Marcello  Romano is a Professor of Astronautical Engineering at the Naval  Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. Since April 2022,  he holds a ‘direct call’ Professorship in Space Systems Engineering at  Politecnico di Torino, Italy. He earned his Ph.D. in Astronautical  Engineering (2001) and Laurea degree in Aerospace Engineering (1997)  from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Between 2001 and  2003 he was a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow, before  joining the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School in 2004. Marcello  has held visiting positions at the Technical University of Munich  (2012), Stanford University (2018) and NASA Ames Research  Center (2018).

His  areas of research include astrodynamics, orbital robotics, guidance,  control, and space systems engineering. He has published  more than fifty journal publications, owns eight awarded patents, and  has authored an upcoming textbook on Orbital Space Robotics.

In  2019, Marcello was elected an Academician in the International Academy  of Astronautics. He is the recipient of the 2020 Patti  Grace Smith Award of the American Astronautical Society, and the 2021  and 2006 Carl and Jesse Menneken Awards. He is an Associate Fellow in  the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).