Arianna Menciassi (Fellow, IEEE) received the M.Sc. degree in physics from the University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, in 1995, and the Ph.D. degree in bioengineering from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA), Pisa, Italy, in 1999. She is currently Professor of bioengineering and biomedical robotics with SSSA, where she is the Team Leader of Surgical Robotics & Allied Technologies within The BioRobotics Institute. She was visiting professor at the Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris, France) and at the Besancon University (Besancon, France). Since 2018, she has been the Coordinator of the Ph.D. in BioRobotics, and in 2019 she was appointed as the Vice-Rector of the SSSA. Her research interests include surgical robotics, microrobotics for biomedical applications, biomechatronic artificial organs, and smart and soft solutions for biomedical devices.

In her research, she pays special attention to the combination of traditional robotics, soft robotics, targeted therapy, and wireless solutions for therapy (e.g., ultrasound- and magnetic-based solutions). She has served for many years as the Co-Chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Surgical Robotics. Prof. Menciassi is an Editor for the IEEE Transactions of Robotics and APL Bioengineering, and she is an Associate Editor for the Soft Robotics journal. She received the Well-tech Award (Milan, Italy) for her researches on endoscopic capsules, and she was awarded by the Tuscany Region with the Gonfalone D’Argento, in 2007, as one of the best 10 young talents of the region. In 2020, she has been awarded with the KUKA Innovation Award, for her activities on robotic assisted focused ultrasound.