PEOPLE

Marco Ceccarelli received the MSc degree in mechanical engineering and PhD in Applied Mechanics at University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy, in 1982 and 1987, respectively. He was visiting scholar at Stanford University, USA, in 1987, and visiting professor at the Technical University of Valencia, Spain, in 1990 with a CNR-NATO grant. From 1990 to 2019 he worked at the University of Cassino, Italy, where he was appointed Full Professor in 2001. Between 2014 and 2019 he was also visiting professor at Beijing Institute of Technology, China. Since 2019, he has been Full Professor at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

Prof. Ceccarelli is Scientific Editor of two Springer Book Series: Mechanism and Machine Science (MMS) and History of MMS, Editor-in-chief of Robotics, and Associate Editor of several other journals. He was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa degrees from several international Universities and the ASME Historian Award. He is ASME fellow. He was elected Secretary-General of IFToMM from 2004 to 2007 and IFToMM President from 2008 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2019. His research interests cover aspects of mechanism design, mechanics and design of robots, and history of mechanical engineering.

Full Curriculum Vitae and Publications

Matteo Russo is an Associate Professor with the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy. He received his BSc (2013), MSc (2015), and PhD (2019) in mechanical engineering from the University of Cassino, Italy. He was a visiting researcher at RWTH Aachen, Germany (2015), at the University of the Basque Country, Spain (2016), and at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan (2017). From 2019 through 2022, he worked as a Research Fellow at the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Manufacturing and On-Wing Technology, University of Nottingham, UK.

Dr Russo’s research interests include soft robotics, mechanism design, and parallel manipulators. His work focuses on the design, modelling, and optimization of innovative robots for aerospace, nuclear, and healthcare. His awards include the FIS Starting Grant, the IFToMM Young Delegate Award, and several best paper awards at international conferences. Dr Russo is serving as Associate Editor for IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, and IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. He is Co-Chair of the IEEE RAS Technical Committee on Mechanism and Design, and part of the IFToMM Technical Committees on Robotics & Mechatronics and Computational Kinematics.

Personal webpage

Alessandro Perini received a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (2022) at Roma Tre University, and a MSc in Mechatronics Engineering (2024, cum laude) at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. During his MSc, he has worked on the design of tendon-driven hand exoskeletons for stroke rehabilitation. His PhD research focuses on wearable robotics with a textile substrate, integrating active elements such as tendon or smart materials as well as biomechanical sensors, developed in collaboration with Sensor Medica. In 2026, he has been a visiting student at the ARIES laboratory at MIRMI, Technical University of Munich, developing a motion assistance device for the lower limbs.

Clara Kierbel received a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering (2020) and a MSc in Engineering for Health, Specialty Mechatronic Systems for Rehabilitation (2022) from Sorbonne University, Paris VI. Since 2023, she is working towards a PhD in soft robotics, developing an intra-uteral soft robot for gynecological surgeries. In 2025, she has been a visiting student at Institute of Science Tokyo through the SERP program, designing soft robotic phantoms for gynecologist training and surgical robot testing.

Luca Quattrucci received the BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from Roma Tre University, Italy, and MSc degree in Mechatronics Engineering from Modena and Reggio Emilia University, Italy, in 2019 and 2023, respectively. He has been working toward the PhD degree at the University of Rome Tor Vergata since November 2023. His research focuses on the automation of disassembly tasks for Lithium-Ion batteries in the automotive industry, in collaboration with ENEA, and for nuclear applications, as a visiting student at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (2025).

Sergei Kotov received a MSc in Cyber Security (2006) from Cherepovets Military Engineering Institute of Radio Electronics, Russia and in Internet Business Management (2012) from State University of Management, Moscow, Russia. He is currently working on a PhD degree at University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, developing motion assistance exoskeletons for elderly people.

Luis Angel Guerrero Hernández received his BSc degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Mexico, and his MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from IPN in 2021. Since 2022, he has been working on his PhD in Mechanical Engineering within the double-degree program between Instituto Politécnico Nacional and the University of Rome Tor Vergata, under the supervision of Dr. Christopher René Torres San Miguel and Prof. Marco Ceccarelli.
His PhD research focuses on the design and experimental evaluation of a linkage-based child restraint system for vehicular safety, integrating mechanism design, numerical simulation, prototype development, instrumentation, and experimental validation.
His research interests include mechanism design, mechatronics, vehicular safety, biomechanics, impact dynamics, experimental mechanics, and finite element analysis. In 2026, his research on a linkage-based child restraint system received the MDPI Robotics Best Paper Award at MEDER 2026.

Karla Nayeli Silva Garces received the BSc degree in biomedical engineering (2018) and  MSc degree (cum laude) in mechanical engineering (2020) from the Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico.  In 2026, she obtained a double PhD degree at University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, and Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico. Her research interest include design of medical devices, biomechanics, medical robotics and vehicular passive safety. In 2020 she received the Best Postgraduate Thesis Award at Instituto Politecnico Nacional.

Cuauhtémoc Morales-Cruz obtained his BSc in Mechatronics from the National Polytechnic Institute (UPIITA-IPN), Mexico, in 2011, followed by an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV), Mexico, in 2014. He earned a double PhD in Robotic and Mechatronic Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico, and the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, in 2022. Between 2024 and 2025, he has been a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working on the PRIN PNRR 2022 ASSIST project. His research interests include mechatronics, mechanism design, engineering optimization, medical device design, and instrumentation for biological systems.

Earnest Ofonaike earned a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (2003) and a MSc in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata (2023). He has extensive experience in the upstream oil and natural gas servicing sector, where he worked as a mechanical engineer providing solutions and computations for the fabrication and maintenance of oil servicing tools and components. From 2009 to 2021, he served as a consultant for the development and construction of gas conditioning and metering facilities during the development phase of several medium-sized power plants in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. Between 2024 and 2025, he worked on the ASSIST project.

Daniele Cafolla received a dual MSc degree in mechanical engineering in 2012 at the University of Cassino, Italy, and Panamerican University, Mexico.  From 2013 to 2014, he was a visiting researcher at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. In 2016, he was awarded a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. He was a Research Fellow at the University of Cassino, Italy, and at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 2016 and 2017. Since July 2018, he has been the Director of the Biomechatronics Lab at the Clinical Research Institute IRCCS Neuromed, Italy. At the University of Rome Tor Vergata, he has been Adjunct Professor of Robot Mechanics and Applied Physics, and Research Fellow at LARM. In 2023, he joined the University of Swansea, United Kingdom, as Lecturer in Robotics & AI.

Dr Cafolla is involved in several projects regarding neurorobotics, assistive robotics, exploration robotics, mechatronics, sensors, biomechanics, mechanical design, and rapid prototyping. He is the author of a book and several journal and conference papers. He is member of IFToMM, IEEE and I-RIM.

Wenshuo Gao obtained his PhD in Industrial Engineering at University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, in 2024. His research interests include robotics and mechanics, with a focus on humanoid robot, control system, sensor application, and manipulators.

Jorge Araque got the MSc in industrial control in 2021 at the University of Pamplona, Colombia. As a doctoral student at the Department of Industrial Enginering at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, he has developed a space robot for operation on the International Space Station. From 2014 until 2020, he was Adjunct Professor at the University of Pamplona, Colombia, for technical, technological, and professional programs in the mechatronics field. He is currently a Lecturer at Santiago de Cali University, Colombia. Mr Araque’s interests include mechatronics, rehabilitation robotics, mechanism design and space robotics.

Alexander Titov got the MSc in aerospace engineering at Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia. As a PhD Student at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, he has designed the gripper for the berthing of CubeSat microsatellites. His research interests are mechanism design, robotics, and aerospace.