About me
I was born and raised in Piedmont, Italy... a land of rolling hills and medieval castles, cheerful in the summertime and melancholic in the foggy winter. Alba (from Latin, "white town") is my town, home to a Roman emperor, the writer Beppe Fenoglio, and the artist Pinot Gallizio... But you may know it better for the red wines and the scented truffles.
Education
My educational background is interdisciplinary. I hold a BA in Modern Humanities and a MA in Communication Sciences from the University of Turin, Italy. I received my PhD in Science Technology and Art Research from the transdisciplinary and nomadic research program directed by Roy Ascott at the University of Plymouth, UK. In other words, I know about aesthetics, philosophy, critical theory, linguistics, literary criticism, art history, cyberculture, digital narrative, and new media arts. I know also about cognitive psychology, communication theory, visual culture, semiotics, sociology, ethnography, and anthropology. On top, I have practiced photography, film, radio, television, graphic design, web design, and interaction design.
Professional experience
Prior to my academic position at the University of Colorado, I was Head of New Media Research & Development at Fondazione Fitzcarraldo in Turin. Fondazione Fitzcarraldo is an organization dedicated to research and training on art, culture, and media management, economics, and policies. I worked at the Foundation for about five years. I developed a first road map of new media activities and projects inspired by early ideas of 'cultural usability,' and innovated their curricula for cultural managers and museum directors. Prior to that, I used to provide media consulting for the design and management of artistic events, socio-cultural initiatives, and community networks. I also worked briefly for the Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, with the job of investigating new technologies for the museum and new museum professions.
Academic life
Until the summer of 2009, I was a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I had moved to Boulder for love (that's part of life too), and took on my position at the Department of Computer Science in 2004. I have started to engage actively with the HCI community after moving to Boulder. Since then I have served as a member of advisory boards and technical committees for several organizations, including ACM conferences and review panels for the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Research Council Canada. I have been the technical program co-chair of Creativity & Cognition 2007 organized in Washington, DC in collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences. Over the last years, I have also been invitated to present my work at events funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in England, the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States, and at industrial venues such as the HP Labs in Bristol.
Download my curriculum vitae.
