Rector, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca

Rocco De Nicola, PhD in Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh, currently holds the position of Professor of Computer Science and is the Rector of the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca. He has had a distinguished career, having worked for prominent institutions such as Olivetti, Italtel, the CNR in Pisa, Sapienza University of Rome, and the University of Florence. Additionally, he has served as a visiting professor at École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and Ludvig Maximilian University in Munich, and has conducted research at the Microsoft Research Center in Cambridge (UK).

De Nicola has published more than 250 papers in international journals and books, and is among the world’s most cited researchers (ISI HiglyCited). He is a member of the Academia Europaea and has been honoured with the title of “Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana” and is a Fellow of the EATCS, the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science. His work primarily focuses on the formal specification and proof of system properties, as well as programming and protection of distributed systems. He is also involved in various leadership roles including coordinating the National PhD in Cybersecurity, serving as deputy director of the CINI National Cybersecurity Laboratory, and acting as director of the Tuscan Cybersecurity Competence Centre (C3T).