Richard M. Held is an American professor emeritus of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work in vision development contributed to the early years of vision research. Held holds a Civil Engineering degree from Columbia University, and earned a PhD in Experimental psychology with a specialization in space perception from Harvard University. In 1973, Held was named to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his achievements in psychology. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.