Mauro Pontani currently occupies the position of Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Department of Astronautical, Electrical, and Energy Engineering, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and a member of the Astrodynamics Committee of the International Astronautical Federation. He has been Visiting Scholar and Visiting Researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, and at Rice University, Houston, TX. He is a member of the Academic Board of the Ph.D. Course "Energy and Environment" at Sapienza. His research interests are in the field of astrodynamics and aerospace trajectory optimization, and specifically include aerospace mission analysis and design, analytical and numerical methods for trajectory optimization, guidance and control of aerospace vehicles, dynamic game theory applied to aerospace trajectories, satellite constellations, launch, ascent and descent vehicles, and satellite release systems. He is author of more than 120 scientific publications and currently serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Acta Astronautica, Aerotecnica Missili e Spazio, and the International Journal of Aerospace Engineering. He has taken part to more than 20 research projects, as researcher or principal investigator.