Matthew Walter is an assistant professor and director of the Robot Intelligence through Perception Laboratory (RIPL) at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTI-Chicago), a philanthropically endowed academic computer science institute located on the University of Chicago campus. He also holds a part-time faculty appointment in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago. Prior to joining TTI-Chicago, Matthew was a research scientist in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was fortunate to work with Seth Teller. He received his PhD from the Joint Program between MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, under the supervision of John Leonard.

Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC or the Institute) is an accredited computer science institute, dedicated to basic research and graduate education in computer science. Its mission is to achieve international impact through world-class research and education in fundamental computer science and information technology. The Institute is distinctive to the American educational scene in its unique combination of graduate education and endowed research. TTIC is located in Hyde Park on the University of Chicago campus and has a close affiliation with the University of Chicago Computer Science Department. An agreement between the University of Chicago and TTIC allows cross-listing of computer science course offerings between the two institutions, providing students from each institution the opportunity to register in the other's courses. Faculty and students enjoy full privileges of the University library system, athletic facilities and other services.