Alicia Casals @ Technical University of Catalonia

Born in Barcelona, 1955. Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (1977), and Ph. D in Computer Science (1983) by the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC). Professor since 1990.
Academic activities both in teaching and research in the Automatic Control and Computer Engineering, at UPC, since 1977. Starting the research group on Robotics and Computer Vision in the Computer Science Faculty when it was created in 1977. Director of the Department from 1984 to 1987 and from 1991 to 1995. She is leading the research group on Robotics and Vision Division of the Institute Biomedical Engineering of Catalonia, and is member of the research group GRINS: Intelligent Robotics and Systems. The research is oriented to the incorporation of visual perception to robotic systems, mainly in the area of medical robotics. In this field she is working both in rehabilitation, assistance and surgery applications. Participation in the program or organising committee of different National and International Conferences. General Chair of some Robotics conferences, the main one ICRA05. Reviewer of different research programs (European and Spanish). She is from 2001 the coordinator of the Education and Training key area within Euron, the Network of Excellence: European Robotics Network, and from 2008 RAS Vice President for Membership
The goal of the research group is the study, evaluation and development of robotic systems based on the incorporation of perception capabilities for achieving more flexibility and a more intelligent behavior. Considering the wide scope of the research in this field, the work of the group is oriented to three complementary lines: the design and development of image processing and computer vision systems, specially oriented to control, guidance and supervision of robotic systems; robotic systems adapted to specific environments, and multiagent systems (robots and persons) with cooperation capabilities.
The research is focused to problem solving in scientific and technological areas, both in the industrial sector as well as in non industrial environments. At present the main working fields are medical robotics, both surgery and assistance, underwater robotics, mobile robots control, distributed control systems and perception.
From the developed research projects she won different awards, Award to a social invention (Mundo Electrónico), International Award Barcelona’92 (Barcelona City_Hall), Ciutat de Barcelona Award 1998 (Barcelona City_Hall), and Narcis Monturiol Medal from the Catalan Government as recognition of the research trajectory 1999.