Luca Guarnera

Luca Guarnera is a Fixed-term Assistant Professor (RTDA) of Informatics at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Catania. Born in Catania on October 26, 1992, he has been a research fellow in Computer Science at the University of Catania since January 1, 2022. His academic journey includes a PhD in Computer Science (XXXIII cycle, PON number E37H18000330006) from the University of Catania, with part of his research conducted at the University of Hertfordshire under Prof. Salvatore Livatino.

• PhD in Computer Science, University of Catania (2018-2021)
• Master's Degree in Computer Science (cum laude), University of Catania (2015-2017)
• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, University of Catania (2011-2015)

Guarnera's research focuses on Computer Vision, Machine Learning, and Multimedia Forensics, with special emphasis on Deepfake Detection across images, video, audio, and multimodal data. His work explores intrinsic traces left during content creation processes, VR applications for forensic analysis, and deep learning approaches to forensic problems. He has contributed significantly to forensic firearms ballistics analysis through immersive VR observation and handwritten document analysis.

His publication record shows a strong trajectory in deepfake detection technologies, evolving from early work on convolutional traces to current research distinguishing between GAN and Diffusion Model outputs. His research spans both theoretical foundations and practical applications in digital forensics, with increasing focus on multimodal approaches and real-world implementation challenges.

• Guest Editor for Special Issue 'Advancements in Deepfake Technology, Biometry System and Multimedia Forensic' in MDPI Journal of Imaging

Guarnera actively participates in the academic community as a reviewer for international journals and has contributed to prestigious international events as a Technical Program Committee member. His research is supported through collaborations with industry partners like iCTLAB srl and academic institutions. He is involved in the HEALTHY-UNICT project studying dietary habits of college students through ecological momentary assessment approaches.

As a member of IPLab (Image Processing Lab) since 2015, Guarnera has been involved in various research initiatives including participation in Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) competitions and international summer schools (ICVSS, MISS, S3P). His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical forensic applications, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of deepfake detection and multimedia authentication.