Dr He Ruijie, Executive Director of Singapore’s Embodied AI Centre, Joins NUS Computing as Professor of Practice
NUS School of Computing has appointed Dr He Ruijie, Executive Director of the Embodied AI Centre (EAIC), as Professor of Practice, on a joint appointment, in the Department of Computer Science, with effect from 22 September 2026.
Dr He received his Ph.D. in Autonomous Systems from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His early research on planning under uncertainty and GPS-denied autonomous flight received the ICRA 2008 Best Paper Award. He subsequently held senior leadership roles across the autonomous-systems industry, including VP Engineering at Optimus Ride; co-founder and CEO of Strio AI, which was acquired by Zoox; and Director of Perception at Zoox, where he led a team of more than 100 engineers and contributed to the deployment of fully driverless, purpose-built robotaxis.
As Professor of Practice, Dr He will help connect the School’s research capabilities in embodied AI with opportunities for large-scale experimentation, real-world deployment and industry translation. He will also contribute to research collaborations, mentor innovators within the School and advance industry-linked projects.
Dr He’s appointment brings direct experience of deploying autonomous systems at scale to the School’s work in embodied AI, and strengthens its role in Singapore’s growing robotics ecosystem.
