Armando Vannucci

Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Architettura
Universita` degli Studi di Parma
I-43100 Parma - Italy
E-Mail: armando.vannucci unipr.it
phone: +39 - 0521 - 905743
fax: +39 - 0521 - 90 5758

Armando Vannucci was born in Frosinone (Lazio) on 16 november 1968. He received the Dr.Ing. degree in Electronic Engineering "cum laude" from the University of Rome "La Sapienza" in 1993, discussing a thesis about digital analysis of speech signals with applications to speech recognition: "Acoustic correlates of distinctive features of Italian stop consonants". He was later (1993-1994) with the INFO-COM Dept. at the University of Rome, taking part in the EEC SPELL-II project.

Since 1995 he was a Ph.D. Student at the Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione (DII), University of Parma. He received his Ph.D. in Information Technology from the University of Parma, discussing the thesis: "Sequence estimation receivers for nonlinear transmission channels" (topic: digital communications), in June 1998 at the "Politecnico di Torino". During his Ph.D. he joined a research project on digital radio links sponsored by Italtel S.p.A., for which he now holds two patents.

In september 1999 he has been a professor of "Signal Processing" for the "International Summer School on Experimental Physics of Gravitational Waves" at the University of Urbino.

At the University of Parma, he's been a technical staff member (1998-1999, Dept. of Information Engineering) and a post-Doc researcher (2000-2002). There, on 16 september 2002, Armando Vannucci finally became an Assistant Professor of telecommunications at the (former) Faculty of Engineering (now, Department of Engineering and Architecture).

Regarding the teaching activity, he has been a Professor of "Signals and Systems" (2002-2010), at the University of Parma, for which he authored the textbook "Segnali Analogici e Sistemi Lineari", (2003, Ed. Pitagora, Bologna, ISBN: 88-371-1416-8). In the same years, he has also been in charge of the course "Audio and Video Signal Processing" (2004-2010), for the Master courses in Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering. These courses have always achieved a 90% (or higher) score (faculty average: 75%), based on the yearly Faculty survey. In recent years (2012-2018), Armando Vannucci has been teaching "Polarized fiber optic transmission" in english, for the Master of Sicence in Communication Engineering. He's currently the professor of "Signals and Systems".

Among the Academic institutions, Armando Vannucci has been a member of: the Executive Commitee of his Department (2005-2010 + 2017-2019); elected member of the Board of Governors at the University of Parma (2009-2012); elected member of the Academic Senate of the University of Parma (2012-2016). He's also been the Delegate of the DIA Director for "general and international affairs" (2017-2019).

An eclectic and verstile flavour characterizes his research activity. Digital processing of Speech (human voice) signals, in the graduation period. During and shortly after the Ph.D., it was focused on Nonlinear Digital Transmission, with innovative breakthroughs, industrial relations and patents. With the new millenium, the scientific activity switched towards Optical Communications, developing different research topics, all related to optical transmission on fiber optics channels (Nonlinear WDM propagation; Polarization Mode Dispersion, including its statistical characterization, modelling and compensation; Optical Amplifiers and Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers; Multicanonical techniques for PMD). After a decade, research shifted toward a fundamental aspects of optical transmission, called Nonlinear Polarization Attraction, of difficult theoretical characterization (hence little investigated), with great application potentials. Since 2017, Dr. Vannucci's research moved back to digital transmission systems, within the modern framework of A.I.-like techniques, applied to digital receivers design.

Research activity was carried out within different research projects (incl. private firms, PRIN, EU projects, etc.), acting as a coordinator/PI for some of them. Armando Vannucci has been a visiting scientist and lecturer: at the Alcatel Labs in Marcoussis, France (2002); at the Université Laval, in Québec City, Canada (2007); at the Hochschule Karlsruhe, Germany (2010).

Prof. Vannucci published over fifty scientific publications, 40% of which are "full papers" on international journals, besides conference proceedings, book chapters, books and industrial patents.

Armando Vannucci has been a member of scientifica societies (IEEE, OSA, etc.), since 1995, and a reviewer for a large number of international journals (IEEE PTL, T-COM, JLT, etc.; Elsevier OFT; OSA Opt.Lett., JOSA-B, etc.). He served as a referee for national (VQR) and international (FRS-FNRS) evaluation panels and he also took part in the Orginizing Committee of international events.

Armando Vannucci is a SCUBA diving instructor (NAUI n.50095), is entitled to command motor and sailing boats and has been the 2009 Italian Marathon champion, for the category University-Faculty members.

Current and Past Research Activity
Variational Inference, Artificial Intellingence, Message-passing algorithms and methods for the desing of digital receivers in wireless and satellite communication systems.

Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD): Modelling; Performance Evaluation; Compensation; Simulation
Kerr effects and Polarization ; Lossless Polarization Attraction; Nonlinear PMD
Nonlinear  Propagation: Nonlinear  Fiber Models; Nonlinear SOA  Models;  Nonlinear WDM Systems
Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers: Modelling;Nonlinear Effects; Noise-Cleaning of Broadband Sources
Design of optimal and suboptimal receivers for Nonlinear radio tranmission channels
Modelling of Nonlinear satellite (transponder) tranmission channels
Digital processing of Speech (human voice) signals
Acoustic and digital analysis of (multilingual) Speech (human voice) signals

Some of Armando Vannucci’s published papers (in pdf format) can be accessed here.

Past and Current Teaching Activity
1992 – Teacher of "Mathematics and Physics" at high school, Liceo Scientifico F. Severi in Frosinone.
1994 – Tutor of "Electrical Communications" (undergraduate courses ) at the University of Rome La Sapienza.
1997-1999 – Tutor of "Signal Theory" (undergraduate courses) at the University of Parma.
1997-1999 – Contract Professor of "Probability Theory and Signal Theory" at the University of Parma.
1999 – Professor of "Signal Processing" for the
International Summer School on Experimental Physics of Gravitational Waves at the University of Urbino.
2002-2010 – Professor of "Signal Theory", for the Graduation courses in
Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications Engineering, at the University of Parma.
2004-2010 – Professor of "Audio and Video Signal Processing", for the Master courses in
Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications Engineering, at the University of Parma.
2012-2018 – Professor of "Polarized Fiber Optic Transmission", for the Advanced Degree in
Communication Engineering, at the University of Parma.
2018-
2021 – Professor of "Teoria dei Segnali (9 CFU)", for the Graduation Courses in Information Engineering, at the University of Parma.

2012-2024 – in charge of the language courses, as a Coordinator for all the Degrees in the area of Information Engineering, at the University of Parma.
2022-present – Professor of "Signals and Systems (6 CFU)", for the Graduation Courses in Information Engineering, at the University of Parma.

Click here to access informations related to courses held by Prof. Vannucci: 'Segnali e Sistemi (6 CFU)'; 'Teoria dei Segnali (9 CFU)'; 'Polarized Fiber Optic Transmission'; 'Elaborazione di Segnali Audio e Video'; 'Teoria dei Segnali B'.





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