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Elena García Armada

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Elena García Armada
Elena García Armada in 2018
Born1971 (1971)
Valladolid, Spain
EducationTechnical University of Madrid
Occupation(s)Engineer, roboticist
Websitehttps://car.upm-csic.es/author/?id=7402249975

Elena Garcia Armada (b. 1971 Valladolid, Spain) is a Spanish researcher, roboticist, business founder and industrial engineer who leads the CSIC group at the Center for Automation and Robotics, (CAR) CSIC-UPM[1] that has developed the first bionic exoskeleton for children with spinal muscular atrophy, for which she received the European Inventor Award Popular Prize in 2022.[2]

Early life and education

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Elena Garcia Armada was born in Valladolid, Spain in 1971. She received a doctorate in robotic engineering in 2002 from the Polytechnic University of Madrid by her work “Optimizing the speed and stability of legged robots in natural environments”.[3] She began a career in industry-orientated robotics at the Center for Automation and Robotics, (CAR) CSIC-UPM,[1] as a postdoctoral research fellow.[4] She completed her training at the Leg Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[5]

Daniela

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In 2009, Garcia met Daniela, a six-year-old girl who had become tetraplegic as a result of a traffic accident.[6] Garcia became determined to engineer paediatric robotic exoskeletons, which were not available in medicine at the time.[4] The goal of these exoskeletons was to provide gait assistance to contribute to the rehabilitation of injured children or children suffering from degenerative neuromuscular diseases.[6]

Career

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Garcia continues to work for CAR as a Tenured senior scientist within the Centre for Automation and Robotics (CSIC-UPM). She leads her own research group creating artificial legs and quadrupeds developing versatile artificial muscles.[5] The aim of the groups research is to improve the performance of legged robots, including, active compliance in foot-ground interaction, developing new actuators, improving dynamic stability, and designing and controlling agile quadrupeds and lower-limb exoskeletons for mobility aid.[5]

Garcia cofounded Marsi Bionics in 2013 as a spin-off of CAR. It builds adjustable paediatric exoskeletons that incorporate small motors to mimic muscle movements and provide the person with the strength to walk.[6]

During her Career, Garcia has published 80 international scientific articles and one book on legged locomotion. Additionally, Garcia is a member of the editorial board of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.[5]

Awards and honors

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In 2020, Robohub (an online communication platform about robotics) considered Garcia as one of the "30 women in robotics you need to know about".[7]
In 2021, she received the Community of Madrid "Fermina Orduña" Technological Innovation Award,[8] and a Honorable Mention as Industrial Engineer of the Year from Colegio de Ingenieros Industriales de Madrid (COIIM).[9]
In 2022, she received the Red Cross Gold Medal, [10] a Special Mention in the I UICM Professional Woman Awards[11] and the Business Insiders "Better Capitalism Top Insiders 2022" Award.[12] In June 2022 she received the European Inventor Award Popular Prize,[2] awarded by the European Patent Office (EPO), for her paediatric exoskeleton design. [13]
In February 2023, Garcia was named Doctor honoris causa by Miguel de Cervantes European University, in Valladolid.[14]
In March 2023, she received a "Premio Nacional de Discapacidad Reina Letizia" Research and Innovation Award from Government of Spain Ministry of Social Affairs (Spain)[15] and the Community of Madrid acknowledged Garcia with a Technology Award in "Reconocimientos 8 de Marzo a mujeres destacadas por su talento y liderazgo".[16]
In July 2022, the Spanish Federation of Executive, Professional and Managerial Women (FEDEPE) acknowledged Garcia with the Leadership Professional Woman Award.[17]

Research and publications

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Books

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  • García Armada, Elena (2022). Los Robots y sus capacidades (in Spanish). Los Libros de la Catarata: Madrid : Editorial CSIC Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. p. 140. ISBN 978-84-1352-394-1.
  • García Armada, Elena (2015). Robots (in Spanish). Los Libros de la Catarata: Madrid : Editorial CSIC Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. p. 94. ISBN 978-84-00-09914-5.
  • Gonzalez de Santos, Pablo; Garcia, Elena; Estremera, Joaquin (2006). Quadrupedal Locomotion. Springer-Verlag London Limited. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-84628-307-9.

Research articles

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References

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  1. ^ a b "CAR (CSIC-UPM)". Centre for Automation and Robotics. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "All the winners: European Inventor Award 2022". Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Optimización de la estabilidad y la velocidad de robots caminantes". Tesis doctorales: TESEO (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Biography of Elena García, Spanish computer Scientist". Salient Women. Salientwomen.com. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Elena García Armada". Biography at CAR (CSIC-UPM). Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Elena Garcia Armada". Entre Cientificas. Fundación Séneca-Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Región de Murcia. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  7. ^ "30 women in robotics you need to know about – 2020". Robohub. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Elena García Armada (CAR, CSIC-UPM), "Fermina Orduña" 2021 Technological Innovation Award of the Community of Madrid". RoboCity2030.org. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Llegan las Menciones Honoríficas 2021, ¿quieres conocer a los premiados?" (in Spanish). Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Industriales de Madrid. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  10. ^ "S.M. la Reina entrega las Medallas de Oro de Cruz Roja" (in Spanish). Cruz Roja. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Unión Interprofesional otorga el I Premio Mujer Profesional a la primera Ingeniero de Minas de España, María Dolores Norte" (in Spanish). UICM. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Top Insiders 2022: El mundo cambia. Elige a los líderes que lo están transformando". Business Insider España (in Spanish). 20 September 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Meet the finalists. Elena Garcia Armada". EPO. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  14. ^ "La experta internacional en robótica Elena García Armada, Doctora Honoris Causa por la UEMC". Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes (in Spanish). 10 February 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Luis Cayo y la investigadora Elena García Armada, entre los galardonados con los Premios Nacionales de Discapacidad". Europa Press (in Spanish). 24 March 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  16. ^ "La Comunidad de Madrid entrega los Reconocimientos 8 de Marzo a mujeres destacadas por su talento y liderazgo". Comunidad de Madrid (in Spanish). 13 March 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Reconocimiento a las mujeres en la vanguardia española de la robótica, la inteligencia artificial, la investigación biomédica y la gestión cultural" (in Spanish). FEDEPE. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
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