معرفی
Maurizio Leotta is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of Genova, Italy, where he has been employed since 2018. He is a member of the Department of Computer Science, Bioengineering, Robotics, and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS) within the School of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences. Additionally, he serves on the School Council and the Department Board of DIBRIS.
Dr. Leotta received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Genova in 2015, with a thesis on Automated Web Testing under the supervision of Prof. Filippo Ricca. His doctoral work was revised by Prof. Massimiliano di Penta (Università del Sannio, Italy) and Prof. Ali Mesbah (University of British Columbia, Canada). Before his academic career, he worked as an IT Technician in various companies and participated in research and industrial projects funded by organizations such as Finmeccanica S.p.A. and the Italian Space Agency.
Dr. Leotta's primary research focuses on Software Engineering, with particular emphasis on Test Automation, which is his main research topic. He collaborates with Prof. Paolo Tonella from USI, Switzerland on this area. His other significant research interests include Empirical Software Engineering, Requirements Engineering, Business Process Modelling, and Model-Driven Software Engineering. His work often addresses practical challenges in web and mobile application testing, with a growing interest in applying AI and gamification techniques to improve software testing processes.
His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward integrating artificial intelligence with traditional software testing methodologies, particularly in end-to-end web testing. He has made significant contributions to improving test robustness, addressing flakiness in test execution, and developing tools for better test maintenance. His work also shows increasing interest in gamification approaches to engage developers and students in software testing activities, as well as applications of large language models to enhance test automation.
Dr. Leotta has received multiple prestigious awards for his research, including:
- Best Paper Award at ICST 2025 (Short Papers, Vision and Emerging Results)
- Distinguished Paper Award at ICST 2023 (Industry Papers)
- Best Paper Award at QUATIC 2022 (Full Papers)
- Best Paper Award at ICST 2022 (Demo and Testing Tool Papers)
- Best Paper Award at QUATIC 2020 (Full Papers)
- Best Student Paper Award at ICWE 2016 (Full Papers)
Dr. Leotta has advised numerous graduate students, including three PhD candidates who have completed their degrees (Andrea Fasciglione in 2024, Dario Olianas in 2023, and Diego Clerissi in 2020). He currently supervises multiple Master's students working on topics related to software testing, web accessibility, and AI applications in software engineering. He has also served as a postdoctoral advisor for researchers including Diego Clerissi and Dario Olianas. Beyond advising, Dr. Leotta has secured research funding through collaborations with industry partners and has been involved in multiple research projects focused on software testing and verification.
He co-directs the Software Engineering for Healthcare (SEH) Laboratory, which has been partially supported by Janssen Italia (previously by Actelion Pharmaceuticals Italia). The lab focuses on applying software engineering techniques to healthcare applications, particularly in the areas of wearable technology for patient monitoring and medical data analysis. Dr. Leotta is also active in the Gamify research community, organizing workshops on gamification in software development, verification, and validation.
