About
Statistician at the University of Cagliari, working between methodology and applications.
Profile
I am an Associate Professor of Statistics (scientific sector STAT-01/A) in the Department of Economics and Business Sciences at the University of Cagliari, Italy. My research lies between computational statistics and machine learning: I design statistical learning methods, mainly tree-based models, clustering methods and text-mining techniques, and use them on substantive problems with colleagues from economics, medicine, engineering and the natural sciences.
I hold a joint PhD in Probability and Mathematical Statistics (Charles University, Prague) and in Environmental and Applied Botany (University of Cagliari). After a research grant and a postdoctoral fellowship in the same department, I was an assistant professor from 2017 to 2024, and have been an associate professor since October 2024.
Outside the university, I am the chief executive of SmartLab, an academic spin-off of the University of Cagliari that brings business intelligence and data science to public and private organizations.
My full curriculum vitae is available on my University of Cagliari page (opens in a new tab).
Academic positions
All at the Department of Economics and Business Sciences, University of Cagliari.
- 2024–present
- Associate Professor of Statistics
- 2021–2024
- Assistant Professor of Statistics (tenure-track researcher, RTD-B)
- 2017–2021
- Assistant Professor of Statistics (fixed-term researcher, RTD-A)
- 2017
- Postdoctoral researcher in Statistics: decision support systems for data management
- 2015–2016
- Research grant: recursive partitioning algorithms for multilevel data and causal inference
Education
- 2016
- Joint PhD in Probability and Mathematical Statistics, Charles University, Prague (supervisor: Jaromír Antoch), and in Environmental and Applied Botany, University of Cagliari (supervisors: Francesco Mola and Gianluigi Bacchetta). Thesis: Morpho-Colorimetric and Non-Parametric Analysis in Statistical Classification of Vascular Flora.
- 2010
- Master’s degree in Managerial Economics, University of Cagliari, 110/110 cum laude
- 2008
- Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Management, University of Cagliari, 110/110 cum laude
International academic activities
The places of my visiting positions and of the conferences where I presented my work.
- Visiting positions
- Conference presentations
Hover over or tap a marker to see what took place there.
Visiting positions
Research Triangle Park, United States
2019 Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI)
Invited by David Banks to collaborate on optimization strategies for parameter estimation in agent-based modeling.
Durham, United States
2013 Duke University
Department of Statistical Science
Invited by David Banks to collaborate on the comparison of multi-class classifier algorithms and bias correction in replenishment sampling.
Conference presentation
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2015 ISI World Statistics Congress
“Background Subtraction in Image Segmentation”
Conference presentation
Bangkok, Thailand
2012 ISBIS
“Extracting Information in a Transshipment Container Terminal Data Set: an Interaction between Graphical Tools and Statistical Models”
Conference presentations
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2019 ISI World Statistics Congress
“A statistical learning model for Airbnb's hosts”
2019 ISBIS Satellite Conference
“Regularization in tree-based classification models”
Conference presentation
Tokyo, Japan
2017 IFCS
“Advances in sequential automatic search of subset of classifiers”
Visiting position
Auckland, New Zealand
2020 University of Auckland
Department of Statistics
Invited by Thomas Yee to collaborate on models for generally altered, inflated and truncated count distributions.
Visiting positions
Research Triangle Park, United States
2019 Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI)
Invited by David Banks to collaborate on optimization strategies for parameter estimation in agent-based modeling.
Durham, United States
2013 Duke University
Department of Statistical Science
Invited by David Banks to collaborate on the comparison of multi-class classifier algorithms and bias correction in replenishment sampling.
Conference presentation
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2015 ISI World Statistics Congress
“Background Subtraction in Image Segmentation”
Conference presentations
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2019 ISI World Statistics Congress
“A statistical learning model for Airbnb's hosts”
2019 ISBIS Satellite Conference
“Regularization in tree-based classification models”
Bangkok, Thailand
2012 ISBIS
“Extracting Information in a Transshipment Container Terminal Data Set: an Interaction between Graphical Tools and Statistical Models”
Conference presentation
Tokyo, Japan
2017 IFCS
“Advances in sequential automatic search of subset of classifiers”
Visiting position
Auckland, New Zealand
2020 University of Auckland
Department of Statistics
Invited by Thomas Yee to collaborate on models for generally altered, inflated and truncated count distributions.
Conference presentation
Barcelona, Spain
2016 ISBIS
“Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Image Segmentation Method”
Conference presentation
The Hague, Netherlands
2025 ISI World Statistics Congress
“Selecting Between Clustering Methods: An Innovative Approach”
Conference presentation
Geneva, Switzerland
2014 COMPSTAT
“A Bivariate Cost-Sensitive Classifier Performance Index”
Conference presentation
Bremen, Germany
2014 ECDA
“Assessing the Reliability of a Multi-class Classifier”
Conference presentation
Badesi, Italy
2024 ODS
“Enhancing Time Slot Efficiency in Scientific Conferences by Employing Latent Dirichlet Allocation”
Conference presentation
Milan, Italy
2017 CLADAG
“Combined Methods in Multi-label Classification Algorithms”
Conference presentations
Cagliari, Italy
2017 AISRe Annual Conference
“Airbnb and Hidden Tourism: a Different Lecture of Touristic Flows in Sardinia”
2015 CLADAG
“A Note on the Reliability of a Classifier”
Conference presentation
Augsburg, Germany
2016 Statistische Woche
“Validating Image Segmentation of Botanical Seeds”
Conference presentation
Bressanone, Italy
2025 IES
“Exploring Spatial Disparities and Gaps in Transportation and Mobility through Airbnb Reviews: A Sardinian Case Study”
Visiting positions
Prague, Czech Republic
2017 Charles University
Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics
Invited by Jaromír Antoch to collaborate on computationally efficient non-parametric methods for validating statistical image segmentation.
2011 Charles University
Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics
Invited by Jaromír Antoch to collaborate on classification methods based on Fourier analysis.
Conference presentations
Naples, Italy
2025 CLADAG
“Local Optimization-Based Clustering”
2022 ISBIS
“The algorithm of NeSSC for semisupervised clustering”
Salerno, Italy
2023 CLADAG
“A Method to Validate Clustering Partitions”
Caserta, Italy
2022 SIS Scientific Meeting
“Optimizing time slots in scientific meetings: a Latent Dirichlet allocation approach”
Conference presentation
Piraeus, Greece
2018 ISBIS
“Comparison of Non-parametric Approaches in Classification of Seeds”
Conference presentation
Istanbul, Turkey
2019 y-BIS Workshop
“Classification-based approach for validating image segmentation algorithms”
Conference presentation
Barcelona, Spain
2016 ISBIS
“Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Image Segmentation Method”
Conference presentations
The Hague, Netherlands
2025 ISI World Statistics Congress
“Selecting Between Clustering Methods: An Innovative Approach”
Bremen, Germany
2014 ECDA
“Assessing the Reliability of a Multi-class Classifier”
Conference presentations
Badesi, Italy
2024 ODS
“Enhancing Time Slot Efficiency in Scientific Conferences by Employing Latent Dirichlet Allocation”
Cagliari, Italy
2017 AISRe Annual Conference
“Airbnb and Hidden Tourism: a Different Lecture of Touristic Flows in Sardinia”
2015 CLADAG
“A Note on the Reliability of a Classifier”
Conference presentations
Bressanone, Italy
2025 IES
“Exploring Spatial Disparities and Gaps in Transportation and Mobility through Airbnb Reviews: A Sardinian Case Study”
Milan, Italy
2017 CLADAG
“Combined Methods in Multi-label Classification Algorithms”
Augsburg, Germany
2016 Statistische Woche
“Validating Image Segmentation of Botanical Seeds”
Geneva, Switzerland
2014 COMPSTAT
“A Bivariate Cost-Sensitive Classifier Performance Index”
Visiting positions
Prague, Czech Republic
2017 Charles University
Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics
Invited by Jaromír Antoch to collaborate on computationally efficient non-parametric methods for validating statistical image segmentation.
2011 Charles University
Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics
Invited by Jaromír Antoch to collaborate on classification methods based on Fourier analysis.
Conference presentations
Naples, Italy
2025 CLADAG
“Local Optimization-Based Clustering”
2022 ISBIS
“The algorithm of NeSSC for semisupervised clustering”
Salerno, Italy
2023 CLADAG
“A Method to Validate Clustering Partitions”
Caserta, Italy
2022 SIS Scientific Meeting
“Optimizing time slots in scientific meetings: a Latent Dirichlet allocation approach”
Conference presentation
Piraeus, Greece
2018 ISBIS
“Comparison of Non-parametric Approaches in Classification of Seeds”
Conference presentation
Istanbul, Turkey
2019 y-BIS Workshop
“Classification-based approach for validating image segmentation algorithms”
Visiting positions and conference presentations given in person, as listed in my CV; online events are not shown. Places of the same kind that are close together share a marker. Base map: Natural Earth (public domain), Equal Earth projection. Positions of the cities: OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab).
All visiting positions and conference presentations
Visiting positions
- 2020
- Visiting fellow, Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, New Zealand, February–March. Invited by Thomas Yee to collaborate on models for generally altered, inflated and truncated count distributions.
- 2019
- Visiting fellow, Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI), Research Triangle Park, United States, March–April. Invited by David Banks to collaborate on optimization strategies for parameter estimation in agent-based modeling.
- 2017
- Visiting fellow, Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, December. Invited by Jaromír Antoch to collaborate on computationally efficient non-parametric methods for validating statistical image segmentation.
- 2013
- Visiting fellow, Department of Statistical Science, Duke University, Durham, United States, January–June. Invited by David Banks to collaborate on the comparison of multi-class classifier algorithms and bias correction in replenishment sampling.
- 2011
- Visiting fellow, Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, October. Invited by Jaromír Antoch to collaborate on classification methods based on Fourier analysis.
Conference presentations
- 2025
- “Selecting Between Clustering Methods: An Innovative Approach”. 65th International Statistical Institute World Statistics Congress. The Hague, Netherlands, 5–9 October; invited session.
- “Local Optimization-Based Clustering”. 15th Scientific Meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society. Naples, Italy, 8–10 September.
- “Exploring Spatial Disparities and Gaps in Transportation and Mobility through Airbnb Reviews: A Sardinian Case Study”. 12th Scientific Meeting of the Statistics for the Evaluation and Quality of Services Group of the Italian Statistical Society. Bressanone, Italy, 25–27 June; invited session.
- 2024
- “Enhancing Time Slot Efficiency in Scientific Conferences by Employing Latent Dirichlet Allocation”. International Conference on Optimization and Decision Science. Badesi, Italy, 8–12 September.
- 2023
- “A Method to Validate Clustering Partitions”. 14th Scientific Meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society. Salerno, Italy, 11–13 September.
- 2022
- “Optimizing time slots in scientific meetings: a Latent Dirichlet allocation approach”. 51st Scientific Meeting of the Italian Statistical Society. Caserta, Italy, 22–24 June; invited session.
- “The algorithm of NeSSC for semisupervised clustering”. International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics 2022. Naples, Italy, 20–21 June; invited session.
- 2019
- “Classification-based approach for validating image segmentation algorithms”. ISBIS Young Business and Industrial Statisticians Workshop on Recent Advances in Data Science and Business Analytics. Istanbul, Turkey, 25–28 September; invited session.
- “A statistical learning model for Airbnb's hosts”. 62nd International Statistical Institute World Statistics Congress. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 18–23 August; invited session.
- “Regularization in tree-based classification models”. International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics 2019 Satellite Conference. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 15–16 August; invited session.
- 2018
- “Comparison of Non-parametric Approaches in Classification of Seeds”. International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics 2018 Conference. Piraeus, Greece, 4–6 July.
- 2017
- “Airbnb and Hidden Tourism: a Different Lecture of Touristic Flows in Sardinia”. AISRe, XXXVIII Annual scientific conference: Innovation, urban systems and regional growth. New development paths beyond the crisis. Cagliari, Italy, 20–22 September; invited session.
- “Combined Methods in Multi-label Classification Algorithms”. 11th Scientific Meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society. Milan, Italy, 13–15 September; invited session.
- “Advances in sequential automatic search of subset of classifiers”. 15th Conference of the International Federation of Classification Societies. Tokyo, Japan, 8–10 August.
- 2016
- “Validating Image Segmentation of Botanical Seeds”. Statistische Woche 2016, sessions of the German Society for Demography. Augsburg, Germany, 13–16 September.
- “Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Image Segmentation Method”. International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics 2016 Conference. Barcelona, Spain, 8–10 June; invited session.
- 2015
- “A Note on the Reliability of a Classifier”. 10th Scientific Meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society. Cagliari, Italy, 8–10 October.
- “Background Subtraction in Image Segmentation”. 60th International Statistical Institute World Statistics Congress. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 26–31 July; invited session.
- 2014
- “A Bivariate Cost-Sensitive Classifier Performance Index”. 21st International Conference on Computational Statistics. Geneva, Switzerland, 19–22 August.
- “Assessing the Reliability of a Multi-class Classifier”. Second European Conference on Data Analysis. Bremen, Germany, 2–4 July.
- 2012
- “Extracting Information in a Transshipment Container Terminal Data Set: an Interaction between Graphical Tools and Statistical Models”. International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics 2012 Conference. Bangkok, Thailand, 17–21 June; invited session.
Service to the profession
- International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS): member of the Executive Committee as liaison to ENBIS (2023–2027); earlier Vice-President for young members and chair of the y-BIS committee (2019–2021).
- Scientific program committees: IFCS 2026, ISBIS 2025, CLADAG 2025, ECDA 2022, CLADAG 2021, y-BIS 2019 and y-BIS 2017.
- Conference organization: coordinator of the local organizing committee of the 50th Scientific Meeting of the Italian Statistical Society (SIS 2021) at the University of Cagliari; member of the local organizing committees of PrefStat 2024, CLADAG 2015 and SIS 2014.
- Invited sessions: organizer of invited sessions at ENBIS, IFCS, ISBIS, CLADAG, ECDA and the ISI World Statistics Congress (2019–2026).
- Refereeing: reviewer for journals including Computational Statistics, Statistics and Computing, Machine Learning, Statistical Methods and Applications, Statistical Analysis and Data Mining, Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry and Scientific Reports.
University and public roles
- Member of the board of the PhD program in Economics and Business Sciences, University of Cagliari (since 2019).
- Member of the Joint Teacher–Student Committee (CPDS) of the Department of Economics and Business Sciences.
- Representative of the University of Cagliari in the Regional Observatory on Poverty of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (2025–2026) and in the Provincial Observatory of the Prefecture of Cagliari on the prevention of organized crime in the tourism sector (2025–2027).
Memberships
International Statistical Institute (ISI) · International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS) · Italian Statistical Society (SIS) and its Classification and Data Analysis Group (CLADAG) · Associazione per la Statistica Applicata (ASA)
Professional experience
- Since 2012
- Board member and chief executive officer of SmartLab Srl (opens in a new tab), a spin-off of the University of Cagliari for technology transfer in business intelligence and data science. SmartLab develops decision support systems, survey studies and statistical models for public and private organizations in tourism, health care, agriculture, transport and energy.