E. Molinari

About

E. Molinari is an Italian astronomer whose career has been defined by pioneering work in robotic telescope technology and the rapid follow-up observation of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), among the most energetic and transient phenomena in the universe. Molinari is most prominently associated with the Rapid Eye Mount (REM) telescope, installed at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile in 2003 — the first moderate-aperture robotic telescope capable of simultaneously covering the visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelength range from 0.45 to 2.3 microns. This landmark instrument, described across multiple highly cited papers accumulating over 200 citations collectively, enabled unprecedented prompt, automated responses to GRB alerts from satellites such as Swift, HETE II, and INTEGRAL. Molinari's contributions extended to developing key instrumentation, including the REM-IR near-infrared camera and the REM Optical Slitless Spectrograph (ROSS), as well as the AQuA automated data reduction pipeline. Notably, Molinari also contributed to the International Robotic Antarctic Infrared Telescope (IRAIT) project at Dome C, advancing thermal infrared astronomy from one of Earth's most exceptional observing sites. His body of work has meaningfully advanced time-domain astronomy and multi-wavelength transient science.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   The REM telescope: detecting the near infra-red counterparts of Gamma-Ray Bursts and the prompt behavior of their optical continuum

   81 citations · 2001
2. 2
   REM: a fully robotic telescope for GRB observations

   60 citations · 2004
3. 3
   The REM telescope: a robotic multiwavelength facility

   28 citations · 2004
4. 4
   The International Robotic Antarctic Infrared Telescope (IRAIT)

   25 citations · 2006
5. 5
   The REM optical slitless spectrograph (ROSS)

   23 citations · 2004
6. 6
   The REM-IR camera: High quality near infrared imaging with a small robotic telescope

   18 citations · 2003
7. 7
   The Multi‐frequency Robotic facility REM: first results

   12 citations · 2004
8. 8
   REM: Automatic for the People

   7 citations · 2010
9. 9
   AQuA: an automatic pipeline for fast transients detection

   6 citations · 2004
10. 10
    REM - Rapid Eye Mount. A Fast Slewing Robotized Telescope to Monitor the Prompt Infra-red Afterglow of GRBs

    6 citations · 2006

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links