Introducing the MRSD Endowed Fellowship: Expanding Access to Robotics Education

For years, the MRSD program has offered a general donations fund that supports the program’s growth and excellence. Now, we’re thrilled to announce a major milestone: the creation of the MRSD Endowed Fellowship, dedicated specifically to financial assistance for students.

This is a game-changer. Because MRSD is self-funded, talented applicants who lack resources have often faced significant barriers to enrolling. With the endowed fellowship in place, more aspiring roboticists will be able to apply and attend, knowing that financial help may be available.

This is a huge step forward for access and opportunity in MRSD. With your support, we can open doors for students who might otherwise have had to say no.

Why it matters:

• Access & equity: Financial support helps ensure the most qualified students can join MRSD, regardless of their ability to pay.
• Enduring impact: Endowed funds create a lasting source of support that helps students year after year.
• Community-driven: Alumni, industry partners, faculty, and friends have always powered MRSD’s momentum, and this fellowship continues that tradition.

Our first milestone:

With quiet generosity and a shared belief in expanding access, MRSD alum Paulo Camasmie (’20) and his wife, Rafaela, made the lead gift that jump‑started the MRSD Endowed Fellowship. Paulo’s journey and ethos – designing purposeful innovations to improve lives – have been a hallmark of his CMU story, and this fellowship reflects those same values by providing practical support so that talented students can flourish. We’re deeply grateful to Paulo and Rafaela for setting the pace and inviting our community to join them in widening the path to MRSD.

Between Paulo & Rafaela’s generous gift and donations from a small handful of corporate partners over the past five years, we currently stand at $40K – so not too far away from our goal of $50K, which is the magic number that makes the endowment piece official. Every gift – large or small – moves us closer to awarding the first MRSD fellowship and welcoming more students into the field of robotics.

Donate today:

https://givenow.cmu.edu/campaigns/42968/donations/new?a=11308347&designation=mastersinroboticsystemsdevelopmentendowedfellowship

Questions or partnership ideas?

Contact Katie Coan, Associate Director of Development for SCS (lambrou@andrew.cmu.edu). Feel free to CC John & Sarah if you like.