Riccardo Giampiccolo, research fellow at the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of Politecnico di Milano, has received the award for the best PhD thesis on Digital Signal Processing topics in the field of Information Technology. Established by the University of Padua in memory of Prof. Gian Antonio Mian – a pioneer of audio and music signal processing in Italy – the award was presented following a selection involving 22 young researchers from universities across the country.
The winning thesis, titled “Multiphysics Modeling of Audio Systems in the Wave Digital Domain”, was developed under the supervision of Prof. Augusto Sarti as part of the PhD programme in Information Technology at Politecnico di Milano.
The research introduces digital models capable of describing and reproducing the behaviour of audio devices such as loudspeakers, transformers and guitar pickups. Its aim is to develop efficient, real-time algorithms to enhance sound quality and emulate the tonal characteristics of different devices. The work also addresses the physical limitations of small loudspeakers, proposing solutions that leverage auditory perception mechanisms to make low frequencies more prominent.
The award supports young researchers who have made outstanding original contributions to Signal Processing, highlighting the strategic importance and broad range of applications of the field, from artificial intelligence to optical and quantum technologies.