the fundamental capability gap between humans and computers, particularly around compositional generalization—the ability to understand and generate novel combinations of concepts from limited examples.

"The defining feature of human language use is our capacity for compositional generalization," explains Antonio Torralba, Delta Electronics Professor and faculty head of Artificial Intelligence and Decision-Making in the Department of EECS. "Many of the core challenges in natural language processing is addressed by simply training larger and larger neural models, but this kind of compositional generalization remains a persistent difficulty, and without the ability to generalize compositionally, the deep learning toolkit will never be robust enough for the most challenging real-world NLP tasks."

Andreas's innovative work on compositional modeling draws new connections between NLP and research in computer vision and physics that models systems governed by symmetries and algebraic structures. Using these approaches, his team has built NLP models exhibiting human-like language acquisition behaviors, including one-shot word learning, learning via mutual exclusivity constraints, and learning of grammatical rules in extremely low-resource settings.

Within EECS, Andreas has developed multiple advanced courses in natural language processing and created new exercises that help students grapple with important social and ethical considerations in machine learning deployment. "Jacob has taken a leading role in completely modernizing and extending our course offerings in natural language processing," says award nominator Leslie Pack Kaelbling, Panasonic Professor in the Department of EECS. "He has led the development of a modern two-course sequence, which is a cornerstone of the new AI+D [artificial intelligence and decision-making] major, routinely enrolling several hundred students each semester."

Andreas's honors include Samsung's AI Researcher of the Year award, MIT's Kolokotrones and Junior Bose teaching awards, a 2024 Sloan Research Fellow award, and paper awards at the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, the International Conference on Machine Learning, and the Association for Computational Linguistics. He 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.

Brett McGuire: Transforming Astrochemistry Through Molecular Discovery

Brett McGuire joined the MIT faculty in 2020 and was promoted to associate professor in 2025. His research operates at the intersection of physical chemistry, molecular spectroscopy, and observational astrophysics, where he seeks to uncover how the chemical building blocks of life evolve alongside and help shape the birth of stars and planets.

McGuire's work combines laboratory spectroscopy, radio astronomy, and sophisticated signal-analysis methods to pull definitive molecular fingerprints out of extraordinarily faint data. His discovery of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the cold interstellar medium has opened a powerful new window on astrochemistry, fundamentally changing how scientists think about carbon in space.

"Brett is at the very top of astrochemical scientists in his age group due to his discovery of fused carbon ring compounds in the cold region of the ISM [interstellar medium], an observation that provides a route for carbon incorporation in planets," says Sylvia Ceyer, the John C. Sheehan Professor of Chemistry in her nomination statement.

McGuire's honors include a 2026 Sloan Fellowship, the Beckman Young Investigator Award, the Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy, and the MIT Award for Teaching with Digital Technology. A former Jansky Fellow and then 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.

Beyond his research breakthroughs, McGuire has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to teaching and service. He volunteered to teach 5.111 (Principles of Chemical Science), a General Institute Requirement (GIR) course with 150–500 students, and has received some of the best teaching evaluations among all faculty who have led the subject.

"Brett is an outstanding faculty member who is dedicated to fostering student learning and success," says 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."

Subject evaluations from McGuire's courses praised his humor, the clarity of his explanations, and his ability to transform a lecture into a "science show." One student noted: "I haven't felt this sort of desire for the depth of understanding in a subject beyond just a straight grade [in some time]. Brett definitely stimulated that love of learning for me."

McGuire's extensive involvement in service-oriented activities within the astrochemical and physical chemistry communities is highly unusual for a junior scientist, testament to the value that the astronomical community places in his wisdom and judgment. His phenomenal organizational skills have made his contributions to graduate admission protocols and seminar administration at MIT the envy of the department.

Impact and Recognition

"The Department of Chemistry is extremely delighted to see Brett recognized for science that has changed how we think about carbon in space," says Class of 1942 Professor of Chemistry and Department Head Matthew D. Shoulders. "Moreover, Brett is inventing the creative and unique tools that make discoveries like this possible."

"Jacob Andreas represents the very best of MIT EECS," says Asu Ozdaglar, EECS department head. "His ability to bridge foundational theory with real-world impact, while also advancing the social and ethical dimensions of computing, makes him truly deserving of the Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award."

Both recipients have demonstrated the kind of innovative research, exceptional teaching, and dedicated service that the Edgerton Award was created to recognize. Their work not only advances their respective fields but also exemplifies MIT's commitment to pushing the boundaries of knowledge while maintaining a deep dedication to education and community.

"I'm thrilled to be selected for the Edgerton Award this year," says McGuire. "The award is nominally for teaching, research, and service; MIT and the chemistry department in particular have been an incredible place to learn and grow in all these areas. I'm incredibly grateful for the mentorship, enthusiasm, and support I have received from my colleagues, from my students both in the lab and in the classroom, and from the MIT community during my time here. I look forward to many more years of exciting discovery together with this one-of-a-kind community."

The 2026 Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award winners continue a tradition of excellence that honors Harold E. Edgerton's legacy of supporting younger faculty members who demonstrate exceptional promise and achievement across all aspects of academic life.