Special Talk

An IFToMMist is an MMS scientist working within IFToMM frames with the IFToMM spirit. IFToMM, International Federation for the Promotion of the Science of Machines and Mechanisms founded in 1969 is the international framework for scientific and technical activities for the development of machines and mechanisms with activities in collaboration and promotion of communities and individuals. The Federation constituted by the association of national and territorial entities is in any case composed and active thanks to the contributions of the IFToMMist individuals who actively participate in the IFToMM activities in terms of collaborations, meetings, conferences, editorial activities and promotional activities in all MMS areas not only through the specific currently active technical committees. The value and significance of IFToMM can be well understood by considering the figures of IFToMMist during its evolution in its five generations with different backgrounds, attitudes and expectations. The special talk is centered on the presentation of emblematic examples of IFToMMist of the various generations referring mainly to distinguished figures but also outlining the figure of an IFToMMist, not necessarily in leadership positions, who is passionate and dedicated to research, teaching and technological transfer of MMS results with the IFToMM spirit with international collaborations thanks to IFToMM, for the development of technology and finally for the welfare of society in peace and without barriers.

Keywords: IFToMM, History of IFToMM, IFToMMists, Distinguished Figures, History of MMS,

Main references for further reading:

• Ceccarelli M., A short account of History of IFToMM and its role in MMS, Mechanism and Machine Theory, Vol. 89, 2015, pp.75-91,10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2014.09.007
• Ceccarelli M., IFToMM: yesterday, today, and tomorrow, T. Uhl (ed.), Advances in Mechanism and Machine Science, Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. pp. ix-xxi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978- 3030-20131-9_96.
• Ceccarelli, M., Experiences in Leadership IFToMM: Achievements and Challenges, Adavances in Mechanism Design III – Proceedigns of TMM 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2022, pp. 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83594-1_1
• Ceccarelli M. and Gasparetto A. (Editors), Distinguished Figures in Mechanism and Machine Science – Part 5: Legacy and Contribution of the IFToMM Community, Springer, Cham, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18288-4

Biography

Marco Ceccarelli, born in Rome in 1958, is Professor of Mechanics of Machines at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, where he chairs LARM2: Laboratory of Robot Mechatronics. His research interests cover subjects of robotics, mechanism design, medical devices, experimental mechanics, and history of mechanical engineering with several published papers in the fields of Robotics and Mechanical Engineering. He has been visiting professor in several universities in the world. He is ASME fellow. Professor Ceccarelli serves in several Journal editorial boards and conference scientific committees. He is editor-in-chief of the MDPI journal Robotics and of the SAGE International Journal on Advanced Robotic Systems for the area on Service Robotics He is editor of the Springer book series on Mechanism and Machine Science (MMS) and History of MMS. He has been the President of IFToMM, the International Federation for the Promotion of MMS in 2008-11 and 2016-19. More info at: https://larm2.ing.uniroma2.it/marco-ceccarelli/