Dario Izzo received the doctoral degree in aeronautical engineering from the University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy, in 1999, the second master’s degree in satellite platforms from the University of Cranfield, Bedford, U.K., in 2002, and the Ph.D. degree in mathematical modeling from the University Sapienza of Rome, in 2003.

He lectured classical mechanics and space flight mechanics with the University Sapienza of Rome. He then joined the European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, where he is currently leading the Advanced Concepts Team. He devised and managed the Global Trajectory Optimization Competitions events as well as the Kelvins innovation and competition platform.

He authored more than 200 papers in international journals and conferences making key contributions to the understanding of flight mechanics and spacecraft control and pioneering the use of artificial intelligence on-board.

He received the Humies Gold Medal in 2013 for the design of a human competitive AI system able to automatically design tours of the Jupiter's moon and led the team winning the eighth edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition in 2016.