Bensmaia received a B.A. in cognitive science from the University of Virginia in 1995, and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in 2003, under the tutelage of Mark Hollins. Bensmaia has received the prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, an early career award from the IEEE Technical Committee on Haptics, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from UNC. His work is regularly featured in the mainstream media, including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago magazine, CBC, WIRED, etc.