Dr. Giacomo Sasso

Postdoctoral Research Associate

School of Engineering and Materials Science
Queen Mary University of London

g.sasso@qmul.ac.uk

Member of Dr Majid Taghavi's Research Group

Centre for Intelligent Transport

Research

soft robotics, tactile sensing, tuneable optics, polymer science

Interests

Giacomo has a background in BioRobotics, Polymer Science and Imaging. He has worked in the Soft Matter Group (led by Prof. James Busfield) at Queen Mary University of London, and the SMART Group (led by Prof. Federico Carpi) at University of Florence. Giacomo's research focuses on the development of Intelligent Materials for Physical AI, Soft Robotics, Tunable Optics and Tactile Sensing.

News

June 2026

Sarah Brown to give plenary address at international preterm birth conference

2 June 2026

UK Preterm Birth Conference 2027 hosted at Queen Mary University of London from 18 and 19 January 2027. Sarah Brown, global health campaigner and Chair of the international children's charity Theirworld, will give a plenary address with Professor James Boardman, Scientific Director of the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory, at the UK Preterm Birth Conference 2027, ... [more]

Sarah Brown to give plenary address at international preterm birth conference

Pasquale Malacaria and Yunxiao Zhang: Strategic Decision-Making in Uncertain Turn-Based Security Games

1 June 2026

Pasquale Malacaria and Yunxiao Zhang have a paper published in a top security journal, IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security (TIFS), on Strategic Decision-Making in Uncertain Turn-Based Security Games. The paper studies the problem of cybersecurity decision making. It extends previous Leader-Follower game-theoretical models where the leader is the ... [more]

Epigenetic changes can be inherited without changing DNA in animals

1 June 2026

Beyond DNA: Scientists discover how traits can be passed on without genetic changes. In a new study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, a sea anemone has revealed that epigenetic changes can be inherited across generations, offering rare experimental evidence that information beyond DNA sequence can persist in ... [more]

Epigenetic changes can be inherited without changing DNA in animals

May 2026

New AI system could help scientists keep up with the explosion of research papers

28 May 2026

Queen Mary University researchers have developed a new AI-powered framework, MetaBeeAI, designed to help scientists review and analyse vast amounts of literature faster, more transparently, and with greater human oversight. Dr. Rachel Parkinson, who is the leading researcher on this project, states that MetaBeeAI could potentially transform how evidence is ... [more]

New AI system could help scientists keep up with the explosion of research papers

New European Study Reveals Methane Emissions from Biogas Plants Are Higher Than Previously Estimated – But Most Could Be Easily Reduced

27 May 2026

A major new study led by Queen Mary University of London has revealed that methane emissions from biogas plants across Europe are higher than some estimates suggest—yet, once identified, the majority of these emissions could be eliminated at no net cost. A biogas plant is a facility that turns ... [more]

New European Study Reveals Methane Emissions from Biogas Plants Are Higher Than Previously Estimated – But Most Could Be Easily Reduced

Tropical butterflies "hedge their bets" with mating tactics to adapt to extreme seasons

26 May 2026

Butterfly reproduction findings provide key insights into how climate crisis might affect tropical ecosystems. New research from Queen Mary University of London shows how extreme seasonal patterns are causing rainforest butterflies to adapt their reproductive strategies at a rapid pace, with implications for species resilience under accelerating climate disruption. The ... [more]

New visiting researcher at our center

22 May 2026

We welcome Cryssa Papadaki, a new visiting Researcher at our centre, supervised by Dr Eleni Matechou, on statistical ecology approaches for analyzing eDNA-derived biodiversity datasets from freshwater ecosystems of the Aegean islands. This work focuses on Joint Species Distribution Models (JSDMs), community ecology, biodiversity–environment relationships, and the application of ... [more]

Queen Mary strengthens UK-Brazil research partnerships

21 May 2026

An academic delegation from Queen Mary University of London visited Brazil to explore opportunities for collaboration with universities, research institutes and innovation organisations in areas including AI, health, sustainability and inclusive innovation. The visit was supported by the UK's International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF), bringing together colleagues from Queen Mary's ... [more]

Queen Mary strengthens UK-Brazil research partnerships

Scientists generate electricity from ambient moisture using everyday ingredients

21 May 2026

An international research team led by scientists at Queen Mary University of London has developed an innovative method to power wearable electronics using ambient moisture and simple, non-toxic materials commonly found in the kitchen. In a study published in Nano Energy, researchers from Queen Mary, the University of Warwick, Imperial ... [more]

Scientists generate electricity from ambient moisture using everyday ingredients

Innovation paves way to make 'clean' chemicals, plastics and food using solar energy

19 May 2026

Integrated solar reactor uses sunlight, water, CO2 and engineered bacteria to grow biomass in a single beaker. A new study led by Dr Lin Su of Queen Mary University of London, published today in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, describes a new integrated solar reactor in which engineered ... [more]

Innovation paves way to make 'clean' chemicals, plastics and food using solar energy

New insights into the control of cell-to-cell variation within bacterial communities

17 May 2026

By analysing gene expression at the single-cell level, researchers at the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of West London and Tampere University, have uncovered how premature termination of transcription shapes differences between individual members of bacterial communities. Because gene expression is stochastic and ... [more]

Przemek Wałęga paper on graph neural networks awarded "spotlight paper" distinction

14 May 2026

Przemek Wałęga is part of a team that has had a paper accepted at the Forty-Third International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) in Seoul, South KoreaJuly 6th - 11th, 2026. It is one of the three main machine learning conferences. Their paper shows that graph neural networks have "winning tickets": ... [more]

12 May: International Women in Mathematics Day

11 May 2026

International Women in Mathematics Day is celebrated on 12 May, marking the birthday of Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to receive the Fields Medal in 2014. Born in Iran, Mirzakhani made groundbreaking contributions to mathematics before her life was cut short at a young age. Her legacy continues to inspire women and ... [more]

12 May: International Women in Mathematics Day

Three centre members in top 100 UK researchers rankings

11 May 2026

Three researchers of the Centre for Complex Systems (CCS) have been ranked among the Top 100 UK Scientists in their respective disciplines by Research.com in its 2026 evaluation. The assessment is based on bibliometric data and impact measures. Christian Beck, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Head of the CCS, was ranked 64... [more]

Three centre members in top 100 UK researchers rankings

Przemek Wałęga has 2 papers accepted at the top conference on Knowledge Representation

8 May 2026

Przemyslaw Wałęga has had two full papers (and 2 further extended abstract papers) accepted for the 23rd International Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, July 20-23, 2026 - Lisbon, Portugal. KR is the main conference paper on knowledge representation and reasoning, which takes place as part of FLoC. The ... [more]

Thawing Arctic soil awakens only half of soil microbes, new study reveals

7 May 2026

As Arctic temperatures rise, frozen soils are thawing for longer periods—but new research shows this doesn't fully activate the life hidden underground. Instead, only about half of soil microbes "wake up," meaning greenhouse gas release depends on which microbes respond, and how quickly, rather than warming alone. A partially ... [more]

Thawing Arctic soil awakens only half of soil microbes, new study reveals

Queen Mary students shine at STEM for Britain in Parliament

6 May 2026

Two students from the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London delivered impressive research presentations at this year's STEM for Britain competition, held at the House of Commons on Tuesday 17 March 2026. Sarah Hussain and Rory Bennett were selected as finalists in this highly competitive national ... [more]

Queen Mary students shine at STEM for Britain in Parliament

Tiny insect brain discovery offers a blueprint for faster and more efficient AI and robots

5 May 2026

The secret behind insects' lightning fast reactions could offer a blueprint for more energy efficient robots and self-driving cars, according to a new study challenging our understanding of how brains process information. The secret behind insects' lightning fast reactions could offer a blueprint for more energy efficient robots and self-driving ... [more]

Tiny insect brain discovery offers a blueprint for faster and more efficient AI and robots

Marcus Pearce delivers keynote address at two conferences

4 May 2026

Marcus Pearce has delivered two keynote addresses at the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (SEMPRE) 2026 conference at the University of Cambridge and at the International Conference on Music and Sleep at Aarhus University, Denmark. These presentations follow the publication of his book Learning to listen, listening to learn ... [more]

Marcus Pearce delivers keynote address at two conferences

Prestigious ecology prize awarded to former Queen Mary postdoc

1 May 2026

Benjamin Schäfer, who was a postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Complex Systems between 2019 and 2021 working with Professor Christian Beck, will receive the prestigious 2026 Ecology Prize of the Viktor & Sigrid Dulger Foundation, awarded by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The prize recognises outstanding achievements by young researchers ... [more]