Find Academic Supervisors

Abhijit Banerjee is the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT and Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). A 2019 Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences, his research focuses on development economics, political economy, and poverty alleviation. He co-authored influential books like Poor Economics and Good Economics for Hard Times , emphasizing evidence-based policies and randomized controlled trials. Banerjee’s work addresses global challenges such as education, health, and social welfare, with notable contributions to microfinance, public health interventions, and anti-poverty programs. He holds leadership roles in global initiatives like the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel and has advised governments worldwide. His research spans topics from police resource allocation in India to the impact of information during crises like demonetization and the pandemic. Education: Bachelor’s in Statistics, Presidency College, Kolkata M.A. in Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University PhD in Economics, Harvard University Key Contributions: Co-founder of J-PAL, promoting evidence-based poverty reduction strategies. Pioneer in using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for policy evaluation. Research on microfinance, education reforms, and health interventions in developing countries. Awards: Nobel Prize in Economics (2019), Infosys Prize in Social Sciences (2009), Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). Grants/Advisory Roles: Collaborations with institutions like the World Bank, UN, and governments on poverty, health, and education policies. Labs/Teams: J-PAL global network, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

• Development Economics
• Macroeconomics
• Political Economy
• +3 more

Oswald Lanz is a tenured full professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano , leading the Visual Computing Lab . He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and a Mathematics degree from the University of Trento. Prior to his current role, he was a researcher and head of research at FBK Trento. He is an endowed professor collaborating with Covision Lab , an AI hub in Bressanone, and coordinates the board of professors for the PhD in Computer Science program since 2025. His research focuses on Computer Vision, Deep Learning, and Video Analytics , with applications in sports technology, medical imaging, and industrial automation. Key achievements include the Amazon AWS Machine Learning Research Award (2020) , ACM Multimedia Best Paper (2015) , and Best Student Paper at ICIAP (2007) . He co-organized the ELLIS-VISMAC Winter School (2025) and chaired ICIAP 2019 . His work spans novel view synthesis, action recognition, and anomaly detection, supported by patents in video tracking and detection. He teaches courses like Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence in undergraduate and graduate programs. Recent projects such as 5VREAL integrate 5G, edge computing, and AI for sports analysis. His collaborations bridge academia and industry, exemplified by his role in Covision Lab and multidisciplinary initiatives like DSS4LCO for food supply chains. Lanz’s publications emphasize spatiotemporal modeling, neural architecture search, and hybrid machine vision systems.

• Computer Vision
• Deep Learning
• Machine Learning
• +6 more

Gaetano Valenza is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Pisa, Italy, where he leads the Neuro-Cardiovascular Intelligence Lab at the Enrico Piaggio Research Centre. He holds affiliations with the Neuroscience Statistics Research Laboratory at MIT and has served as a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. His academic work spans bioengineering, computational physiology, and affective computing. His research focuses on statistical and nonlinear biomedical signal and image processing , cardiovascular and neural modeling , and physiologically interpretable artificial intelligence . He develops wearable systems for physiological monitoring, with applications in autonomic nervous system assessment, brain-heart interactions, and mental health. His work has led to novel metrics such as the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic activity indices derived from ECG. The 15 most recent publications reflect a consistent trend in brain-heart interplay , complexity analysis of physiological signals , explainable AI in healthcare , and virtual reality applications in mental health . His work integrates advanced signal processing, nonlinear dynamics, and machine learning to decode emotional and cognitive states from physiological data. Dr. Valenza is a Senior Member of IEEE and serves on several technical committees. He is an active editorial leader, currently serving as Associate Editor for IEEE-EMBC , Plos One , Complexity , and Scientific Reports , and has guest-edited special issues in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A and IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics . He has led or participated in numerous international research projects, including FP7 and H2020 initiatives such as NEVERMIND and EXPERIENCE. He teaches courses in Biostatistics, Probability & Biostatistics, and Advanced Image Processing at the University of Pisa. As lab head and project coordinator, he leads a multidisciplinary team working on neuro-cardiovascular intelligence, wearable systems, and AI-driven mental health interventions.

• Biomedical Signal and Image Processing
• Cardiovascular and Neural Modeling
• Physiologically-interpretable Artificial Intelligence systems
• +5 more

Suzanne Stevenson is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, affiliated with the Cognitive Science Research Community (CoRC). She holds a BS in Computer Science and Linguistics from William & Mary and MS/PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland. Before joining UofT in 2000, she was faculty at Rutgers University with joint appointments in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. Her research focuses on computational cognitive models of language acquisition and processing, integrating insights from linguistics, psycholinguistics, and machine learning. Key areas include semantic/syntactic learning from text, probabilistic computational models of word learning, and cross-situational learning. Notable awards include the NSERC University Faculty Award (2000) and NSF CAREER Award (1997). Her work bridges computational linguistics and cognitive science, emphasizing multidisciplinary approaches. Recent publications (2014–2018) explore topics like probabilistic perspective models in language production, bilingual word associations, and semantic search algorithms. She advises on computational linguistics and cognitive modeling, with grants supporting investigations into language acquisition dynamics and semantic networks. Active in teaching, she previously offered courses on computational linguistics and the computational lexicon. Her lab’s research themes include child language acquisition, ambiguity resolution, and computational modeling of linguistic phenomena.

• Computational Linguistics
• Cognitive Science
• Semantic Analysis
• +3 more

Luca Iocchi is a Full Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, where he teaches in the Master in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics program. He is affiliated with the Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering and the Faculty of Engineering of Information, Computer Science and Statistics. Iocchi serves as an Associate Editor for Artificial Intelligence Journal and has been the scientific coordinator of Spoke of PNRR project FAIR (Future AI Research). His educational background includes: Master in Engineering in Computer Science (Laurea in Ingegneria Informatica) cum Laude, Sapienza Università di Roma, 1995 PhD in Engineering in Computer Science (Dottorato in Ingegneria Informatica), Sapienza Università di Roma, 1999 Professor Iocchi's research focuses on cognitive robotics, task planning, multi-robot coordination, robot perception, robot learning, human-robot interaction, and social robotics. His work has significant applications in security, surveillance, and environmental monitoring. He has published over 200 referred papers with an h-index of 46 (Google Scholar). His research bridges theoretical AI with practical robotic systems operating in real-world environments, with a particular emphasis on developing intelligent systems that can interact effectively with humans. His recent publications show a strong trend toward multi-agent reinforcement learning, trust modeling in human-AI teams, UAV coordination, and planning systems. There's a clear focus on making robotic systems more reliable, efficient, and capable of operating in complex real-world scenarios like healthcare facilities and smart cities. His work increasingly integrates formal planning approaches with machine learning techniques. Professor Iocchi has received numerous scientific awards: 1999 Top Paper Award WebNet'99 2006 Best Paper Award RoboCup 2006 2008 Best Robotics Demo Award AAMAS 2008 2014 Best Paper Award For Engineering Contribution RoboCup 2014 2017 RoboCup@Home SSPL 2017 - 3rd place 2018 Canada-Italy Innovation Award 2019 Best Paper Award For Engineering Contribution RoboCup 2019 As an academic advisor, Iocchi has directed the PhD Program in Engineering in Computer Science from 2020 to 2023. He has been Principal Investigator for numerous research projects including SciRoc (European Robotics League), AI4EU (European AI project), BUBBLES, AIPlan4EU, ROSITA, Trust Your Agents, and FAIR. His research has been supported by EU H2020 programs, national grants, and industry collaborations, demonstrating strong connections between academia and practical applications. Professor Iocchi is actively involved with the Cognitive Cooperating Robots Lab (LabRoCoCo) and is a key member of the RoboCup Federation, having served as Vice-President from 2019 to 2024. He has played a significant role in benchmarking domestic service robots through RoboCup@Home and the European Robotics League Service Robots (ERL-SR), which he helped establish. His leadership in organizing international scientific robot competitions has been instrumental in advancing the field of service robotics.

• Cognitive Robotics
• Task Planning
• Multi-Robot Coordination
• +6 more

Lucia Savadori is an Associate Professor in Psychology at the Department of Economics and Management, Università degli Studi di Trento. Her research focuses on risk perception, decision-making processes, behavioral economics, and effective communication strategies for risk-related information. She holds a BA and PhD in Psychology from the University of Padua, with postdoctoral research at Padova and visiting scholarships at institutions like the University of Illinois and Decision Research (USA). Education : B.A. in Psychology (1993), University of Padua PhD in Social and Personality Psychology (1999), University of Padua Research Interests : Risk communication in healthcare, technology, and environmental contexts Behavioral economics and decision-making under uncertainty Cognitive processes in judgment and choice Her work has been supported by grants including the Horizon 2020-funded BuildERS project (2019–2022) and the Italian Ministry of Health’s prenatal diagnostics initiative (2010–2012). She has led over a dozen research projects on topics like workplace safety, disaster preparedness, and consumer trust in food systems. Professional Activities : Head of Training and Communication at the Centro di Scienze della Sicurezza e della Criminalità (2021–present) Scientific Committee member for European research networks (e.g., SAFE, SMARTHEALTH) Editorial reviewer for journals like Risk Analysis and Medical Decision Making Her teaching spans courses on general psychology, behavioral economics, decision-making tools, and organizational psychology.

• Behavioral Economics
• Risk Perception
• Decision Making Processes
• +4 more

Aldo Gangemi is a Full Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bologna, specializing in Informatics (INFO-01/A). His research integrates Semantic Technologies, Natural Language Processing, Data Science, and Cognitive Science to address challenges in knowledge representation, ontology engineering, and cultural heritage informatics. He co-founded the STLab at ISTC-CNR and DHARC at the University of Bologna, and is on leave from Sorbonne Paris Nord University (Computer Science Lab - LIPN). Scientific roles include serving as area chair for Web Semantics , editorial board member for Semantic Web and Applied Ontology , and conference chairs for major events like WWW2015 and ESWC2018. He has led European projects such as GALEN, WonderWeb, NeOn, and MARIO, and developed software tools like FRED, Aemoo, and Framester. Research interests focus on semantic technologies, knowledge patterns, and applications in humanities, medicine, law, and fisheries. Over 250 peer-reviewed publications span these areas, with emphasis on ontology-based knowledge integration, multimodal reasoning, and ethical AI. His work bridges cognitive science and technological innovation, particularly in virtual reality's societal applications and cultural heritage preservation. Notable contributions include the PRIVAFRAME knowledge graph for sensitive data, the ImageSchemaNet ontology for embodied cognition, and the Sandra neuro-symbolic reasoner. His interdisciplinary approach addresses challenges in AI ethics, creative systems, and citizen-driven data curation.

• Semantic Technologies
• Knowledge Representation
• Natural Language Processing
• +6 more

Seth Frey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Davis, with affiliate status at Indiana University's Ostrom Workshop and as Research Director at Metagov. His research focuses on computational social science approaches to understanding self-governance in complex social systems, particularly through the lens of online communities as model institutions. Education: Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and Informatics (complex systems), Indiana University, 2013 B.A. in Cognitive Science, UC Berkeley, 2004 Research Interests: Frey specializes in computational approaches to institutional analysis and the cognitive science of strategic behavior . His work examines how communities design governance systems to overcome collective action problems, with emphasis on: Emergent institutional structures in digital commons Policy-as-data through NLP and institutional grammar frameworks Cognitive mechanisms underlying cooperative behavior Design principles for participatory change in online platforms His methodology integrates large-scale data analysis, web-based experiments, and computational modeling across diverse contexts including Minecraft, Reddit, and professional sports ecosystems. Publication Trends: Recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate a cohesive trajectory toward computational institutional analysis, with increasing focus on NLP-driven policy analysis (e.g., NLP4Gov), decentralized governance architectures (DAOs, multi-level platform governance), and the cognitive foundations of collective action. His work consistently bridges theoretical institutional analysis with practical applications in digital community design, showing particular growth in translating Ostrom's design principles into computational frameworks. Awards: Honorable Mention Award for Best Paper at ACM CSCW 2019 Advising and Grants: Frey mentors students interested in data science applications at the intersection of communication, cognition, and complex systems, emphasizing resourcefulness and intellectual curiosity. His research has secured substantial funding from: National Science Foundation (NSF) NASA Ford Foundation Google Open Source Foundation He actively encourages aspiring graduate students with strong self-directed research skills to explore computational approaches to social phenomena. Labs and Teams: He leads the Computational Communication Lab at UC Davis and co-directs the Institutional Grammar Research Initiative. Through Metagov, he develops the 'Governance API' framework for modular community governance. His past affiliations include Disney Research (Walt Disney Imagineering) where he applied complexity science to theme park systems, and the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI). Current collaborations span Ethereum governance, Minecraft server ecosystems, and Colorado's cannabis monitoring infrastructure.

• Computational Social Science
• Governance of Commons
• Complex Systems
• +5 more

Sara Zaniboni is an Associate Professor in Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Bologna's Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari'. Her research focuses on workplace diversity, age-related issues, and organizational inclusion. She holds a PhD and has led international research initiatives, including the 'Age in the Workplace Meeting' conference. Her work bridges psychological theory with practical applications, addressing challenges like age discrimination, mental health, and work design. She has contributed to EU and national grants (e.g., PRIN, PNRR), and serves on editorial boards such as Work, Aging and Retirement . Awards include the 2015 outstanding paper award and 2018 outstanding author contribution award. She has held visiting roles at institutions like ETH Zurich and the University of Essex, emphasizing global collaboration. Her research explores how organizational policies can enhance diversity outcomes, reduce stereotypes, and support older workers. Key areas include uncertainty mindset development, workaholism effects, and workplace accommodations for people with mental health challenges. She advocates for policies promoting sustainable careers and inclusive work environments. Key Projects: LeverAge (EU network), Age in the Workplace Meeting Grants: PRIN, PNRR, EU grants International Collaboration: Visiting positions at 6+ universities, including ETH Zurich Editorial Roles: Work, Aging and Retirement , among others

• Work and Organizational Psychology
• Diversity Management
• Age Diversity
• +7 more

Secil Ugur Yavuz is a Professor at the Faculty of Design and Arts, Department of Design, at Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. Her academic work spans eco-social design, research through design, and tangible human-technology interactions, with a particular focus on sustainable materials and collective making practices. She teaches courses including Design 3 for the Master in Eco-social Design and doctoral programs in Experimental Research through Design, Art and Technologies. Professor Yavuz's research explores the intersection of analog and digital through tangible human-technology interactions, with significant contributions to sustainable material systems. Her FERAL WOOL project investigates ecological and cultural dimensions of wool, while her work with biomaterials like microbial cellulose and open-source bioreactors addresses circular production systems. She employs embodied and speculative approaches to examine microplastic emissions, children's nature engagement through tools like TREESENSE, and social play with interactive toys. Her recent publications reveal a strong thematic focus on material culture, sustainability, and human-centered design across multiple scales. The research demonstrates consistent exploration of how digital and physical realms interact to create meaningful user experiences while addressing ecological challenges. Key trends include the use of embodied interaction methods, speculative design for cultural critique, and co-creative processes that bridge technological innovation with social and environmental responsibility. Yavuz leads the Design Friction Lab, which investigates the philosophical foundations of design through customizable interfaces and DIY approaches. Her work with doctoral students in Experimental Research through Design emphasizes reshaping technologies through collective making processes. The FERAL WOOL research project represents a significant current initiative exploring sustainable textile futures through both ecological and cultural lenses.

• Eco-social Design
• Research through Design
• Tangible Human-Technology Interactions
• +7 more

Alexia Delfino serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Bocconi University, with affiliations spanning CEPR DEV & OE, J-PAL, IZA, IGIER, LEAP, CESIfo, and BAFFI. She maintains a dual research presence as Visiting Research Fellow at STICERD. Her academic foundation includes a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics (2020). Delfino operates at the intersection of Development, Organizational, and Behavioral Economics, employing experimental and survey methodologies to investigate how social norms, institutions, and identity shape labor market disparities and organizational productivity. Her fieldwork spans both developed and developing economies, with particular emphasis on gender dynamics in entrepreneurship and workplace culture. Recent projects examine trauma's impact on economic decision-making and value alignment in corporate environments. Her publication trajectory reveals a consistent focus on gender economics and institutional analysis, with increasing methodological sophistication in field experiments and cross-national comparisons. The 2024-2025 publications demonstrate expansion into historical data analysis and team dynamics while maintaining core themes of gender barriers and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Recognition includes: UniCredit Foundation Best Paper Award on Gender Economics (2021) Research funding reflects policy relevance through partnerships with major development institutions: J-PAL Global Economic Affairs and Policy & Performance Evaluation Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Exploratory and Research Grants LEAP and Weiss Fund support for gender-focused field experiments IGA-Rockefeller Research and Impact Fund for trauma economics research She leads international collaborations examining reskilling interventions in Italy, lactation infrastructure in Kenya, and teenage job experimentation in Switzerland, demonstrating strong cross-institutional research networks with Harvard, LSE, and World Bank affiliates.

• Development Economics
• Organizational Economics
• Behavioral Economics
• +3 more

Nicole Novielli, Ph.D., is Associate Professor at the University of Bari “A. Moro” , Italy, where she conducts research on affective computing applied to software engineering and human-computer interaction. She leads the Collaborative Development Group and coordinates national projects investigating emotions in software teams, AI quality and IoT ecosystems. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Bari, 2010 – thesis on “Lexical Semantics of Dialogue Acts” M.Sc. in Computer Science (Knowledge & Software Engineering), University of Bari, 2006 – summa cum laude B.Sc. in Computer Science, University of Bari, 2004 – summa cum laude Visiting researcher at USC-ICT, University of Aberdeen, FBK-irst (Trento) Research interests revolve around recognizing and exploiting affective and cognitive states in computer-mediated cooperative work. She studies sentiment and emotion mining in developers’ textual communication, multimodal emotion recognition via low-cost biometric sensors, and natural-language dialogue simulation for intelligent interfaces. Her work couples software engineering with natural language processing , social media analytics and human-computer interaction . Recent articles (2021-2025) reveal a clear trend: integrating deep learning and large language models into software engineering tasks—automated issue labelling, sentiment classification, technical-debt detection—while validating these techniques through rigorous empirical studies and biometric experiments . A parallel stream explores developer experience , measuring how emotions and cognitive load influence productivity, code quality and collaboration. Scientific awards include the 2020 Apex Award for Publication Excellence , multiple Distinguished Reviewer Awards at flagship venues (ESEC/FSE, ICSME, MSR), the Best Paper Award SANER 2019 and the Best Student Paper Award ACII 2009 . She currently teaches “Sentiment Analysis” in the Data-Science MSc and “Computer Networks” in the ITPS programme. She has advised numerous B.Sc., M.Sc. and PhD projects and is PI or Co-PI of four ongoing grants: EmoQuest (SIR), EMPATHY (PRIN), FAIR-Spoke 6 (PnRR), and QualAI (PRIN 2022). Dr. Novielli serves on the editorial boards of Empirical Software Engineering and Journal of Systems and Software , has guest-edited special issues on affect awareness in SE, and has chaired tracks at ICSE, SANER, MSR, ICSME and SSBSE. She co-leads the Collaborative Development Group and actively releases datasets and open-source tools for the community.

• Affective Computing
• Software Engineering
• Natural Language Processing
• +5 more

Ursula Zich is an Associate Professor at the Polytechnic of Turin's Department of Architecture and Design (DAD), where she serves as a member of the Student Discipline Commission. Born in Turin on July 16, 1969, she holds a Doctor of Architecture degree with highest honors from the Polytechnic of Turin (1994) and a Doctor of Research in Surveying and Representation of Architecture and the Environment from the University of Genoa. Her research interests focus on critical reading of drawing, descriptive geometry, history of representation, and physical models. She leads the MAG.IA (Mathematics, Architecture, Geometry. Application Interconnections) research line and the POLIMADE project exploring scientific applications of origami. Her work spans multiple ERC sectors including application of mathematics in sciences, computational modeling in cultural spheres, cultural studies, history of art and architecture, and museum studies. Zich has published extensively on architectural representation, with recent publications examining tangible geometries for inclusive game design, architectural heritage accessibility, and interdisciplinary approaches to architectural representation. Her research demonstrates consistent integration of mathematical principles with architectural representation techniques. Effective member of Study Group on Environmental Color Design (ECD) of the International Color Association (AIC), United States (2021-) Effective member of Italian Design Union (UID), Italy (2001-) She has served on the Program Committee for multiple Italian Conferences on Origami, Educational Dynamics and Teaching since 2014. Zich also co-invented a patent for a foldable aluminum foil food tray, demonstrating practical applications of her origami research. At the Polytechnic of Turin, she teaches architectural drawing, surveying, and geometric modeling courses across multiple academic years, maintaining an active teaching schedule through the 2025/26 academic year.

• Critical reading of drawing
• Descriptive geometry
• History of representation
• +5 more

Antonino Vallesi is a Full Professor in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Padua. He holds a master's degree in Psychology (University of Padua, 2003) and a PhD in Neuroscience (SISSA, Trieste, 2007). He has held roles as Assistant and Associate Professor at SISSA and the University of Padua before achieving his current rank. His research focuses on executive functions, cognitive aging, and temporal processing, employing neuroimaging, EEG, and experimental psychology methods. He has supervised over 10 PhD students, 13 postdocs, and 65 trainees. Education: PhD in Neuroscience, SISSA, Trieste (2007) Master's in Psychology, University of Padua (2003) Research Interests: The anatomo-functional organization of executive functions, cognitive aging, temporal processing, and neuropsychological methodologies. His work explores these areas through advanced techniques like EEG, neuroimaging, and neuromodulation. Awards: Bertelson Award (2011) Outstanding Young Person Award (2011) SIPF Prize (2017) ERC Starting Grant (2013) Advising & Grants: Supervisor of over 10 PhD students and 13 postdocs. Secured significant funding including an ERC grant. Involved in grant reviewing for EU programs (e.g., Horizon 2020) and international agencies. Labs & Teams: Leads the Executive Function Lab at the University of Padua, focusing on cognitive neuroscience and clinical applications.

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• +3 more

Massimo Reichlin is a Full Professor of Moral Philosophy and the current Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (since 2022). He holds academic appointments in contemporary ethics, bioethics, and neuroethics. His teaching spans ethics of life, ethical theory, and bioethics, with roles at multiple Italian universities and institutions, including the University of Bergamo and Humanitas University Medical School. Education includes a Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Milan, an Advanced Course in Bioethics from the University of Milan, and a Ph.D. in Bioethics from the University of Genoa. He has held scholarships and research roles at the Scientific Institute Ospedale San Raffaele and led EU-funded projects like 'Enhancing Human Capacities' (2005–2007). Research focuses on contemporary ethics (neo-Kantianism, deontology vs. consequentialism), history of ethics (utilitarianism, conscience), bioethics (beginning/end of life, neuroethics), and moral psychology (cognitive enhancement). He coordinates the Philosophy Ph.D. Program and the CeSEP Centre for Studies in Ethics and Politics. He serves on editorial boards of journals like Paradigmi and Notizie di Politeia , and contributes to public engagement through events like 'Neuroethics: New Ways of Investigating the Brain' (2021). His work bridges philosophical theory and applied ethics in medicine, technology, and policy.

• Contemporary Ethics
• History of Ethics
• Bioethics
• +3 more