Research activity - Faculty of Engineering - Main research topics
The research in UTIU Faculty of Engineering takes place in close cooperation with the affiliated universities, mainly the Polytechnic of Turin and the University of Rome III. The agreements provide, in addition to resource sharing of laboratories and libraries, to participate in joint research projects, both Italian and foreign markets.
In particular, the academic staff of the Faculty of Engineering, conducts research in the following areas.
Area of Mathematical Analysis
The research activity mainly focuses on differential equations.
A first research activity is devoted to the study of the theory and applications of Special Functions and Orthogonal Polynomials, with special reference to operational techniques for the solution of Ordinary Differential Equations and Partial Differential Equations. Many applications are historically recognized in the accelerators' physics, as well as of Theoretical Physics, thanks to several operational results obtained in the field of Special Functions.
A second strand is focused on the study of Schrödinger operators and in particular their spectral theory, Scattering theory, solvable interactions models. Some applications of these issues relate to models in solid state physics and their stability, graphs and quantum nonlinear signal propagation, decoherence study models. In particular we point out the modeling of the fermion gas in the unitary limit and its first type stability, and the study of spectral properties of the Schroedinger equation linear for the few bodies problem. In addition, the existence and properties of stationary waves in the presence of localized defects by variational methods are studied for the nonlinear Schroedinger equation .
Area of Linear Algebra
The focus of research in this area is the study of families of polynomials with particular reference to orthogonal polynomials. The development of techniques that are based on the monomiality principle allowed to obtain several results that greatly simplify the approach for the calculation of the algebraic properties of a large area of polynomials. In addition, the instrument of monomiality allowed a different approach to the Number Theory problems.
Area of Economics and Management
The research involves the development of models and methodologies for assessing the economic value relatively to the accuracy of information in urban transport systems. The economic aspects of problems related to the scheduling in the production and management of ground air traffic are investigated. Another research topic is the development and validation of models for the assessment of the economic loss due to the theft of personal data provided online with the request to a service.
Area Electrical Engineering
The research activity includes several issues regarding the electromagnetic modeling. The main research topic is the study of the lightning phenomena, which includes the modeling of the lightning discharge current and the evaluation of the induced overvoltages on power transmission lines. Other research activities cover the modeling of particle accelerators components and the study of high-speed interconnects.
Area of Physics
The research activity mainly focuses on two issues:
1) phenomenology of elementary particles, through the lattice QCD calculations and models of early-universe;
2) space weather and magnetosphere-lithosphere electromagnetic interactions, for the analysis of temporal correlations between electromagnetic emission related to seismic activity and disturbances on the magnetospheric plasma ion-trapped particles and the Van Allen belts.
The research activities are carried out both theoretically and empirically, both through the development of experiments on satellites and the International Space Station.
Area of Computer Science
The activities of the area focus on two issues. The first issue is the study of computer systems Authentication and the test of authentication systems used by operating systems, the services of the Internet, the development of public key certification infrastructures, electronic signature and application to security network. The second issue is the design and analysis of efficient algorithms for complex optimization problems (NP-arduous), with particular reference to routing and scheduling problems.
Area of Continuum Mechanics
The research in the area of Continuum Mechanics focuses on that of polycrystalline materials (anisotropy and recrystallization), the porous media such as soil and electro-active saturated polymers and the elastic structured means. The research is implemented with numerical simulations and with the study of plane waves propagation.
Area of Representation and Technical Architecture
The research is directed mainly towards the areas of rehabilitation of the architectural heritage of historic cities, with a focus on energy efficiency (retrofit) and the application of the design in the early stages of the project. In detail, the activity seeks to highlight the main procedural, planning and management issues, relating to the regeneration of the historic buildings in the city, in order to promote the exchange of knowledge, experiences and best practices.
The capability to transfer the scientific progress into innovative products and services is the foundation of the research activity, addressed to the definition of operational tools for governance, to open up the way for the creation of an innovative model for the valorization and the development of the historic site.
Area of Building Science
In the field of civil engineering, the research topics of Structural Mechanics are part of the protection of the historical and monumental, of risk analysis in presence of events such as earthquakes and avalanches, the development of advanced materials for buildings and infrastructure, and the analysis of seismic dampers. The "consequence-based design" modelling of earthquakes on structures is also addressed through the study of nonlinear dynamics of non-structural elements, to take into account unpredictable events (black swan events).
In parallel, and in synergy with the other faculties of UTIU, a research and independent learning is represented by the psycho-pedagogical models associated with distance learning and the continuous updating of the multimedia platform for the training, which has become an international standard in the field.