Research Structure

The research is carried out within Research Units, located at the Foundation facilities (the so-called Departments) or hosted by other Research Institutions which through specific agreements; such Research Units are responsible for the implementation of a scientific programme. All Units have their own personnel and resources and are operatively and financially autonomous. They have at their disposal material and financial assets, which have been assigned to them or they have found themselves.

The Scientific Director coordinates the Research Units, making sure their assets are used efficiently.

The Research Units are directed by a scientist, the Research Director, who is responsible for the implementation of the IIT scientific programme.

Regarding the Foundation structure, the present Research Directors and Department Directors, who have been chosen after an international selection protocol, are widely known scientists who have already made important contributions in their research fields.

The Department Directors are:

Advanced Robotics

Darwin Caldwell received his B.Sc and Ph.D in Robotics from the University of Hull in 1986 and 1990 respectively.

In 1994 he received an M.Sc in Management from the University of Salford. He was at the University of Salford from 1989 to 2007 as a Lecturer, S. Lecturer and Reader and was finally Professor of Advanced Robotics in the Centre for Robotics and Automation at the University of Salford (1999-2007).

He is a visiting/honorary Professor at The University of Manchester, The University of Sheffield, Kings’ College London and University of Wales, Bangor

Drug Discovery and Development

Daniele Piomelli was born and educated in Italy, where he earned his degree of Doctor of Pharmacy in 1982. He moved to New York City in 1983, where he studied Pharmacology and Neuroscience with James H. Schwartz and Eric Kandel at Columbia University, and later with Paul Greengard at the Rockefeller University.

Both of his mentors received in 2000 the Nobel Prize for their contributions to neuropharmacology.

After working at the INSERM in Paris (France) and at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego (CA), Dr. Piomelli joined the University of California, Irvine, where he is Professor of Pharmacology and Louise Turner Arnold Chair in the Neurosciences.

Neuroscience & Brain Technologies

Fabio Benfenati
Born in Bologna, Italy, on 5 November 1954.

1979: University of Bologna, School of Medicine
Degree: Doctor of Medicine - Field of Study: Neurochemistry
1983: University of Bologna, School of Medicine Postdoctoral School of Neurology
Degree: Specialist in Neurology - Field of Study: Neurophysiology

Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems

John Assad received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York and his PhD in Neurobiology from Harvard University.

For his PhD, he investigated biophysical mechanisms of mechano-electric sensory transduction in vestibular hair cells.

He did his postdoctoral training in electrophysiology with John Maunsell, first at the University of Rochester and then at Baylor College of Medicine, where he studied mechanisms of visual perception. He joined the faculty at Harvard Medical School in 1996 and was promoted to full professor at Harvard in 2007.

Robotics, Brain & Cognitive Sciences

Giulio Sandini is Director of Research at the Italian Institute of Technology and full professor of bioengineering at the University of Genoa. After his graduation in Electronic Engineering (Bioengineering) at the University of Genova in 1976 he was research fellow and assistant professor at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa until 1984.

During this period, working at the Laboratorio di Neurofisiologia of the CNR, he investigated aspects of visual processing at the level of single neurons as well as aspects of visual perception in human adults and children.