The winner of the Research Award among the personalities of the year in Romania
A new milestone has been added to the career of Mihai Drăgușanu, already winner of the second edition of the Most Promising Researcher in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence award, now in its fourth edition [see the news item Research Award, call for applications for the 4th edition online].
Mihai was recently included in the catalogue Personalities of the Year in Romania, published at the end of 2025 by the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania.
The volume, in a bilingual Romanian-English edition, brings together 100 personalities who have been able to transform ideas into projects, projects into results and results into benchmarks for society, based on the impact generated in terms of innovation, economic development, vision and public recognition, including at an international level.
In 2024, the Fondazione Mondo Digitale Research Award was given to Mihai for creating an advanced robotic suit for rehabilitation, which combines biomechanics and artificial intelligence for motor recovery. This work impressed the jury for its high scientific value and potential concrete impact on people's quality of life, confirming the award as a platform for promoting applied research with a high social impact [see the news item Mihai's “gold suit”].
“I am deeply grateful for this recognition, which represents an important milestone in my professional career and reaffirms my ongoing commitment to research, innovation and education,” Mihai wrote on his LinkedIn profile, emphasising that the result is also the fruit of the support of his family and the scientific community that accompanies him.
In his message of thanks, Mihai made a point of mentioning his supervisor, Professor Monica Malvezzi, and Professors Domenico Prattichizzo and Gionata Salvietti, together with the entire SIRSLab team, as well as the Department of Information Engineering and Mathematics and the University of Siena, all of whom played a decisive role in his training.
The Fondazione Mondo Digitale congratulates Mihai Drăgușanu on this new, prestigious international award, which confirms that investing in young researchers and their ideas means making a concrete contribution to the scientific, technological and human development of our societies.
