I am Research Director at INAF- Rome Observatory, President of the LBT Corporation (Tucson, AZ), and former professor at the Rome University “La Sapienza”.

The goal of my scientific research is to understand how galaxies and structures formed in the Universe – a fascinating story that spanned the last 13.5 billions of years…

I also develop new technologies in data processing and image analysis (recently with deep learning/AI tools) to extract the full potential of astronomical data.

I published more than 500 science papers, with an H-index of 91 (at Nov 2023). This makes me one of the #20 Italian physicist according to the ranking compiled by Research.com

My most recent scientific activity is based on the incredible results from the James Webb Space Telescope. I lead a research group that is using Webb to identify and study the first galaxies that appeared in the Universe soon after the Big Bang. I have led many scientific projects, the latest being the HUGS survey, the KLASS survey and the European project FP7-Space named ASTRODEEP, dedicated to the analysis of the data from space missions. I’ve made an important contribution to the Euclid space mission, leading the team that is preparing part of the software for the image data processing.

The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is one of the largest and more advanced optical telescopes in the world. I am the President of the LBT Corporation, the Chair del Board of Directors and the Italian coordinator of the  whole LBT-related activity. 

I am the Head of the Optical-NearIR Division of INAF, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. In this capacity I supervise the development of all Italian projects in the optical and near-IR wavelengths, including projects with ESO and LBT, but also space missions like Euclid, GAIA, Plato etc.

Last but not least, I am leading STILES, an ambitious, 70M€ program based on PNRR funds to develop innovative astronomical instruments and laboratories across the entire country.

I taught at the Rome University La Sapienza, where I held the course of “Extragalactic Astrophysics”

I like to make the general public aware of what we do – if you want to see slides, articles and conferences (in italian) click here .