IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - June 2017 - 19

WOMEN IN ENGINEERING

Surgical Robotics and
Allied Technologies
By Laura Margheri

was quite surprised when Laura
asked me to prepare this column
on my general vision about ro -
botics for surgery and therapy and
my specific experience in the field. I
was also hesitant, because I am not a
real roboticist (my background is in
physics); there are researchers far
more experienced than me. However,
I was drawn in by the opportunity to
present what I have seen, what I have
learned, and what I have tried to do
with regards to topics such as control
issues and imaging technologies. I
hope that reading about my experience
can help other young researchers to
face their own challenges, even if they
do not feel fully qualified to do so. In
addition, I think that scientific challenges,
such as the Surgical Robotics Challenge,
which is the topic of this issue of IEEE
Robotics and Automation Magazine, are
ideal frameworks for education, both
from a technical viewpoint and for forg-
ing a winning scientific attitude.
A dose of luck and the inclination to
consider any new problem as an oppor-
tunity are key to obtaining satisfactory
results, creating fruitful networks, and
participating in scientific challenges; a
little enthusiasm never hurt, either. Once
the work is completed, one can evaluate
on the whole if the work has had a con-
crete impact. My Ph.D. supervisor and
mentor-Paolo Dario is my mentor
even today!-used to say: "Do not
worry about the derivative, but take care
of the integral. You can get the overall
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2017.2691125

EDITOR'S NOTE
As part of this series of articles for the "Women in Engineering" column, in this
special issue on surgical robotics, we present the experience and vision of Arianna
Menciassi, a full professor of biomedical robotics at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in
Pisa, Italy, and team leader of the Surgical Robotics and Allied Technologies Area
at The BioRobotics Institute. I had the pleasure of being at the same institute as
Menciassi for several years, observing her great capability in leading interdisciplinary
teams and international projects and mentoring undergraduate students, Ph.D.
candidates, and postdoctoral associates. I admired her job as a leader, being not
only a mentor for her group but also a sponsor for her students and colleagues,
who have now all achieved great results as academics or entrepreneurs.
With a laurea degree in physics and a Ph.D. degree in bioengineering, her main
research interests include biomedical robotics, biohybrid systems, microsystem
technology, nanotechnology, and micromechatronics, with special attention to
the synergy between robot-assisted therapy and micro- and nanobiotechnologyrelated solutions. In these fields, she has served as a preceptor to roughly 15
postdoctoral associates, 25 Ph.D. students, and 80 graduate degree recipients in
the last ten years.
Her role in leading international projects has led to many collaborations
worldwide and intense research and networking activity; this was also beneficial
for her students and collaborators, who had the opportunity of growing in a
multidisciplinary and multicultural environment. She is the author of approximately
370 international papers, including papers in more than 200 International
Scientific Indexing journals; she has also authored one edited book and six book
chapters on medical devices and microtechnologies. She holds 25 national and
international patents.
For the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, Menciassi serves as cochair of
the Technical Committee on Surgical Robotics and is a member of the Technical
Committee on Micro/Nano Robotics and Automation. She is also a member of
the Technical Committee on BioRobotics in the IEEE Engineering in Medicine
and Biology Society. Since 2007, Menciassi has been a member of the Program
Committee and an organizer of special sessions and workshops for several
conferences on robotics and biomedical engineering, including the International
Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), the Intelligent Robots and
Systems, the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, the International
Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, the Congresso Italiano
di Bioingegneria, and the Joint Workshop on New Technologies for Computer/
Robot Assisted Surgery. She also served on the Conference Editorial Board of ICRA
in 2016.
She has served on the Editorial Board of IEEE/ASME Transactions on
Mechatronics, and she is now topic editor in Medical Robotics for International
Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems and a representative of the Nanotechnology
Technical Committee in the steering committee of IEEE Transactions on
Nanobioscience. Her perspective and vision are different from a traditional robotic
one, and-despite her surprise-this is the reason I asked her to contribute to this
column. I am sure you will enjoy reading her thoughts and will be inspired by
her experience.

Date of publication: 13 June 2017

june 2017

IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - June 2017