Laura, for the IEEE RAS SAC, about me and you all

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Laura Margheri

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Dec 10, 2011, 10:10:08 AM12/10/11

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Dear folks,

It is a great pleasure to start this unique experience and to share it with you all!

I want to thank those of you who have already written to me, but for first I want to give a special thank to Tamas for the excellent work of these years, for the successful results he obtained in the common interests and for the support that he gave us for any issue. I think that is very important for us and for our research activities to have an effective and incisive representative as we had till now, and I will try to do my best to fulfill this responsibility, discussing with you any idea or problem. Thank you all in advance for the opportunity!

I’m conscious of the strong commitment and of the importance of the role for the involvement of the students inside the Society and to expand their opportunities. I will seriously dedicate to this responsibility, to make significant contributions to the Society and to the students’ community, together with you!

I’m writing to you for first, to tell something about me, to share some ideas and to open to new opportunities.

I come from Italy, specifically I’m from Florence, in Tuscany. At the moment I live in Livorno, which is a little nice city on the sea, near Pisa. I’m a PhD student in BioRobotics and I’m working at the Research Centre on Sea Technologies and Marine Robotics of The BioRobotics Institute, which is one of the Institutes of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (www.sssup.it).

My occupational fields and research topics in robotics and automation particularly include biorobotics (marine robotics and soft robotics) and biomimetics, biomechanics, motion analysis and modelling, as well as I have a special interest for biology and neuroscience. As bioengineer, I work directly with biologists and robotics together, to study animals for biomimetic robots (octopuses specifically! J www.octopusproject.eu).

From the beginning of my PhD, I have been directly involved in research leading activities and coordination of research groups, with special role in the project management, scientific international dissemination and networking. I got also the opportunity to serve for one year as Representative for the PhD students in Engineering at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.

Thus, together with the activities related to my research project, I’ve improved my skills in the organization of scientific international events (like meetings, workshops, exhibitions, and Summer Schools); in the web management (development of website for robotic projects, coordination actions, scientific events and Summer Schools); and in the scientific dissemination, with the sharing of the research results with press and general public. I’ve been also involved in scientific education with undergraduate students, teaching robotics to the groups which periodically visit our laboratories. My perspective is as someone who is working with young students, PhD students and researchers at all levels, as well as capable of joining and kindly co-operate with leaders, and conduct both basic and applied research with an interdisciplinary approach.

During last IROS conference I’ve started working with the students involved in the SAC activities, meeting Tamas, Anya, Ann, Tom, Jens, and many others. I really enjoyed and loved the group appreciating their hard work, and I want really thank them all for that!

During that week, I spent time joining the meetings of the Society Boards too: IEEE Transaction on Robotics Full Editorial Board Meeting, Student Activities Committee Meeting, Technical Advisory Board Meeting, RAS Conference Activities Board Meeting, RAS Member Activities Board Meeting and RAS AdCom Meeting. Joining the meetings was an exciting experience and it was helpful to directly understand the organization dynamics, the state of the Society, the vision for the next years, the new initiatives, planned actions and events, as well as which problems or needs have the priority to deal with. As I look back, I enjoyed the time spent at IROS as a great opportunity to meet innovators, leaders, possible future colleagues, and friends.

I’m positively and strongly motivated to serve as Chair of the Student Activities Committee, and to represent students in the Society because of my involvement in supporting students, to promote their career and cooperation, and for my passion for the dissemination of robotics and automation, at all educational levels and with the involvement of different areas.

Because of my interdisciplinary point of view, I believe I’ll be able to represent the students’ community at a large, and to enlarge the chances for students training, career improvement, job finding and collaborative networking.

I would stress that, by joining the Students Committee, and being active, is an opportunity to find the higher quality information, to find the best places and events where robotics innovators meet and exchange their scientific and technological knowledge. Of course, this will be possible with the help of you all!

As Chair of the Student Activities Committee it will be my responsibility to keep the students’ community on the positive trajectory that currently has, and which I strongly believe that has the potential for a continuous growth and expansion.

Interdisciplinarity, active networking and education at all level, will be fundamental features to consider to take care and to support students training, careers and professional relationships.

Robotics is becoming more and more an interdisciplinary science, involving medicine, biology, neuroscience, ethics, psychology and more. Strong relationships for future cooperative projects and research groups, breakthrough ideas and technological innovation, can be created encouraging collaborations with students and societies belonging to different fields. I would like to work together with your support to increase and to enforce the connections to the areas of sciences related to robotics, to join new members from other fields, capture novel ideas for projects and research activities, by extending the network and initiatives of the students and creating new events (for example in other related conferences as BioRob, in addition to ICRA and IROS).

The Students’ Website, the Newsletter and the Student Corner in the Robotics and Automation Magazine will be used as first melting points and ways for training, sharing, communications, as well as to inspire and motivate students. Education and training for career will be carried out for students at different ages, using international events, Summer Schools and media as fundamental ways to catch their attention and interest. PhD students, undergraduates and younger children will be involved in the activities with different robotics initiatives considering their preparation and objectives. I will work for a continuous dissemination of news, international events, surveys on student activities usefulness, job or stages placement opportunities, engagement in research groups.

But, obviously I can’t do anything without your help!

This is letter is an occasion to remember to you all, that we are still searching for the two Co-Chairs, which will have the opportunity to serve for one year the SAC.

Don’t be shy! In my opinion, the effort of being a representative is positive and instructive to know better the academic field, professors, external activities, and to be helpful for all of us and the sector. Don’t think that it is only a waste of time. I think that students during their PhD program, should not consider only their personal work and personal desk, but try to find occasions of sharing research interests, communicate with other laboratories, researchers, professors, to discuss with them and to help each other for a common growth.

I kindly invite those of you who want to catch this chance to give their availability. Please, follow the instructions from the website (http://wiki.ieee-ras.org/mab/sac/sacboard2012), and send the material to the Vice-President for Member Activities, Prof. Stefano Stramigioli (S.Stra...@el.utwente.nl), copied to Tamas Haidegger (haid...@ieee.org) and me (laura.m...@sssup.it).

By joining the SAC, as representative or volunteer, you will have the opportunity to enlarge your vision and perspectives, so don’t miss it!

I really believe that the Society is an exclusive resource to get opportunities for career and knowledge, to meet and interact with the leaders of the academia and industry fields, have chances for mobility, jobs, stages, and financial support.

I will work with those of you who will be interested in, to improve the exchange of ideas, networking, educating, volunteering, keeping members active and to recruit new students at all levels, to increase the visibility of students inside the Society and outside, using social media and international events.

I believe that up to now we had an excellent representative and I want to seriously dedicate to this responsibility, by discussing with you ideas, problems or needs, and by co-operating with the Society Boards, Committees and Working Groups to work primary for the benefits of the students, as future generation of robotics and automation leaders.

Thank you very much for your kind attention,

I will be always available for suggestions and comments

so please, contact me for any issue!

Sincerely,

Laura

Laura Margheri

Biomedical Eng. - PhD Student in Biorobotics

The BioRobotics Institute

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Research Centre on Sea Technologies and Marine Robotics

Viale Italia, 6

57126 Livorno, Italy