Pioneering Northeastern professor inducted into National Academy of Sciences
Northeastern professor Eduardo Sontag has been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, one of science’s highest honors that recognizes those doing impactful and groundbreaking original research
Eduardo Sontag’s pioneering contributions to the sciences span the gamut — from artificial intelligence and neural networks to computational biology and nonlinear dynamics and control.
Over the course of the Northeastern University engineering professor’s career, he has published more than 500 research papers and publications and his work has been cited more than 65,000 times.
But one of his most impactful pieces of research is his formulation of input to state stability, or ISS, a now bedrock concept used to study nonlinear control systems, Mario Sznaier, the Northeastern University Dennis Picard Trustee Professor, explained Wednesday night at the EXP research complex on the Boston campus.
“If you Google the original paper on ISS, you get more than 5,000 citations,” Sznaier told a crowd made up of Sontag’s friends, family and colleagues. “But just for my illustration, I tried to ask ChatGPT how many times the term ISS was mentioned, and ChatGPT said something like almost a million times. That gives you an idea of the impact.”
Sznaier was one of hundreds of guests celebrating Sontag’s induction to the National Academy of Sciences, one of science’s highest honors that recognizes those doing impactful and groundbreaking original research.
At Northeastern, Sontag serves as a distinguished professor in the bioengineering and the electrical and computer engineering departments. He is also an affiliated faculty in the chemical engineering department.
“We’re very proud of you,” said Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun, before emphasizing the important role Sontag, and researchers like him, play in helping elevate the importance of science and discovery.
“In this climate where science is being questioned on a daily basis, you have a very important fundamental role to play in terms of the nation in reestablishing the discourse where science is preeminent, science is going to change lives, and science is going to impact society,” Aoun said.
Beth A. Winkelstein, Northeastern University’s provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, said that “election to the National Academy of Sciences stands as one of the highest honors in scientific achievement.”
She lauded Sontag’s contributions to Northeastern, which “span mathematics, control theory and system biology.”
“The past few years have seen our faculty elected into the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,” she added. “These honors celebrate our collective achievements and dedication to advancing transformative research with real-world applications.”
One of Sontag’s biggest strengths is his multidisciplinary approach to research, explained Herbert Levine, a university distinguished professor of physics and bioengineering and fellow National Academy of Sciences member.
“What I’ve learned by being here for the last six, seven years is that Northeastern, if nothing else, is about breaking down unuseful barriers between different subject matters,” Levine told attendees. “We’re interested in solving problems, whether they’re scientific, engineering, medical. … I think Eduardo’s work is absolutely in line with that.”
He was certainly breaking down barriers when he first joined Northeastern in 2017, explained Northeastern professor Lee Makowski, who was chair of the bioengineering department when Sontag was hired.
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In the bioengineering space, Sontag has played an important role in the development of synthetic gene circuits, the modeling of tumor-immune interactions, adaptive therapies, and more.
“There was a bit of a fight,” said Makowski.
So many departments were vying for him to join them, he said.
“He could be electrical engineering, biology, math. … I’m delighted to report that bioengineering was one of the winners of that arm wrestling match because you have been a fabulous contributor to the department for a very long time.”
Edmund Yeh, Northeastern professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering, was serving on the hiring committee the year Sontag was hired. When he heard that Sontag was interested in coming to Northeastern, he couldn’t believe the university’s luck.
“As a grad student at MIT, we had all learned about Eduardo’s work,” Yeh said. “He’s a legend so it was a no-brainer for us.”
But Sontag has not only played an impactful role in academia, he’s also instilled a love for science in his children, particularly in his son, David Sontag, who is now an electrical engineering and computer science professor at MIT.
One of the most important lessons David Sontag said he learned from his dad is the importance of asking the right questions of society and striving to answer them with rigor.
“How do you tackle a problem? You tackle it in its completeness,” he said. “No notion of sending a half-baked idea, but you do a good job at it.”
