Born: 1955 (Rome, Italy)
Biography:
Paola Velardi is a renowned computer scientist, born in Rome on April 26, 1955. She currently holds the position of full professor of computer science at Sapienza University in Rome, Italy. With a focus on natural language processing, machine learning, business intelligence, and semantic web, Velardi’s research has made significant contributions to various fields of study.
Being recognized as one of the hundred female scientists in the prestigious 100esperte.it database, Velardi has been instrumental in championing the recognition of top-rated female scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas. Her dedication to promoting diversity and inclusivity in the scientific community has had a profound impact on women’s history.
Velardi’s research endeavors revolve around the utilization of algorithms to analyze natural language in social networks and other written documentation. Her current interests include the study of social media for epidemiological surveillance, analyzing the leadership role of women in enterprise social networks, and the design of recommender systems.
One of Velardi’s notable achievements is the development of web-based tools based on machine learning techniques that classify natural language for various purposes of analysis. These tools have been utilized in fields ranging from e-health to female leadership. By extracting taxonomies, ontologies, and semantics from a vast pool of written natural-language data, including knowledge bases such as Wikipedia and social, semantic, and biological networks, Velardi’s work has significantly advanced the understanding and application of natural language processing.
Through her extensive scientific publications, Velardi has garnered recognition from the academic community. Her scientific publications have been cited more than 7118 times, and she holds an impressive h-index of 38. With over 150 papers published in esteemed journals such as Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, Knowledge-Based Systems, and IEEE Transactions on Data and Knowledge Engineering, among others, Velardi has established herself as a leading researcher in her field.
Education and Previous Employments:
Paola Velardi began her journey in academia by graduating in electronic engineering from Sapienza University in 1978. Following her graduation, she joined the Ugo Bordoni Foundation, a research institution specializing in ICT under the supervision of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. During her time at the foundation from 1978 to 1983, Velardi focused on fostering research transfer from academia to practice in crucial domains such as energy, health, and mobility.
In 1983, Velardi embarked on a visiting scholar program at Stanford University, enriching her knowledge and further honing her research skills. Upon her return to Rome, she worked as a researcher for IBM from 1984 to 1986.
In 1986, Velardi joined the engineering faculty of Università as an associate professor, where she contributed to the academic community for a decade. Her diverse experiences and collaborations have provided her with a multifaceted perspective, allowing her research to bridge theoretical and practical domains.