I am a Researcher in the field of Computational Neuropsychology and Artificial Intelligence, and a Developer of applications that make use of these research fields’ methodologies and techniques

I work at the Advanced Learning Technology Lab (ALT), Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), Italian National Research Council (CNR). I also collaborate with the Natural and Artificial Cognition Lab (NAC) at the University of Naples “Federico II“

I have a degree in Philosophy and a Ph.D in Cognitive Neurosciences. In the past  years, I worked in important institutes and research centres, among them the Institute of Psychology of the Italian National Research Council, the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, the University of Padova, the University of Milano-Bicocca, the Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Naples “Federico II”. I also worked for Geniaware, an Italian computer and video game developer.

My research activity concentrates on Computational Neuropsychology and Artificial Intelligence, and their applications in several domains, like e-Learning, Videogames, Serious Games, Intelligent Tutor Systems. I am author of important scientific publications on brain modularity and its evolution, on computational models of neuropsichological syndromes like neglect, on the role of action and perception in object categorization, on the application of Artificial Intelligent techniques in Serious Games and Videogames.

Moreover, during my research activity I developed several applicative software packages. Among them, NeuralOffice (for managing, training and testing neural networks), Eutopia (a 3D virtual environment realized to perform didactic/educational experiences, based on role playing games methodology), Palma (a serious game that aims at developing managerial skills, by discussing with an artificial bot), BestBot (a videogame that uses genetic algorithms and neural networks for creating a new game experience), Learn2Lead (an online game for training team leadership).

I have been involved in several Europen Research projects. Currently, I am working at BlockMagic (as project coordinator), Decide-It and S-Cube projects.