On April 24th, 2026, Regensburg was once again all about research, innovation, and technology. For one evening, Nacht.Schafft.Wissen (Night.Creates.Knowledge. in English) offered insights behind the scenes of local companies and…
Gian Paolo Currà is a PhD candidate at Prensilia srl (Pontedera, Italy), working on the development of robot hands. He holds a Master degree in Advanced Robot Technologies, obtained at Southern Denmark University and a Bachelor degree in Automation Engineering from the Alma Mater Studiorum of Bologna, Italy. In his Master Thesis, he dived into Self-Organizing Locomotion Control in order to implement an adaptive approach to control procedures. In part experiences, he also worked as lead developer of ROS based autonomous drone applications. Gian Paolo works under the MSCA-funded MAESTRI project, aiming to develop switchable stiffness joints in order to improve the grasping capabilities of prosthetic and robotic hands.
Danica Tan is an industrial PhD fellow at Wegard GmbH and the University of Southern Denmark, working under the MSCA-funded MAESTRI project. She holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Twente and a Bachelors of Science in Engineering Science & Mechanics from Virginia Tech. She previously worked on electroactive nanofibrous soft actuators, consumer exoskeletons, and magnetically actuated soft grippers for minimally invasive surgery. Her current work focuses on the development of modular gripping devices for industrial applications using magnetoactive elastomers.
Mahdi Hasanzade is a PhD candidate at Christian Albrecht University (CAU) Kiel, specializing in the characterization of magnetoactive elastomers for robotic applications in the Department of Zoological Institute at CAU Kiel. He earned his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering – Applied Design (Solid Design) from the University of Guilan in Iran, where he also completed his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. His previous work includes micromechanical and multi-scale modeling, particularly using MATLAB programming, as well as research on nanocomposite characterization and the evaluation of hybrid composites and piezoelectric materials. Mahdi is part of the MSCA-funded MAESTRI project, where he focuses on characterizing magnetoactive soft materials. His research involves measuring roughness, adhesion, and frictional properties using microtribotesters and AFM, analyzing particle distribution using scanning electron microscopy, and testing samples under magnetic fields to study tunability for their further use in robotic systems.
Júlio Santos is a PhD candidate at the University of Vienna, studying magnetic elastomers (MAEs) from a theoretical and computational perspective, focusing on the effect of the magneto-elastic coupling. For this, he will be using and building upon the ESPResSo package for magnetic soft matter simulations. He holds a Master’s and a Bachelor’s in Physics from the University of Lisbon, with a specialization in statistical physics and condensed matter. His previous research includes studies on liquid crystal skyrmions in flows and the dynamics of capsules in active nematics.
Jawad Mehmood Butt is a PhD Research Fellow at the Embodied AI & Neurorobotics Lab at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Odense, Denmark. His research focuses on adaptive control methods for magnetoactive materials in robotic applications. Prior to this role, he served as a Control Engineer at ASM Pacific Technology in Hong Kong. He holds the MS in Control Engineering and the M.Phil in Mechanical Automation Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, respectively. His previous work includes iterative learning control for die bonding machines, software development, geometric control of morphable aerial robots, and the development of haptic sensors for soft robotic grippers.
Chaitanya Doifode is a PhD candidate at the Christian Albrecht University (CAU) Kiel, specializing in the development of magnetoactive elastomers for robotic applications at the Laboratory of Intelligent Materials and Structures, OTH Regensburg. He earned his Joint Master’s in Polymer Technology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor’s degree in Surface Coating Technology from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. His previous work includes synthesizing iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) for pH-responsive drug delivery systems and exploring advanced polymer synthesis techniques. Chaitanya works under the MSCA-funded MAESTRI project and aims to develop magnetoactive materials for soft robotics, study their ageing, and evaluate their life-cycle performance for long term use in robotic systems.
Arne Geldof is currently pursuing a PhD in physics at the University of Ljubljana. With a Master of Science in Photonics Engineering from the Universities of Ghent and Brussels and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ghent, Arne brings a diverse academic background to his research. During his time in Ghent, he explored the fabrication of optical sensing structures in glass using a femtosecond laser. His current research revolves around developing optical response-based feedback and manipulation mechanisms to control soft robotic components made from magnetoactive elastomers.
Lucija Drempetić is a PhD student at the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, working at the Department for Materials Synthesis of the Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a Master’s degree in Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. During her studies, she conducted research on cobalt complex compounds and polyoxometalates, with a focus on different synthesis approaches and characterization methods for the synthesized compounds. Lucija works under the Marie Curie-funded Maestri project in the development of magnetoactive elastomers and magnetic liquids for robotic applications.
Troy Baker is a PhD student in the Soft Mechatronics for Biorobotics Lab at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa. He earned a Masters of Research in Bioengineering from Imperial College London and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. At Imperial, Troy did research with electro-static actuators and volunteered with the university’s prosthetic society. His research goals involve embodied intelligence in the design of bio-inspired robotics. Troy works under the Marie Curie funded Maestri project to develop actuators for demonstrating the use of magnetic materials in robotics.
