Elizabeth A. Croft is a Canadian

roboticist Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

known for her work on

human–robot interaction Human–robot interaction (HRI) is the study of interactions between humans and robots. Human–robot interaction is a multidisciplinary field with contributions from human–computer interaction, artificial intelligence, robotics, natural languag ...

. She is the vice president and provost of the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

Education and career

Croft graduated from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1988, she earned a master's degree at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

in 1992, and completed her Ph.D. at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1995. She became a faculty member at the University of British Columbia, where she was a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Marshall Bauder Professor in Engineering Economics, and associate dean of the Faculty of Applied Science. She was the

NSERC The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; , CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as ...

Chair for Women in Science and Engineering (BC&Yukon) from 2010 to 2015 and chaired the national network of CWSEs. She moved to

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia in 2017 as dean of engineering and professor in the Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering. Since July 1, 2022, Croft has served as the vice president academic and provost of the

, in British Columbia, Canada where she is a professor in Mechanical Engineering and in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Recognition

Croft was named a Fellow of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

in 2010, and a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is an independent Learned society, learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. History The Australian Academy of Technological S ...

in 2021. She is also a Fellow of the

Institution of Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA), known formally as the Institution of Engineers, Australia, is an Australian professional body and Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineerin ...

and the

Canadian Academy of Engineering The Canadian Academy of Engineering () is a national academy of distinguished professional engineers in fields of engineering, who are elected on the basis of "their distinguished service and contribution to society, to the country and to the profes ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, Elizabeth Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian mechanical engineers Canadian roboticists Canadian women engineers University of British Columbia alumni University of Waterloo alumni University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Academic staff of Monash University Academic staff of the University of Victoria Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering Women roboticists 20th-century Canadian engineers 20th-century Canadian women engineers 20th-century Canadian women scientists 21st-century Canadian engineers 21st-century Canadian women engineers 21st-century Canadian women scientists