M. Clelia Righi is Full Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Bologna University. Her research focuses on developing and applying computational methods to understand and predict the behaviour of materials from first principles, particularly surface and interface phenomena.She adopted pioneering computational approaches in tribology and applied them to understanding chemical reactions activated by mechanical stresses and designing materials to reduce friction. In 2019, she received an ERC consolidator grant for the project “Advancing solid interfaces and lubricants by first principles material design” (SLIDE).M. Clelia Righi is a visiting professor at the Imperial College London, UK. She collaborates with different multinational companies and international experimental labs. She is part of the editorial boards of Coatings, Lubricants, Lubrication Science, and Scientific Reports.