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About

Rezia Molfino is a distinguished robotics researcher whose career spans intelligent robotic systems, advanced actuation technologies, and flexible manufacturing automation. Based at the University of Genoa, her work has made lasting contributions across several intersecting domains of robotics engineering. Molfino is perhaps best known for her foundational reviews of shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators in robotic systems. Her 2007 critical review of SMA applications in intelligent robots has accumulated over 210 citations, establishing itself as an essential reference in the field, while a companion paper on nonlinear control strategies for SMA actuators attracted an additional 66 citations — together cementing her authority on this challenging class of smart materials. Her research portfolio reveals remarkable breadth: from parallel robot architectures for high-speed industrial assembly and microassembly, to specialized grippers for garment handling, reconfigurable robotic fixtures for flexible manufacturing, greenhouse service robots, and underwater cutting systems. Notably, her SwarmItFIX multi-robot reconfigurable fixture work demonstrated innovative thinking at the intersection of swarm robotics and precision manufacturing. More recently, Molfino has turned her attention to the societal implications of artificial intelligence and robotics megatrends, reflecting a career-long commitment to understanding not just how robots work, but how they shape the world around us.