Education: Marco Furini received the Ph.D degree and the Laurea degree in computer science from the University of Bologna, Italy, in 2001 and 1995, respectively.

Current position: Full Professor of Computer Science

Current affiliation: Since November 2008 he is a faculty member of the Department of Communication and Economics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

Previous affiliations:

  • [2001-2008] Department of Computer Science, University of Piemonte Orientale in Alessandria. Permanent research position in Computer Science (ricercatore universitario INF/01).
  • [2000-2001] Department of Computer Science, University of Bologna. Post-doc position under the supervision of Lorenzo Donatiello.
  • [1998-1999] Advanced Network Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst: visiting of the group headed by Don Towsley and Jim Kurose
  • [1996] National Research Council (CNR), CNUCE Institute in Pisa on the design and analysis of real-time protocols.

Research interests:

In the field of social computing, research is conducted on various aspects. One area of focus involves advanced data analysis techniques to identify trends and influential users within specific topics. Another area addresses privacy concerns in the context of social media platforms. Additionally, architectures are developed to promote the reuse of computational resources and discourage selfish usage by individual users. The outcomes of these research efforts have been disseminated through various channels. They have been published in international journals and conferences, and contributed as chapters in international books. Notably, a patent titled “Method for Analyzing Web Space Data” was granted (US number US8117227 B2, 14 February 2012). Some research works have received recognition, including one paper titled “Trank: Ranking Twitter Users According to Functional Specific Topics” which was considered as the best paper in January 2015. Certain papers have also received the highest rating in the VQR process, such as “WWW Recycling for a Better World” in January 2010. Furthermore, the research has attracted attention from the national press, with an article on “Location Privacy and Public Metadata in Social Media Platforms: Attitudes, Behaviors, and Opinions” being featured in Wired magazine in September 2014, and with “Public health and social media: language analysis of vaccine conversations” being features in various national newspaper (e.g., La Repubblica).

In the area of multimedia computing, the research focuses on the analysis and distribution of digital content in a distributed environment. This research encompasses the design, analysis, and development of heuristics for the production of temporally compressed audio/video streams (audio/video summarization), as well as the analysis and design of protocols to support video streaming applications. The results of these research efforts have been published in prestigious international journals, presented at renowned international conferences, featured in chapters within international books, and contributed to international encyclopedic volumes. Notably, some works have been considered as best papers, such as ‘VISTO: VIsual storyboard for Web Video Browsing’. Moreover, certain research studies earned the highest rating in the VQR process, exemplified by ‘STIMO: Still and Moving Video Storyboard for the Web Scenario’ and ‘Bringing Multimedia Contents into MP3 Files’. Some research outcomes have also garnered attention from the national press, like ‘Audio-Text Synchronization Inside MP3 Files: A New Approach and Its Implementation,’ which was featured in the newspaper La Stampa. Importantly, several research papers have been cited in patents filed by major ICT sector multinational corporations, including Apple, Sony, Nokia, Microsoft, and more.

Publications: He is author of more than 100 papers published in International Journals (e.g., Communication of the ACM, IEEE Transaction on Multimedia, Multimedia Systems, IEEE Transaction on Industrial Electronics) and in Proceedings of International Conference (e.g., ACM World Wide Web, IEEE Infocomm, IEEE ICC) and written in collaboration with Lorenzo Donatiello, Marco Roccetti, Don Towsley, Marco Conti, Michele Bracuto, Lorenzo Alboresi, Vittorio Ghini, Lavinia Egidi, Marco Aragone, Manuela Montangero, Filippo Geraci, Marco Pellegrini, Stefano Ferretti, C.E. Palazzi, Paola Salomoni, Luciano Bononi, Roberto Borrino, Maria Federico, Nicola Dusi, Simone Montangero, Valentina Tamanini, Claudia Pitzalis, Roberta De Michele, Ilaria Ferretti, Silvia Mirri, Federica Mandreoli, Riccardo Martoglia, Armir Bujari, Daniele Ronzani, Nicolas Lainà, Gabriele Menegoni, Jessica Martini, Catia Prandi, Maria Cristiana Martini, Giovanna Galli, Marta Bortoli, Elvira Pelle, Francesco Poggi.
He is also author of 2 books:

  • Social Media e Social Business La rivoluzione che cambia il nostro modo di vivere e lavorare. Febbraio 2016. Pag. 182. ISBN: 9788893325004.
  • Comunicazioni Multimediali. Fondamenti di informatica per la produzione e la gestione di flussi audio-video nella rete Internet Edizione Franco Angeli. Gennaio 2018. ISBN: 9788891761811

Research Center:

Patents (Brevetti): He is co-author of an international patent and his studies are cited in international patents assigned to big ICT companies:

  • US Patent n. 8117227: “Method for analyzing Web Space Data” di Simone Montangero e Marco Furini. Classificazione attuale USA: 707/769; 707/709. Registration date: 10-Dec-2009. Publication date: 14-Feb-2012. Original Assignee: Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.
  • 47 International Patents by Apple, Sony, IBM, Microsoft, Qualcomm and many others cite papers authored/Co-authored by Marco Furini (as of February 2018). See details, here.

Research activity:

  • [2019-present] “Digital Innovation and Big Data”, Head of the Research Center.
  • [2019-present] “Digital Humanities Research Center” (member).
  • [2021-2022] “Personalized Learning” (FAR-2021). Principal Investigator.
  • [2017-2018] “On designing a system to improve the effectiveness of video lectures” (FAR-2016). Principal Investigator.
  • [2012-2013] “Realizzazione di uno sportello relativo all’utilizzo di strumenti dispensativi a favore degli studenti disabili e con Disturbo Specifico dell’Apprendimento (DSA) dell”Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia presso la sede di Reggio Emilia” (Luglio 2012 – Gennaio 2013). Coordinatore del progetto finanziato con 8.000 euro.
  • [2011-2012] “Analisi e progettazione di meccanismi per migliorare l’accessibilità dei contenuti multimediali in ambito didattico” (Agosto 2011- Marzo 2012). Coordinatore del Progetto finanziato con 20.000 euro.
  • [2005-2007] “A middleware approach to MObile MultimodAl web services, MOMA” (PRIN Project)(member)
  • [2003-2006] “Wide-scalE, Broadband, Middleware for Network Distributed Services, WEBMINDS” (FIRB Project)(member)
  • [1999-2000] SALADIN (Italian national research project) (member)

Journal Editorial membership:

  • [2009 – Present] – Associate Editor (Editorial Board): for the Multimedia Tools and Applications (MTAP) journal, Springer Nature
  • [2019] – Guest Editor: for the Special Issue on Science, Technology and Innovation for Social Good, Multimedia Tools and Applications (MTAP) journal, Springer Nature
  • [2019] – Guest Editor: for the Special Issue in Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, Multimedia Tools and Applications (MTAP) journal, Springer Nature
  • [2018] – Guest Editor: for the Special Issue in Smart Objects and Technologies, Mobile Networks and Applications (MONET) journal, Springer Nature
  • [2015 – 2021] – Associate Editor (Editorial Board): for the International Journal of Computers and Applications, Taylor and Francis Press
  • [2011 – 2017] – Associate Editor (Editorial Board): for the Communications journal, ACTA Press
  • [2015 – 2021] – Associate Editor (Editorial Board): for the International Journal of Computers and Applications, Taylor and Francis Press
  • [2008] – Guest Editor: for the Special Issue on New Achievements in Pervasive and Interactive Multimedia Systems and Applications, Multimedia Tools and Applications (MTAP) journal, Springer Nature
  • [2006-2015] – Associate Editor (Editorial Board): for the International Journal of Computers and Applications, ACTA Press

Conference/Workshop organization:

  • [2024] – TPC Chair: for the Track “Networking Solutions for Games, Multimedia, Social Good, and P2P Application”, 20th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC). Las Vegas, USA. IEEE Proceedings
  • [2023] – TPC Chair: for the Track “Networking Solutions for Games, Multimedia, Social Good, and P2P Application”, 19th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC). Las Vegas, USA. IEEE Proceedings
  • [2022] – General/Workshop Chair: for Workshop “Social Media Sensing”, within the 27th IEEE International Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC 2022). Rodhes, Greece. IEEE Proceedings.
  • [2022] – TPC Chair: for the Track “Networking Solutions for Games, Multimedia, Social Good, and P2P Application”, 18th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC). Las Vegas, USA. IEEE Proceedings
  • [2021] – Special Track Chair: for “ACM GoodIT Conference”, Rome, Italy. ACM Proceedings.
  • [2021] – Workshop Chair: for Workshop “Social (Media) Sensing”, within the 30th IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN 2021). Athens, Greece. IEEE Proceedings.
  • [2021] – TPC Chair: for the Track “Networking Solutions for Games, Multimedia, Social Good, and P2P Applicationa”, 18th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC). Las Vegas, USA. IEEE Proceedings
  • [2020] – General/Workshop Chair: for Workshop “Social Media Sensing”, within the 25th IEEE International Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC 2020). Rennes, France. IEEE Proceedings.
  • [2020] – TPC Chair: for the track “Smart Moving”, within 6th International conference of International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good (Goodtechs 2020). Antwerp, Belgium. ACM Proceedings
  • [2020] – TPC Chair: for the Track “Networking Solutions for Games, Multimedia, Social Good, and P2P Applicationa”, 17th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC). Las Vegas, USA. IEEE Proceedings
  • [2019] – Publication Chair: for 5th International conference of International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good (Goodtechs 2019). Valencia, Spain. ACM Proceedings
  • [2019] – TPC Chair: for the track “Smart Moving”, within 5th International conference of International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good (Goodtechs 2019). Valencia, Spain. ACM Proceedings
  • [2019] – General/Workshop Chair: for Workshop “Social Media Sensing”, within the 28th International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN 2019). Valencia, Spain. IEEE Proceedings.
  • [2019] – TPC Chair: for the Track “Networking Solutions for Games, Multimedia, Social Good, and P2P Applicationa”, 16th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC). Las Vegas, USA. IEEE Proceedings
  • [2018] – General/Conference Chair: for the 4th International conference of International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good (Goodtechs 2018). Bologna, Italy. ACM Proceedings
  • [2018] – TPC Chair: for the Track “Networking Solutions for Games, Multimedia, Social Good, and P2P Applicationa”, 15th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC). Las Vegas, USA. IEEE Proceedings.
  • [2017] – TPC Chair: for the Track “Social Media Sensing”, 3rd International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good (Goodtechs 2018). Pisa, Italy. Springer Proceedings

Conference/Workshop activities: He served as a Program Committee member of more than 120 International Conferences and Workshops in the area of Multimedia communications, including IEEE ISM, IEEE CCNC, IEEE NIME, ACM SAC, SIGMAP, ICETE.

Reviewer activity: He served as a reviewer in more than 200 International Journals and Conferences, including IEEE Transaction on Multimedia, IEEE Communications Magazine, Multimedia Tools and Applications, MONET, IEEE Globecom, IEEE CCNC, IEEE ICC, ACM MSWiM, IEEE DNS, ACM Sigmetrics.

Research Awards:

  • Best paper Award:
    • M.Furini, M.Montangero “TSentiment: On Gamifying Twitter Sentiment Analysis”, Proceedings of IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC 2016) – DENVECT (Digital Entertainment, Networked Virtual Environments, and Creative Technology), Messina, Italy. June 27-30. IEEE Press 2016. (pdf, bibtex)
  • Best paper runner up:
    • M.Furini, S.Mirri, M.Montangero, C.Prandi “Privacy perception and user behavior in the mobile ecosystem”, ACM Proceedings of International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good (GoodTechs 2019), Valencia, Spain. Sep 25-27. ACM Press 2019.
    • M.Furini, M.Montangero “TRank: ranking Twitter users according to specific topics”, Proceedings of IEEE International Consumer Communication and Networking Conference (CCNC’15), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. January 9-12. IEEE Press 2015. (pdf, bibtex)
    • M.Furini, F.Geraci, M.Montangero, M.Pellegrini, “VISTO: VIsual STOryboard for Web Video Browsing”, Proceedings of ACM International Conference on Image and Video Retrieval (CIVR’07), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, July 9-1. ACM Press 2007. (pdf, bibtex)

Teaching:

  • [2023-24] Informatica II, Corso di Laurea in Digital Marketing, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2023-24] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2023-24] Laboratorio di Comunicazione Multimediale, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2022-23] Informatica II, Corso di Laurea in Digital Marketing, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2022-23] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2022-23] Laboratorio di Comunicazione Multimediale, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2021-22] Informatica II, Corso di Laurea in Digital Marketing, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2021-22] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2021-22] Laboratorio di Grafica e Video Comunicazione, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2020-21] Informatica II, Corso di Laurea in Digital Marketing, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2020-21] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2020-21] Laboratorio di Grafica e Video Comunicazione, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2019-20] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2019-20] Laboratorio di Grafica e Video Comunicazione, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2018-19] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2018-19] Laboratorio di Grafica e Video Comunicazione, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2017-18] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2017-18] Laboratorio di Grafica e Video Comunicazione, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2016-17] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2016-17] Laboratorio di Grafica e Video Comunicazione, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2015-16] Social Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Comunicazioni Digitali e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2015-16] Laboratorio di Grafica e Video Comunicazione, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2010-11; 2011-12; 2012-13; 2013-14; 2014-15] Nuovi Media e Comunicazioni Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Pubblicità, Editoria e Creatività d’Impresa, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2014-15] Laboratorio di Grafica e Video Comunicazione, Corso di Laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2009-10] Informatica, Corso di Laurea in Economia e Informatica per la Gestione delle Imprese, Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
  • [2002-03;2003-04;2004-05;2005-06;2006-07;2007-08;2008-09] Sistemi Multimediali, Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Informatica, Dipartimento di Informatica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria
  • [2001-02;2002-03;2003-04;2004-05;2005-06;2006-07;2007-08] Laboratorio di Algoritmi, Corso di Laurea in Informatica, Dipartimento di Informatica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria
  • [2001-02] Sistemi Operativi, Corso di Laurea in Informatica, Dipartimento di Informatica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria

Academic Activities:

  • [2021-present] Membro della Commissione Trasferimento Tecnologico dell’ateneo di Modena e Reggio Emilia.
  • [2020-present] Member of the “Programmazione Ruoli” of the Department of Communication and Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emila.
  • [2014-present] Member of the “Commissione Paritetica” of the Department of Communication and Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emila.
  • [2013-present] Member of the “Mode2 Social Business Lab” at Fondazione Marco Biagi in Modena.
  • [2013-present] Member of the “Commissione Tecnologie per la Didattica” of the Department of Communication and Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emila.
  • [2011-present] Member of the “Commissione Incentivi Fondi di Ricerca” for the Department of Communication and Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emila.
  • [2016] Member of the Ph.D. Program in “Lavoro, Sviluppo e Innovazione” (XXXII)of the Fondazione Marco Biagi and University of Modena and Reggio Emila
  • [2014-15] Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of BAtlas, a BPER (Banca Popolare Emilia Romagna) business innovation project recently awarded as one of the four Italian best innovation projects of 2015
  • [2015] Member of the Ph.D. Program in “Lavoro, Sviluppo e Innovazione” (XXXI)of the Fondazione Marco Biagi and University of Modena and Reggio Emila
  • [2014] Member of the Ph.D. Program in “Lavoro, Sviluppo e Innovazione” (XXX) of the Fondazione Marco Biagi and University of Modena and Reggio Emila
  • [2013] Member of the Ph.D. Program in “Relazioni di Lavoro” (XXIX)of the Fondazione Marco Biagi and University of Modena and Reggio Emila
  • [2013-2014] Quality Assurance Manager (Responsabile Assicurazione Qualità AVA-ANVUR) of the Department of Communication and Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emila.
  • [2013-2014] U-GOV Manager of the Department of Communication and Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emila.
  • [2004-2008] Member of the “Commissione Didattica” for the Computer Science Undergraduate Program, University of Piemonte Orientale.

Academic Experiences:

  • [2008-present]Faculty member of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Faculty of Communications and Economics Sciences.
  • [2001-2008] Faculty member of the University of Piemonte Orientale, Department of Computer Science.
  • [2000-2001] Research Grant “Design and analysis of protocols and mechanisms for supporting QoS applications” at the Computer Science Department, University of Bologna.
  • [1998-1999] Visiting at the Advanced Network Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.
  • [1997-2001] Ph.D. Student at the Computer Science Department, University of Bologna.

Other Experiences:

  • [2021] Autore del romanzo Doveva salvare sé stessa Link al sito