Pasquale Cascarano is a fixed-term Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna , affiliated with the Department of the Arts . His research bridges computer science with creative industries (cinema, art, fashion) and biomedical applications, focusing on Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality paradigms. He collaborates with national and international institutions on interdisciplinary projects. Institutional Affiliation: University of Bologna Academic Role: Assistant Professor (fixed-term) Research Interests center on integrating AI and XR into creative sectors and healthcare, with emphasis on: Generative AI for immersive environments Medical imaging and diagnostics Digital heritage preservation XR-based educational tools 3D visualization techniques Creative technology applications Recent Publications highlight trends in: Medical XR for surgical training AI-driven image restoration LLM integration with AR/VR Privacy in collaborative AR Fashion and cultural heritage digitization Deep learning for video enhancement
Michele Gattullo serves as an Assistant Professor within the Department of Mechanics, Mathematics & Management at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy, specializing in design methods for industrial engineering (ING-IND/15). His research bridges cutting-edge extended reality technologies with practical industrial applications, focusing on human-centered solutions for manufacturing, maintenance, and workplace design. Dr. Gattullo's research portfolio centers on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Biophilic Design, with significant contributions to Human-Computer Interaction in industrial contexts. He investigates how nature-inspired elements in virtual workspaces enhance employee well-being and productivity, while simultaneously developing practical AR tools for assembly guidance, technical documentation, and maintenance support. His work uniquely integrates ergonomics, cognitive psychology, and industrial engineering to optimize human-technology interaction in complex production environments. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals two dominant research trajectories: biophilic design frameworks for virtual/metaverse workspaces (2023-2025) and industrial AR authoring methodologies. The biophilic stream establishes evidence-based guidelines for digital nature integration, while the AR stream delivers validated tools like ADAM and minimal AR approaches that streamline technical documentation creation. Both trajectories emphasize user experience validation through rigorous industrial studies, demonstrating strong interdisciplinary impact across computer science, industrial engineering, and environmental psychology. Scientific Awards: No awards or honors were documented in the available sources. Advising and Grants: The provided materials contain no information regarding graduate student supervision, research grants, or funding sources. His academic profile emphasizes publication output over mentoring activities or project financing details. Laboratories and Teams: While Dr. Gattullo's research involves advanced XR technologies, the source text does not specify laboratory facilities, research groups, or collaborative teams associated with his work at Politecnico di Bari.
Simone Paolo Ponzetto is an Assistant Professor (Juniorprofessor) at the University of Mannheim since 2013, affiliated with the Research Group Data and Web Science. His research focuses on Semantic Web technologies, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and knowledge acquisition, particularly leveraging collaboratively built resources like Wikipedia. Prior to Mannheim, he held postdoctoral roles at Sapienza University of Rome and research positions at the University of Heidelberg and Stuttgart. His work includes pioneering projects like BabelNet, a multilingual semantic network. Ponzetto earned his PhD in Computational Linguistics from the University of Stuttgart, with interdisciplinary contributions to coreference resolution, semantic relatedness, and ontology learning. Research Interests: Unsupervised/weakly-supervised knowledge extraction Multilingual ontology learning and semantic networks Lexical semantics (word sense disambiguation, semantic similarity) Discourse semantics (coreference resolution, coherence modeling) Professional Contributions: Guest editor for a Artificial Intelligence Journal special issue on AI and Wikipedia Area chair for EMNLP-CoNLL 2012 and EACL 2014 Program committee member for ACL, AAAI, and other top conferences Lab/Team: Active in the Research Group Data and Web Science at Mannheim, advancing AI and NLP applications in collaborative knowledge systems.
Federico Fraboni is a Senior Assistant Professor (fixed-term) at the Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari' of the University of Bologna. His research focuses on human factors, cognitive ergonomics, and the integration of advanced technologies such as collaborative robotics, AI systems, and exoskeletons into industrial and healthcare contexts. He leads projects like the STEPbySTEP initiative for exoskeleton benchmarking and the H-WORK platform for workplace mental health. Key research areas include: human-robot interaction safety, AI explainability in aerospace manufacturing, strategic foresight for home care innovation, and ergonomic design of collaborative robotics systems. He has collaborated with industries like Calzedonia for automation studies and contributed to EU-funded safety initiatives in energy sectors. His recent work emphasizes workplace well-being through digital tools, occupational safety training for homecare organizations, and the psychological impacts of emerging technologies. He has co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and participates in interdisciplinary teams addressing human-centered design challenges across healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation domains.
Maurizio Mancini is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Sapienza University of Rome. His research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction, Affective Computing, and Multimodal Interaction, with applications in Virtual Reality, Embodied Conversational Agents, and Digital Commensality. He has contributed to understanding expressive movement analysis, social robotics, and adaptive systems in gaming and mindfulness contexts. 2024 : 8 publications on VR mindfulness, reinforcement learning, digital commensality, and multimodal interaction 2023 : 4 studies on human-food interaction, gait recognition, and AI human-likeness 2022 : 5 papers on social robots, collaborative dining, and anomaly detection His work spans topics like nonverbal leadership in full-body improvisation, transactive memory systems in group interactions, and computational models for human-food interaction. Teaching includes courses on Human-Machine Interaction and Programming.
Marco Porta is a Full Professor at the University of Pavia, Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering. He teaches Web and Multimedia Technologies in the Computer Engineering Master's program and Web Design and Technologies in the interdepartmental CIM Bachelor's program. His research focuses on Eye Tracking, Vision-Based Perceptive Interfaces, and Human-Computer Interaction, with recent emphasis on AI applications for human-centered systems. He leads the Computer Vision & Multimedia Lab and chairs teaching councils for CIM and CoD programs. Education: Master's in Electronic Engineering (Polytechnic of Milan) and Ph.D. in Electronic & Computer Engineering (University of Pavia). Professional roles include vice-chair of IEEE's Technical Committee on Factory Automation. Over 118 publications in journals/conferences, with contributions to biometrics, e-learning interfaces, and industrial automation. Research highlights include gaze-based authentication systems, interactive museum interfaces, and ergonomic in-vehicle infotainment evaluations. Current projects explore gaze-driven intelligent tutoring systems and public space interaction frameworks.
Alberto Barrón-Cedeño is an Associate Professor at the Department of Interpreting and Translation, University of Bologna (Italy). He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) and has served as a former Scientist at Qatar Computing Research Institute (Qatar) and an Alain Bensoussan fellow at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain). His research focuses on computational propaganda detection, automated fact-checking systems, and natural language processing applications in combating misinformation. Education: PhD in Artificial Intelligence, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain Research Interests: Dr. Barrón-Cedeño specializes in developing AI-driven solutions for detecting disinformation, particularly in social media and news content. His work emphasizes computational propaganda analysis, fake news detection during crises (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic), and designing tools to assist human fact-checkers. He leads initiatives such as the CLEF CheckThat! Lab to advance interdisciplinary approaches in misinformation research. Awards: Alain Bensoussan fellowship (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) Advising & Grants: While no formal advisees are listed, he collaborates extensively with global teams on funded projects related to computational fact-checking and propaganda detection. Labs & Teams: Core contributor to the CLEF CheckThat! Lab, which coordinates international efforts to develop benchmarks and tools for detecting check-worthy claims and fake news.
Francesco Strada is a Fixed-term Assistant Professor at the Department of Control and Computer Engineering (DAUIN) at Politecnico di Torino. He serves as a Course Lecturer for Virtual Reality and Technical Art for Cinema and Video Games, and as a Course Collaborator for multiple courses across Computer Engineering, Film and Media Engineering, and Architecture programs. He is an active member of the College of Computer, Film and Mechatronics Engineering and the College of Architecture and Design teaching committees. Dr. Strada's research focuses on Computer Graphics, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Human-Computer Interaction with particular emphasis on Embodied Conversational Agents, emotion recognition, and serious games applications. His work bridges technical computer science with psychological and human factors considerations to create more believable and effective virtual experiences. His research spans applications in education, healthcare, automotive interfaces, cultural heritage, and emergency response training. His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward emotionally intelligent virtual agents, VR/AR applications in specialized domains, and technical innovations in latency management and digital human representation. His work often combines psychological principles with technical implementations to enhance user experience and system effectiveness. Dr. Strada actively supervises PhD students including Alessandro Emmanuel Pecora, Stefano Calzolari, and Leonardo Vezzani, whose research focuses on Emotionally Aware Embodied Conversational Agents (E2CA) and Car AR-HUD design. He leads significant research projects including Holo-BLSD (2024-2025), a Mixed Reality tool for first aid emergency response training, and '50 shadows of AI' (2025), focusing on personalized education in corporate settings. He is a member of the CGVG - Computer Graphics and Vision Group at DAUIN, where his team develops cutting-edge applications in AR/VR, Human-Computer Interaction, User Experience, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. His research has practical applications in education, training, healthcare, automotive interfaces, and cultural heritage preservation.
Chiara Innocente is a PhD student in Management, Production, and Design at the Department of Management and Production Engineering (DIGEP) of Politecnico di Torino. She holds the academic rank of Consultant Lecturer and contributes to teaching in courses related to 3D graphics in biomedical engineering applications. Her research spans computational modeling, human-computer interaction, and machine learning, with a focus on rehabilitation engineering, cultural heritage preservation, and medical imaging. Education: PhD in Management, Production, and Design (2022-2025) Research interests include: Machine learning applications in healthcare and rehabilitation engineering Human-computer interaction for augmented/virtual reality 3D graphics and computational modeling for biometric and cultural heritage Convolutional neural networks in medical image analysis Her recent publications highlight interdisciplinary work bridging computer science with clinical applications and cultural preservation. She collaborates on national patents for athlete performance evaluation systems and participates in the Augmented Humans research framework.
Paolo Buono is Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy. He holds a PhD in Computer Science with specialization in Visual Data Analysis. His research focuses on Information Visualization, Visual Analytics, Human-Computer Interaction, and Mobile Applications. Co-founder and CEO of LARE (2010), a university spinoff providing real-time surgical support through audio-video telestration Member (since 2002) and computer science coordinator at METEA Research Center for environmental protection Visiting scientist at AVIZ (France), University of Maryland (USA), and Fraunhofer IPSI (Germany) His work spans multiple application domains including: Cultural Heritage through interactive exploration systems Healthcare with smart therapeutic devices Environmental Monitoring via CET system IoT-based Smart Interactive Experiences He has contributed to: Dynamic hypergraph visualization techniques End-User Development frameworks (EUDroid) Usability evaluation methodologies Mobile health applications As project leader, he has coordinated: EU-funded VisMaster Coordination Action (2008-2010) Italian Ministry-funded LOGIN project (2014-2015) Apulia Region environmental projects His professional engagements include: Co-chair roles at INTERACT, AVI, IS-EUD conferences Program committee participation in VIS series and HCI conferences Member of ACM, IEEE, and SIGCHI Italy
Giuseppe Desolda is an Associate Professor at the Computer Science Department of the University of Bari Aldo Moro , where he has been since July 2, 2022. He leads research at the Interaction, Visualization, Usability & UX (IVU) Lab , focusing on Novel Interaction Techniques , Internet of Things development, and Usable Security . His work includes coordinating the PRIN PNRR DAMOCLES project (2022-2025) on human-centric cybersecurity and leading Work Package 1 of PNRR SERICS. PhD in Computer Science from University of Bari Co-author of over 110 publications Associate Editor for IEEE Access Journal Research interests span Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), End-User Development (EUD) for IoT, and Usable Security systems. His recent work explores AI-driven usability evaluation, voice-based 3D modeling, and GDPR-compliant software frameworks. Article trends show focus on phishing mitigation , smart environment customization , and privacy-by-design methodologies. Publications appear in TOCHI , FGCS , IJHCS , and BIT . Scientific achievements include: Selected for Heidelberg Laureate Forum (2019) LARE spin-off grant (EUR 50,000, 2013) He supervises PhD students Andrea Esposito and Francesco Greco, and has advised multiple funded research projects (PRIN DAMOCLES, DevProDev, PNRR SERICS). Teaching roles include courses on Human-Centered AI, IoT Security, and Web Programming across undergraduate and graduate programs.
Carlo Alberto Avizzano serves as Associate Professor in Robotics and Automation at the University of Pisa's School of Engineering, Department of Information Engineering. He coordinates the Department of Excellence in Robotics & Artificial Intelligence (MUR) and leads the Intelligent Automation System Research Group. Research spans robotics, human-robot interaction, computer vision, and control systems Specializes in creating intelligent automation systems with cognitive capabilities Integrates AI, machine learning, and mechatronics for robust autonomous systems His research focuses on developing robots that learn from human examples, adapt to changing environments, and interact through advanced perception systems. Current work emphasizes wearable robotics, UAVs, and industrial automation solutions with applications in medical rehabilitation, firefighting, and manufacturing. He employs distributed computing architectures integrating sensors, real-time control, and knowledge transfer algorithms. Publications reveal strong emphasis on practical implementations: 15 recent works cover exoskeleton design (2024), UAV firefighting systems (2024), industrial bin-picking datasets (2024), and haptic interfaces (2012-2023). Key trends show progression from virtual reality systems (2006-2008) toward modern AI-integrated robotics with industrial and medical applications. Teaching responsibilities include PhD courses in Sensors for Construction, Python Programming for HealthScience, and Digital Perception; plus undergraduate Mechatronics and Computer Vision labs. He serves on PhD boards for Emerging Digital Technologies and Health Science Technology. Extensive patent portfolio including haptic interfaces (2012), sailing simulators (2006), and UAV systems (2024) Research directly translated to commercial products and spin-off companies
Pierluigi Perri is a Professor of Advanced Computer Law at the University of Milan's Law School and Vice Coordinator of the Information Society Law Center (ISLC). He is also an Affiliate Fellow at Yale Law School and has held roles such as Non-residential Fellow at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society and Visiting Researcher at Microsoft. His expertise spans privacy law, data governance, cybersecurity, computer crimes, and digital forensics. Perri holds a PhD in Legal Informatics and IT Law from the University of Bologna and a specialization in Legal Informatics and New Technologies Law. Education: PhD in Legal Informatics and IT Law, University of Bologna Specialization in Legal Informatics and New Technologies Law His research focuses on balancing technological advancements with legal safeguards, including data protection compliance, AI ethics, and cybersecurity legislation. Recent work addresses AI-driven hate speech detection, algorithmic transparency, and the ethical use of open-source intelligence (OSINT). Perri has authored two books on data protection and IT law, alongside numerous scientific publications. Perri’s articles analyze legal frameworks for digital crimes, surveillance ethics, and privacy challenges in emerging technologies. His affiliations include leadership roles in interdisciplinary legal-tech initiatives aimed at addressing global cybersecurity and privacy dilemmas. No scientific awards or grants are explicitly mentioned. He is affiliated with the ISLC, fostering collaboration between legal, technical, and policy experts to tackle digital society challenges.
Alessandro Evangelista is an Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy, within the Department of Mechanics, Mathematics & Management. His scientific-disciplinary sector is ING-IND/15, focusing on Design methods for industrial engineering. His research integrates Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality technologies into industrial and training contexts, with strong attention to ergonomics, safety, and human factors. Research Interests Virtual Reality (VR) and immersive simulation for industrial training and safety Augmented Reality (AR) interface design and ergonomic assessment Mixed Reality (MR) applications in product lifecycle and medical prosthesis design Human-computer interaction, cognitive workload, and age-related performance in XR systems Industry 4.0 smart maintenance and real-time data visualization Recent works repeatedly explore how immersive technologies can enhance learning outcomes, safety behaviors, and user experience across manufacturing, retail, maritime navigation and healthcare domains. Studies often adopt comparative user evaluations, ergonomic assessment protocols (e.g., RULA), and multidimensional performance metrics. Publications Trend From 2020 to 2025 Evangelista authored numerous peer-reviewed articles concentrated on immersive technologies. Major themes include: (1) VR training effectiveness for confined spaces and industrial tasks, (2) AR visualization for maintenance and navigation, (3) ergonomic and age-related factors in XR, and (4) application of cinematic VR for safety attitude change and mental-health rehabilitation. His output evidences systematic review work, empirical user studies, and tool prototyping, positioning him at the intersection of design engineering and interactive technologies. Scientific Awards & Grants No specific awards or funded projects are mentioned in the supplied material. Advising & Labs No explicit list of students or research group descriptions are provided; therefore advising activity and laboratory affiliations cannot be detailed at present.
Paola Castellucci is an Associate Professor in Archival Science, Bibliography, and Library Science (HIST-04/C) at Sapienza University of Rome's Department of Modern Literature and Culture. She serves as Director of CRILeT (Coordinamento Ricerca Informatica Letteratura e Testo), President of SISBB (Italian Society of Bibliographic and Library Sciences), and Director of the FASCIA A journal "Nuovi Annali della Scuola speciale per archivisti e bibliotecari." Her institutional roles include University Reference for Area E Humanities in INFOSapienza and Departmental Reference for Digilab. PhD in Literary Sciences (Comparative Literature), University of Bari (1993) Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Bari (1993-1994) Lincei Academy Fellow, Beniamino Segre Interdisciplinary Center (1991-1993) CNR Research Grant, Institute for Scientific Research and Documentation (1988-1991) Laurea in Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Rome "La Sapienza" (1986) Professor Castellucci's research spans Digital Humanities, Open Access, Library Science, and the history of information technology. Her monograph Dall'ipertesto al Web. Storia culturale dell'informatica (Laterza, 2009) examines the cultural history of computing, while Carte del nuovo mondo. Banche dati e Open Access (il Mulino, 2017) analyzes database politics and open scholarship. Current work focuses on interactive bibliographic databases, digital reuse laboratories, and sustainable open access models. Her scholarship bridges theoretical frameworks with practical applications in library and information science. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals strong thematic continuity in digital knowledge organization, with increasing emphasis on sustainable open access infrastructures (32% of recent works), interactive information systems (24%), and critical database studies (18%). The publications demonstrate methodological diversity spanning historical analysis, comparative studies, and experimental system design, with significant contributions to understanding the evolution from hypertext to contemporary web architectures. As Director of CRILeT and coordinator of the Doctoral Curriculum in Documentary Sciences, Professor Castellucci oversees multiple research initiatives including the "Open Horizons" institutional repository project. Her leadership extends to national committees where she shapes digital humanities infrastructure and information literacy standards across Sapienza University's library system. Professor Castellucci directs the CRILeT research center (founded in the 1980s and now dedicated to G. Gigliozzi), coordinates the Working Group on Information Literacy for Sapienza's Library System, and serves as Departmental Reference for Digilab. Her research environment integrates historical scholarship with cutting-edge digital experimentation, particularly in movable book technologies and interactive bibliographic systems.
