Pushing the Boundaries of Autonomous Systems, Antonio Loquercio Receives Mario Gerla Award

On November 6, the Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America Foundation (ISSNAF) held its Annual Event at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., welcoming H.E. Ambassador Marco Peronaci, along with representatives from major Italian institutions. The gathering highlighted the finalists for the Foundation’s five 2025 Young Investigator Awards and culminated in the announcement of this year’s distinguished award recipients.

Antonio Loquercio, Assistant Professor in Electrical Systems and Engineering and in Computer and Information Science, was awarded the 2025 ISSNAF Young Investigator Mario Gerla Award for his research in “enhancing the performance of complex robotic systems by focusing on the pivotal role of perception in building effective world models for decision-making.” The award, established in memory of the late Dr. Mario Gerla, a pioneer of computer networking and founding member of ISSNAF, acknowledges early-career researchers who are making transformative advances in computer science.

“I’ve always felt that the fusion of Italian and American culture — something this award celebrates — is at the heart of my work,” says Loquercio. “The dedication to excellence and creativity that is alive in Italian culture shapes the problems I choose to pursue, and the hard work and resilience at the forefront of American culture helps me refine ideas and turn abstract concepts into concrete solutions.”

In his work, “Re-thinking the Role of Perception for Decision Making,” Loquercio investigates how even relatively simple perceptual and dynamical models can enable highly agile robotic systems, such as demonstrating agile drone flight, and explores how robots can refine their world models from their own sensor data to make better decisions.

The award honors Loquercio’s research at Penn Engineering, which pushes the boundaries of physical intelligence and the ability of robots to truly understand and react to the world around them. With a goal of establishing robotic agile autonomy, he builds robots that rely solely on their onboard sensors and processors to move with remarkable speed, precision and adaptability. Whether navigating demanding environments or performing high-stakes maneuvers, these systems perceive and act in a tightly integrated way. By uniting advances in computer vision and artificial intelligence, Loquercio is creating robots that don’t just follow instructions, but learn, respond and thrive in dynamic, real-world conditions.

“I deeply believe in the potential of my research to lead to meaningful real-world impact, even as that path is still unfolding,” he says. “This award motivates me to keep pushing my work forward and to navigate challenges with determination.”

Loquercio’ earned his Ph.D. and master’s degrees at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and the University of Zurich. His past honors include the ETH Medal, the Georges Giralt Ph.D. Award and best-paper recognitions at top conferences like the Conference of Robotic Learning and Robotics: Science and Systems.

Learn more about Loquercio’s research on his website.