Find Academic Supervisors

Andrea BonfiglioView profile

Associate Professor

• Power Systems Analysis
• Smart Grids
• Renewable Energy Integration
• +5 more

Andrea Bonfiglio is an Associate Professor at the Department of Naval, Electrical, Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering (DITEN) within the School of Engineering at the University of Genoa. His work focuses on power systems, smart grids, and renewable energy integration with a particular emphasis on innovative control strategies and energy storage solutions. Teaching areas: Electrical Systems, Industrial Measurements, Energy Security Key research themes: Smart distribution networks, synthetic inertia, microgrid control, vehicle-to-grid technologies, battery energy storage Recent work explores virtual energy partitioning, load flow optimization, and inertia allocation in transmission networks Contact: a.bonfiglio@unige.it His publications highlight advanced control methodologies using machine learning and sliding mode control for both transmission and distribution networks, with applications to renewable integration and grid stability challenges.

• Multi-objective optimization
• Sustainable logistics
• Industry 4.0
• +3 more

Francesco Pilati is an Associate Professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, where he serves as local coordinator for the scientific field ING-IND/17 (Industrial Plants and Logistic Systems). He chairs the research group on Industrial Plants, Production Systems, and Logistics, and teaches courses in Industrial Plants and Design of Digital Production and Assembly Systems. As coordinator of the Master's program in Management and Industrial Systems Engineering and University Coordinator for the EIT double degree in Zero-Defect Manufacture, Pilati bridges academic leadership with advanced manufacturing research. He has also served as Invited Lecturer at universities in Vienna and Göttingen. His research focuses on integrating environmental sustainability with technical-economic criteria through multi-objective optimization and impact assessment. Key areas include: Distribution networks and warehousing systems Manufacturing and assembly line design Hybrid energy production systems Digitization of manual production processes using depth cameras Recent publications highlight applications of Industry 4.0 technologies to pandemic safety, logistics optimization, and smart manufacturing. Pilati has received significant recognition including the Philip Morris Italia Empowering Research Award (2016) and Autostrade per l'Italia academic recognition. His editorial contributions include guest editing special issues on Digital Twins and Smart Factories in Q1 journals.

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

• Battery simulation
• Cyber physical system
• Design simulation
• +12 more

Sara Vinco is an Associate Professor at the Department of Control and Computer Engineering (DAUIN), Politecnico di Torino, Italy. She specializes in battery simulation, digital twins, and energy-efficient design automation for heterogeneous embedded systems, aligning with Industrial and Information Engineering (Area 0009) and ERC sectors including Computer Architecture and Machine Learning . Her research focuses on advancing cyber-physical systems through simulation frameworks like SystemC-AMS, enabling holistic modeling of analog, digital, and thermal domains. Key projects include data-driven digital twins for EV batteries and low-area digital circuits in industrial/medical applications, supported by commercial contracts such as C-based virtual prototyping. Her recent publications (2022-2023) emphasize machine learning for battery SOH/SOC estimation , energy monitoring in production lines , and multi-domain fault modeling . These works span journals like IEEE Transactions and conferences including DATE and ISLPED. Awarded the FFABR 2017 grant and IEEE FDL Best Paper Award 2011 , she also chairs editorial boards for IEEE Transactions on CAD and DATE Conference. She supervises PhD students Giovanni Pollo (Digital Circuits) and Khaled Alamin (EV Battery Twins), reflecting her leadership in smart systems design.

• Hydraulic Engineering
• Hydrology
• Computational Hydraulics
• +6 more

Alessia Ferrari is a fixed-term researcher in the Department of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Parma, Italy. She lectures on Hydrology within the Bachelor’s degree programme in Civil and Environmental Engineering and serves as the reference teacher for the same programme across multiple academic years (2020/2021 – 2025/2026). Research Focus Ferrari’s research integrates advanced numerical modelling with real-world flood-risk management. Key themes include: High-resolution 2-D shallow-water simulations using GPU-parallel codes. Porosity-based approaches for large-scale urban flood modelling. Levee-breach hydraulics and emergency-action planning. Calibration of hydraulic models using tools such as PEST. Integration of machine-learning techniques with physics-based flood forecasting. Publication Trends Across more than 25 peer-reviewed works (2015-2025), Ferrari has concentrated on computational hydraulics applied to extreme flood events in Northern Italy (e.g., Parma 2014, Lamone 2024). Her papers consistently advance numerical schemes (ADER, HLLEM Riemann solvers) and GPU acceleration while validating models against field data, thereby bridging theoretical development and practical flood-mitigation strategies. Contact & Office E-mail: alessia.ferrari@unipr.it Office: Science and Technology Campus – Pavilion 10, Engineering Scientific Headquarters, Parco Area delle Scienze 181/A, 43124 Parma, Italy.

• Cardiac Surgery
• Heart Valve Disease
• Transcatheter Valve Interventions
• +7 more

Francesco Maisano, MD , is Full Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (Milan) since 2021, where he also serves as Director of the Cardiac Surgery Clinic and of the Valve Center at IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital. From 2014 to 2020 he held the Chair of Cardiac Surgery and directed the Department at University Hospital Zurich. Education & Training 1990 – MD, Catholic University of Rome 1994 – Clinical Fellowship, University of Alabama at Birmingham 1995 – Specialization in Cardiac Surgery, La Sapienza University of Rome Research Interests Professor Maisano’s work centres on innovative therapies for heart-valve disease, spanning surgical reconstruction, catheter-based interventions (TAVI, MitraClip, transcatheter tricuspid devices), and hybrid approaches. He leads translational programmes in biomedical engineering, multimodality cardiac imaging, and artificial-intelligence-guided interventions, with emphasis on the multidisciplinary “Heart Team” model for complex cardiovascular disease. His recent publications (2024-2025) demonstrate intense activity in transcatheter mitral and tricuspid repair, long-term durability of surgical mitral repair, AI-driven procedural guidance, and renal protection strategies during mechanical circulatory support. A dominant theme is translating imaging innovations and device concepts into first-in-human studies and large-scale registries. Scientific Awards & Recognitions European Society of Cardiology Silver Medal (2018) ICI Lifetime Achievement in Research & Teaching (2018) ICI Best Technology Parade Presentation (2010) C. Walton Lillehei Young Investigator Award (1999) Leadership & Grants He directs multiple postgraduate programmes, including Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) tracks at the University of Zurich in multimodality imaging, aortic valve, and mitral–tricuspid interventions. He is principal investigator on investigator-initiated grants, coordinates industry-partnered device trials, and mentors numerous doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. His team has filed >24 patents and spun off several cardiovascular start-ups. Labs & Teams At IRCCS San Raffaele he leads the Valve Science Center , a multidisciplinary hub integrating cardiac surgeons, interventional cardiologists, imaging specialists, biomedical engineers, and data scientists focused on next-generation valve repair/replacement technologies and personalised cardiovascular medicine.

• Power System Analysis
• Distribution System Optimization
• Electrical Load Management
• +7 more

Gianfranco Chicco is a Full Professor at the Politecnico di Torino , Italy, within the Department of Energy (DENERG). He serves as Scientific Director of the Electrical Power Systems research group and the Turin unit of the ENSIEL Consortium. A Fellow of IEEE (since 2018), he has held editorial leadership roles as Editor-in-Chief of Sustainable Energy, Grids and Networks and Subject Editor of Energy , while chairing major conferences like IEEE ISGT Europe 2017 and UPEC 2020. Education : Laurea (cum laude) in Electrical Engineering (1987), Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1992), Doctor Honoris Causa (2017, Polytechnic University of Bucharest; 2018, Technical University 'Gheorghe Asachi' of Iasi). Research Interests : Focus on power transmission and distribution systems , distributed energy resources , and multi-energy smart grids , with applications in artificial intelligence , load management , and power quality . His work addresses technical, economic, and environmental aspects of distributed generation and smart grid sustainability . Publications Trends : Recent articles emphasize photovoltaic power optimization , dynamic grid modeling , and multi-energy system coordination , reflecting expertise in renewable integration , clustering algorithms , and adaptive control . Key subfields include voltage stability , load forecasting , and blockchain for energy trading . Awards : IEEE Fellow (2018-) Best Paper Awards at SEST (2018, 2020) Doctor Honoris Causa (2017, 2018) 'Giancarlo Vallauri' Degree Prize (1988) Advising and Grants : Supervises PhD students in power converters , renewable integration , and high-voltage measurement methodologies . Leads European projects like H2020 MIGRATE and OSMOSE, focusing on grid resilience , clustering-based network planning , and multi-energy sustainability .

Riccardo RaheliView profile

Professor

• Telecommunications
• Digital Signal Processing
• Wireless Communications
• +5 more

Riccardo Raheli is a Full Professor at the University of Parma , Department of Engineering and Architecture, with a career spanning over three decades in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). He has served as Chair of the Councils for Telecommunications and Communication Engineering programs, and as representative of the University of Parma in CNIT and its Members' Assembly. Education: Laurea in Electronic Engineering (University of Pisa, 1983), M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (University of Massachusetts, 1986), Postgraduate Diploma (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 1987) Key Roles: President of Degree Councils (2002-2018), CNIT Committee Member (2000-2005), Editorial Board member for IEEE Transactions, Springer and MDPI journals His research bridges telecommunications , digital signal processing , and healthcare applications , producing extensive international publications and industrial patents. He has co-authored monographs including Detection Algorithms for Wireless Communications (Wiley, 2004) and LDPC Coded Modulations (Springer, 2009). Recent article trends show interdisciplinary work in automotive stress monitoring (IoT/Matlab-based systems), video processing for healthcare (neonatal seizures, respiratory monitoring), and acoustic field control (microphone virtualization, personal sound zones). His work spans machine learning applications in automotive systems, stochastic acoustic modeling , and power-line communications . Scientific Leadership : Co-Chair for IEEE conferences (ICC 2010, GLOBECOM 2011, ISPLC 2020) Editorial roles in 7+ international journals Grants & Collaborations : Led industrial patents in communications systems Coordinated CNIT Technical Reports series (2025) He teaches Wireless Communications and Digital Signals Laboratory , emphasizing Matlab/Simulink proficiency. His laboratory sessions focus on practical implementation of signal processing algorithms, requiring full software installation on personal devices.

• Physical Limnology
• Sediment Transport
• Tidal Hydrodynamics
• +3 more

Marco Toffolon is a Full Professor at the University of Trento's Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, where he leads the Physical Limnology Laboratory. He serves as Deputy Director for International Relations and previously directed the Environmental Engineering programs. His research spans ecohydraulics, sediment transport, lake hydrodynamics, and environmental modeling. He investigates physical limnology, tidal morphodynamics, and stratified flows using analytical and numerical approaches. His work integrates field measurements with machine learning for water quality prediction and climate impact assessment. His publications focus on lake dynamics, river morphodynamics, and sustainable water management, with recent emphasis on climate-driven changes in alpine systems. Research demonstrates strong interdisciplinary linkages between hydraulics, ecology, and climate science. Awards: 2016 Coastal Engineering Journal Award 2013 Enrico Marchi Lecture invitation He leads international collaborations with institutions like EPFL and Sun Yat-sen University, and organizes conferences including the Physical Processes in Natural Waters workshop series.

Luca SterponeView profile

Professor

• Reconfigurable computing
• Computer-aided design algorithms
• Fault tolerance and reliability
• +7 more

Luca Sterpone is a Full Professor at the Department of Control and Computer Science (DAUIN), Politecnico di Torino. He serves as Head of the Control and Computer Engineering Department (2023-2027), coordinates the Aerospace and Safety Computing Lab, and is a member of the Academic Senate and Power Electronics Innovation Center (PEIC). His research spans reconfigurable computing, fault tolerance, and radiation effects analysis in electronic systems. Professor since 2021 Department Head (DAUIN) since 2023 Coordinates international collaborations with ESA, AMD Xilinx, NVIDIA, and Thales Alenia Space Develops radiation-hardened FPGA tools (SETA, VERI-Place, PyXEL) 2007 EDAA Outstanding Dissertation Award and 2005 IEEE Best Paper Award Research Focus : Designing radiation-tolerant systems for aerospace, including fault-tolerant AI accelerators, FPGA reliability, and software-based error mitigation. He investigates soft error propagation in nanoscale circuits and develops tools for radiation sensitivity analysis in VLSI. His work integrates hardware-software co-design for mission-critical applications. Awards : EDAA Outstanding Dissertation Award (2007) IEEE European Test Symposium Best Paper (2005) SMACD Best EDA Tool Award (2018) ARC Best Paper candidate (2018) Teaching : He leads courses in Reconfigurable Computing (PhD level), GPU Programming , and Operating Systems . He has formal responsibility for teaching roles across 9 bachelor's and 7 master's years, and mentors multiple PhD students. Collaborations : Coordinates with the European Space Agency (ESA), University of Bielefeld, Universidad de Sevilla, and industrial partners like AMD Xilinx, NVIDIA, and General Motors. He leads projects such as RESCHIP4EU, VEGAS, and TERRAC for radiation-hardened computing solutions.

• Energy Systems
• Machine Learning
• Reinforcement Learning
• +12 more

Marco Badami is a Full Professor at the Department of Energy (DENERG) , Polytechnic of Turin. He serves as Scientific Director for national and EU-funded research projects in energy systems and has been a Course Lecturer for Energy Systems and Industrial Use of Energy since 2010. He supervises PhD students in Energetics and Electrical Engineering . Research Interests: His work spans energy systems optimization, machine learning applications for industrial energy efficiency, smart grids, cogeneration scheduling, blockchain-based energy data immutability, and predictive maintenance algorithms for photovoltaic plants. Current projects focus on AI-driven energy audits, optimized control systems for industrial microgrids, and digital twin architectures. Collaborations: He works with Trigenia Srl, Stogit SpA, and international institutions on commercial research contracts. His scientific contributions include 15+ publications on topics like LSTM forecasting for solar energy, deep reinforcement learning for multi-energy systems, and decentralized peer-to-peer energy trading platforms.

• Artificial intelligence
• Biomedical signal processing
• Human movement analysis
• +12 more

Marco Ghislieri is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET) of Politecnico di Torino, Italy. He is a member of the Interdepartmental Center PolitoBIOMed Lab and teaches in the Biomedical Engineering program, including courses like Neuroengineering and Design of Programmable Biomedical Devices . His research spans Artificial Intelligence, Biomedical Signal Processing, Neuroscience, and Rehabilitation Engineering . PhD in Bioengineering and Medical-Surgical Sciences (2017-2021) at Politecnico di Torino Thesis: Muscle Synergy Assessment during Cyclic and Non-Cyclic Movements His research focuses on muscle synergy analysis in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients post- Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) , AI-driven gait analysis for fall prevention, and wearable sensor applications for stress-cognitive decline monitoring. He leads the S-CoDe and OMNIA-PARK projects, and contributes to PRIN as a team member. Recent publications highlight advancements in machine learning for intraoperative DBS targeting , statistical gait analysis , and neurorehabilitation tools . He serves as Associate Editor for Scientific Reports and Applied Bionics and Biomechanics , and Guest Editor for Frontiers in Neural Circuits . Awards include the Carlo J. De Luca Award (2022) , GNB Doctoral Award (2022) , and the Best Poster Award at M. Grattarola Summer School (2022) . He supervises Fabrizio Sciscenti (PhD candidate) and collaborates on neuroengineering and biomedical device design courses. His work addresses Goal 3 (Good Health) and Goal 4 (Quality Education) of the UN SDGs.

Donato RomanoView profile

Associate Professor

• Bioinspired Robotics
• Biomimetic Robotics
• Animal-Robot Interaction
• +8 more

Donato Romano serves as Associate Professor at The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy, where he coordinates the Bio-Robotic Ecosystems Lab and co-founded the spin-off company HUBILIFE srl. His interdisciplinary work bridges robotics, biology, and AI to develop biohybrid systems for biodiversity preservation, sustainable environmental management, and life support in extreme scenarios including space exploration. With over 90 publications and an H-index of 27 (Scopus, March 2025), he has established significant academic leadership through editorial roles across 12+ international journals. Romano's educational foundation includes advanced degrees with honors: an M.Sc. in Agriculture Science and Technologies (2014) and a PhD in BioRobotics (2018), both from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna. His academic journey includes visiting scholar positions at Khalifa University and substantial industry-academia collaboration through HUBILIFE srl, which commercializes bioinspired devices for human daily life improvement. His research program focuses on bioinspired and biomimetic robotics with particular emphasis on animal-robot interaction, biohybrid systems, and natural intelligence. Key projects address critical global challenges: SENSORBEES develops biohybrid environmental surveillance for ecological monitoring; REGOLIFE investigates lunar soil-terrestrial organism interactions for space agriculture; and OCEAN ROBOCTO explores marine ecosystem solutions. This work demonstrates a strategic progression from fundamental behavioral studies toward applied ecological and extraterrestrial systems. Analysis of his recent publications reveals strong trends in AI-driven behavioral analysis, with deep learning increasingly applied to entomological studies and pest management. The research spans agricultural applications (precision monitoring traps, larval detection systems), ecological conservation (biodiversity surveillance), and extreme-environment adaptation (lunar regolith studies). A distinctive feature is the consistent integration of biohybrid approaches where living organisms and robotic systems create synergistic capabilities exceeding either component alone. Romano's scientific recognition includes election as Junior Fellow of the Italian Academy of Engineering and Technology (2025), the Lucani fuori dal Comune award (2024), and multiple best-thesis prizes. His editorial leadership spans high-impact journals including IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics and Pest Management Science, where he serves as Associate Editor. As principal investigator, Romano coordinates major international projects totaling over €15M in funding: HORIZON-EIC's SENSORBEES (2024-2029), ASI's REGOLIFE (2024-2027), National Geographic's OCEAN ROBOCTO (2024-2026), and PRIN's COSMIC (2023-2025). His teaching portfolio includes PhD courses in Biosystems for Biorobotics and M.Sc. instruction in Bionics Engineering at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and University of Pisa. The Bio-Robotic Ecosystems Lab under Romano's direction pioneers biohybrid technologies where living organisms and robotic systems create integrated solutions. Current initiatives include SENSORBEES' environmental monitoring swarms, REGOLIFE's moonworm colonization systems, and HUBILIFE's commercial vector-control devices. The lab maintains active collaborations with space agencies, agricultural institutes, and conservation organizations, positioning biohybrid systems as next-generation tools for planetary-scale challenges.

Alexander KocianView profile

Assistant Professor

• Machine Learning
• Internet-of-Things (IoT)
• Agro Informatics
• +3 more

Alexander Kocian is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Aalborg University (Denmark) and a Master's in Electrical Engineering from TU Vienna (Austria). His research focuses on Machine Learning, IoT, Agro Informatics, Health Informatics, and Real-time embedded systems. He has led major projects like AGRITECH (€40M funded by PNRR) and FuorisuoloSmart, advancing smart agriculture and healthcare technologies. Dr. Kocian serves as IEEE Senior Member (since 2024) and EAI Fellow (since 2022). He is Associate Editor of IEEE Access (2025–present), and Editorial Board member of Stats (2019–present) and Signals (2020–present). He has organized conferences like the EAI Int. Conf. on Intelligent Transport Systems (INTSYS) as General Chair (2024) and Steering Committee Member (2023). His work includes 50+ peer-reviewed publications, 4 patents, and contributions to telemedicine platforms like TESHEALTH (ESA-funded). Key projects span precision farming, IoT-based greenhouses, and AI-driven healthcare solutions. Current efforts emphasize data spaces for agritech and health informatics interoperability.

• Machine Learning
• Computer Vision
• Artificial Intelligence
• +3 more

Prof. Tomaso Fontanini is a researcher at the Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma. His academic contributions span multiple disciplines, including computer science, artificial intelligence, and computer vision. 2025/2026: Deep Learning and Generative Models (Master's in Computer Engineering) 2024/2025: Processing Systems (Bachelor's in Prevention Techniques) 2023/2024: Processing Systems (Bachelor's in Prevention Techniques) 2022/2023: Processing Systems (Bachelor's in Prevention Techniques) Research Focus: His work primarily explores generative models, image synthesis, and style transfer with a strong emphasis on semantic control and attention mechanisms. Recent research has advanced state space models for efficient style transfer (Mamba-ST), semantic image synthesis via class-adaptive cross-attention, and diffusion model acceleration through U-shape architectures. Scientific Contributions: Publications include breakthroughs in controllable face synthesis, mask-based generative modeling, and video anomaly detection. His work bridges theoretical advancements in neural architectures with practical applications in remote sensing and educational technology. 2025: FLAV (audio-video generation), Swin2-MoSE (remote sensing) 2024: MARS (text-based person search), MCGM (mask conditioning) 2023: FrankenMask (face part editing), Student attendance systems