Andrea Carena

Andrea Carena is a Full Professor in the Optical Communication Group at the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Italy. He holds a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from the same institution (1995 and 1998). His career includes a Visiting Researcher role at UC Santa Barbara (1998) and a decade as an Assistant Professor at Politecnico di Torino before becoming a Full Professor. His research focuses on optical communication systems, particularly digital signal processing, coherent detection, fiber nonlinearities, and advanced modulation formats. He has authored over 200 publications and received the IEEE/OSA Best Paper Award (2014, 2015).

Education:

• M.Sc. in Electronic Engineering, Politecnico di Torino (1995)
• Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering, Politecnico di Torino (1998)

Research Interests:

• Physical layer design of optical systems
• Coherent detection and digital signal processing
• Fiber nonlinearity modeling and mitigation
• Multi-core and few-mode fiber applications
• Machine learning for optical system optimization

Publications Trends: Recent work emphasizes machine learning-driven optimization of optical amplifiers (Raman, bismuth-doped), SWDM/VCSEL systems for data centers, and reconfigurable photonic integrated circuits. His 2020s research bridges lab-to-field trials, including SDM transmission over deployed fibers and probabilistic shaping in multi-core environments.

Awards:

• 2014 IEEE/OSA Journal of Lightwave Technology Best Paper Award
• 2015 IEEE/OSA Journal of Lightwave Technology Best Paper Award

Advising & Grants: While no student names are listed, his leadership in the OptCom group suggests extensive PhD/Master’s supervision. His work on OptSim and modular WSS designs reflects major research grants in optical networking and photonics.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Optical Communications Group (OptCom) at Politecnico di Torino, specializing in experimental and theoretical studies of advanced optical communication systems. Collaborates internationally on projects like OPERA (optical label swapping networks) and multi-core fiber field trials.