Isabella Fiorello

Isabella Fiorello is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Bioinspired Soft Robotics Laboratory of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa (Italy). She received a Master's Degree in Industrial Biotechnology (with honors) from the University of Turin, in April 2017. In June 2021, she obtained a PhD in Biorobotics (with honors) from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa. In 2022, she spent a period as a guest scientist at the University of Freiburg (Germany). She received several awards at the national and international level, including the prestigious award "Young Researcher of the Year - ENI Award 2022". Since October 2019, she is a National Geographic Explorer with a project titled “A climbing plant-inspired microrobotic system network for remote vineyard monitoring and conservation.” Her research aimed at the development of bioinspired smart materials and miniaturized soft robots for unstructured environments. During her PhD, she developed microfabricated adhesives with climbing plant-inspired microhooks for reversible anchoring to textiles, skin and plant leaves tissues. These microhooks were successfully used for climbing robot applications and for on-leaf localized sensing and delivery of plant treatments (e. g. pesticides), opening new scenarios of applications in soft robotics and precision agriculture fields.