La Sapienza - Università di Roma

Prof. Maria-Gabriella Di Benedetto obtained her Ph.D. in Telecommunications in 1987 from the University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy. In 1991, she joined the Faculty of Engineering of University of Rome La Sapienza, where currently she is a Full Professor of Telecommunications at the INFOCOM Department. She has held visiting positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Paris XI, France. In 1994, she received the Mac Kay Professorship award from the University of California, Berkeley. 
Her research interests include wireless communication systems and speech science. From 1995 to 2000, she directed four European projects for the design of UMTS. Since 2000, she has been active in fostering the development of Ultra Wide Band (UWB) radio communications in Europe, and participated in several pioneering EU projects on UWB communications (within the 5th framework, whyless.com, first funded research project world-wide addressing UWB communications for civil applications, and project UCAN aimed at the design and implementation of UWB ad-hoc networks - within the 6th EU Framework, IP projects PULSERS and PULSERS II which integrated UWB research and development in Europe, IP project LIAISON on to location-based services). During this last decade Dr. Di Benedetto research main focus was on medium access control and management in wireless networks, as well as energy-efficient routing, and location-based optimization of medium access control and routing functions. In particular, participation in the European Network of Excellence HYCON (Hybrid Control: Taming Heterogeneity and Complexity of Networked Embedded Systems) offered the framework for an inter-disciplinary effort with colleagues from “Control Theory” that led to the formulation of hybrid models for complex wireless communication systems operating under coexisting conditions, and increased theoretical research activity in the field of cognitive and coexisting networks. Based in particular on this last rewarding and productive collaboration, Professor Di Benedetto recently promoted and coordinated a proposal for a COST Action on cognitive radio and networks. The proposal, that gathered over 30 partners of 15 countries in Europe, as well as the US, Canada, China, and Australia, ranked first in the COST Information and Communications Technology Domain and was approved in May 2009. The resulting COST Action IC0902 “Cognitive Radio and Networking for Cooperative Coexistence of Heterogeneous Wireless Networks” kicked-off in December 2009.
In October 2009, Dr. Di Benedetto received the Excellence in Research award “Sapienza Ricerca”, under the auspices of President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano.