He is a Full Professor at the Politecnico di Milano and an expert in Systems and Control. He graduated with honors in Electronic Engineering and earned a PhD in Computer Science and Automation from the Politecnico di Milano in 1991 and 1995, respectively. After a research period at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, USA, he joined the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB) at the Politecnico di Milano in 1996. He teaches courses in Automatic Control and Robotics.
He served as Coordinator of the Degree Program in Automation Engineering from 2013 to 2018 and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Politecnico di Milano for the 2022–2024 term. Since 2023, he has been leading the research area in Systems and Control within the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering.
He has held leadership roles in SIDRA and ANIPLA, national associations in Automatic Control and Automation. He contributes to industrial development as a scientific coordinator for projects at MADE, the Industry 4.0 Competence Center in Milan. He also serves on the boards of euRobotics and I-RIM, promoting robotics in Europe and Italy, respectively, and is a consultant for the CLC-South of EIT Manufacturing.
A prominent researcher, Rocco’s work in industrial robotics—particularly collaborative robotics—is widely recognized. He is the author of nearly 200 publications and supervises the MERLIN Mechatronics and Industrial Robotics Laboratory, fostering technology transfer through research contracts and publicly funded projects. This commitment has led to patent applications and the creation of the startup Smart Robots.
