Fadel Adib has been named a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum. The Forum announced the 2024 YGL cohort today, recognizing them as “changemakers who are shaping the future and accelerating positive change through their groundbreaking work.” 

Adib is an Associate Professor at MIT and CEO of Cartesian Systems, a startup that spun out of his research at the MIT Media Lab. He heads the Signal Kinetics group at the MIT Media Lab and is also a faculty in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.

Adib’s work focuses on inventing new technologies to sense and connect the world in ways that were not possible before. His research has sweeping applications ranging from underwater climate change monitoring to using WiFi to see through walls and building robots that can perform tasks that were previously impossible. His work has  broad commercial impact through multiple startups, next-generation industry standards, and commercial adoption.

Being named a Young Global Leader follows a series of honors and recognitions that Adib has received, including being named the ACM SIGMOBILE Rockstar, one of the world’s top 35 innovators under 35 by Technology Review, and most recently being honored with the Great Arab Minds “Genius” Award by the United Arab Emirates.