CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Justin Solomon has been appointed associate dean of engineering education in the MIT School of Engineering, effective July 1, 2026. In the role, Solomon will focus on advancing innovation in engineering education across the school, including shaping new pedagogical approaches in the context of an AI-enabled world and exploring experiential, hands-on, and other modes of learning.

Solomon, an associate professor in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, will work closely with academic departments as a thought partner in integrating AI into curricula and help facilitate interdisciplinary and shared teaching opportunities across departments and other schools. He will also help the school implement recommendations from the Committee on AI Use in Teaching, Learning, and Research Training.

Collaborating with department heads and the School of Engineering leadership team, Solomon will support faculty in designing new courses and evolving existing programs to meet emerging opportunities in engineering. He will also explore opportunities to build industry collaborations, including new models for internships and industry-engaged learning on campus.

"Justin's interdisciplinary approach will be especially valuable as we continue to evolve engineering education to meet new opportunities and challenges. His extensive experience applying AI across a wide range of domains will help each academic department thoughtfully integrate AI and new educational models into their curricula," said Paula T. Hammond, Dean of the School of Engineering and Institute Professor. "I look forward to the vision and perspective he will bring to the school's leadership team."

Solomon has played a central role in shaping computing education at MIT and is a key contributor to the Common Ground for Computing. He co-teaches the core class 6.C01 (Modeling with Machine Learning: From Algorithms to Applications) with Regina Barzilay, and within EECS teaches 6.7350 (Numerical Algorithms for Computing and Machine Learning) and 6.8410 (Shape Analysis). He founded the Summer Geometry Initiative, a six-week program that introduces students to geometry processing through intensive training, collaboration, and research experiences. He is the author of the textbook "Numerical Algorithms," which presents a modern approach to numerical analysis for computer science students.

Solomon is a principal investigator at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where he leads the Geometric Data Processing Group. His research focuses on the intersection of geometry and computation, with applications in computer graphics, autonomous navigation, political redistricting, physical simulation, 3D modeling, and medical imaging. He is also a core faculty member of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab.

He has received the EECS Outstanding Educator Award and the Burgess (1952) and Elizabeth Jamieson Prize for Excellence in Teaching, and received the 2023 Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award for contributions in teaching, research, and service. In 2025, he was named a Schmidt Polymath supporting interdisciplinary research across areas such as acoustics and climate that rely on large-scale simulation of physical systems. Solomon joined the MIT faculty in 2016 and previously held an NSF Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Princeton University's Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics. He earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from Stanford University, and worked as a research assistant at Pixar Animation Studios while studying there.