Stefano Nichele

Stefano Nichele is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Communication, Østfold University College, Norway. He holds additional roles as Professor II at OsloMet and has served in leading academic positions since 2014. His research focuses on Artificial Life (ALife), Neuro-Inspired AI, and Machine Learning, with a particular emphasis on cellular automata, reservoir computing, and neuro-inspired substrates. Nichele co-directs the Østfold AI (ØAI) hub and is an active member of IEEE, ELLIS, and the Norwegian AI Research Consortium (NORA).

He earned his PhD in Computer Science from NTNU (2015) and completed his MSc at the University of Insubria, Italy. His work bridges computational systems and biological substrates, exploring criticality in neural networks and quantum-evolutionary algorithm interactions. He has received prestigious awards, including the Young Research Talent grant (2019) and the Distinguished Early-Career Investigator award (2024).

Nichele’s research spans theoretical and applied domains, with over 50 publications on cellular automata dynamics, neuro-inspired robotics, and AI ethics. His recent projects include studying in vitro neural networks for computational capacity assessment and developing frameworks for body-brain co-evolution in soft robotics.

• Education:
  • PhD in Computer Science, NTNU (2015)
  • MSc in Computer Science, University of Insubria (2009)
• Awards:
  • Young Research Talent grant (2019)
  • Distinguished Early-Career Investigator (2024)
• Grants & Roles:
  • Co-director of the Østfold AI hub
  • Board member of NORA (Norwegian AI Research Consortium)
• Labs & Collaborations:
  • Focus on neuro-inspired AI systems and unconventional computing
  • Partnerships with institutions like Simula Metropolitan and the International Society for Artificial Life (ISAL)