Ernesto Blanco is a professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Design at MIT. Born in Cuba, Blanco attended Havana University and the Cuban Naval Academy in Mariel, Cuba. Blanco graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. in 1956 with his B.M.E in Engineering Design, Applied Kinematics, and Manufacturing Systems. In 1964, Blanco became a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Massachusetts.

A full professor at MIT since 1977, Blanco has also done design research and development of biomedical devices for endoscopy and ophthalmology. He was involved in planning for the new MIT Engineering Design Center, as has acted as consultant for the Veterans Administration, National Science Foundation, and Member of the Board of Accreditation of the U. S. Department of Education.

Having taught nearly every engineering design course at MIT, Blanco holds twelve U.S. patents and is an elected Member of Pi Tau Sigma, the Honors Mechanical Engineering Society.