PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Antonella Ferrara

Antonella Ferrara is a control researcher whose work applies deep reinforcement learning to robot manipulators. She earned an electronic-engineering degree and a PhD in computer science and electronics at the University of Genoa, then became a professor of automatic control at the University of Pavia. Her research ranges from freeway traffic modelling to learning-based robot control. She became an IEEE Fellow in 2020, co-received an IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology Outstanding Paper Award, and was elected an IFAC Fellow for the 2020–2023 period. As of October 2026, she is a full professor at Pavia and leads its Intelligent Robotics Laboratory while holding editorial roles in control and intelligent transportation.

Works
553
Citations
12,812
h-index
54
Rankings
#67 by first-author papers
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1987–1992

    Engineering at Genoa

    At the University of Genoa, she earns a degree in electronic engineering in 1987 and a PhD in computer science and electronics in 1992.

  2. 1992–2005

    From Genoa to Pavia

    From 1992 to 1998, she serves as an assistant professor at Genoa and joins Pavia as an associate professor in November 1998. Since 2005, she is a Full Professor of Automatic Control at Pavia.

  3. 2018

    A book on traffic control

    In 2018, she co-authors Freeway Traffic Modelling and Control with Simona Sacone and Silvia Siri, a survey of modelling and control methods for freeway traffic.

  4. 2020

    Two IEEE honors

    In 2020, she becomes an IEEE Fellow and co-receives the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology Outstanding Paper Award.

  5. 2020–2023

    An IFAC Fellowship

    She joins the IFAC Fellows elected for the 2020–2023 period.

  6. 2023

    Deep learning for robot control

    In 2023, she co-authors a study that uses deep reinforcement learning to control a robot manipulator’s end effector while the system avoids obstacles.

  7. 2024–2026

    Vice-Chair of an IFAC committee

    From 2024 to 2026, she serves as IFAC Vice-Chair for Industry on the Technical Committee on Nonlinear Control Systems.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and journal editor

    She is a Full Professor of Automatic Control at the University of Pavia and heads its Intelligent Robotics Laboratory. She also serves as Associate Editor of Automatica and Senior Editor of the IEEE Open Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Career

  1. Since 1998University of PaviaAssociate professor, Full Professor of Automatic Control
  2. 2024–2026International Federation of Automatic ControlVice-Chair for Industry
  3. 1992–1998University of GenoaAssistant professor

Education

  1. 1992University of GenoaPhD in computer science and electronics
  2. 1987University of GenoaDegree in electronic engineering

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Chattering avoidance by second-order sliding mode control1998 · IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control · 1,149 citations
  2. On multi-input chattering-free second-order sliding mode control2000 · IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control · 369 citations
  3. On second order sliding mode controllers2007 · Springer eBooks · 341 citations
  4. Adaptive sliding mode control in discrete-time systems1995 · Automatica · 315 citations
  5. Integral Sliding Mode Control for Nonlinear Systems With Matched and Unmatched Perturbations2011 · IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control · 302 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers rose from 3% to 32%Includes University of Pavia. We estimate where leading AI researchers worked when their most-cited papers appeared. The company share rose from 3% in 1975–1979 to 32% in 2020–2024.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Genoa. Our estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.
  3. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  4. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Antonella Ferrara iteamproject.wordpress.com. Checked 18 October 2026.
  2. Antonella Ferrara: Multi-Scale Traffic Control for Sustainable Mobility and Beyond | SMC math-stockholm.se. Checked 18 October 2026.
  3. Details zu: Freeway Traffic Modelling and Control / › Koha - Katalog katalog.bibliothek.kit.edu. Checked 18 October 2026.
  4. Antonella Ferrara - 2020 recipient of IEEE Fellow | IEEE Control Systems Society ieeecss.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  5. Antonella Ferrara - The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies brias.be. Checked 18 October 2026.
  6. IFAC Fellows up to 2026 - The International Federation of Automatic Control ifac-control.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  7. Shared Control of Robot Manipulators With Obstacle Avoidance: A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach research.nu.edu.kz. Checked 18 October 2026.