Marcello Calisti

Dr. Marcello Calisti is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, specializing in bioinspired underwater robotics. His work focuses on embodied intelligence, creating soft robots that exploit body dynamics for simplified control. He leads European/National projects like SILVER and Blue Resolution while supervising PhD students and teaching bioengineering courses.

• B.Sc Mechanical Engineering (University of Perugia, 2005)
• M.Sc BioMedical Engineering (University of Florence, 2008)
• PhD in BioRobotics (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 2012)

Current research investigates underwater locomotion through compliant legs and deformable bodies, combining mechanical engineering with computer science to create robots for seabed exploration and plastic cleanup. His work extends to bioinspired vision systems and tau-theory-based control algorithms.

Recent publications highlight advancements in soft robotics, underwater grippers, and flagellate locomotion systems, with applications in environmental monitoring and marine biology. His work has received recognition at ASME and GECCO conferences.

• 2012 ASME Student Mechanism and Robot Design Competition Finalist
• 2014 Gear of Innovation Challenge Winner
• 2015 GECCO Best Paper Award Nominee
• 2017 National Geographic Society Early Career Grant
• 2018 Arbi Dario spa Grant

As Principal Investigator, he manages teams across multiple projects while maintaining teaching commitments and editorial roles. His laboratory collaborates with biologists and clinicians for cross-disciplinary applications.