Catuscia Palamidessi (born 1959) is a computer scientist whose research topics have included

differential privacy Differential privacy (DP) is a system for publicly sharing information about a dataset by describing the patterns of groups within the dataset while withholding information about individuals in the dataset. The idea behind differential privacy is t ...

location obfuscation Location obfuscation is a technique used in location-based services or information system An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a so ...

, fairness in machine learning, the logic of concurrent systems, and the design of

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

s that combine

logic programming Logic programming is a programming paradigm which is largely based on formal logic. Any program written in a logic programming language is a set of sentences in logical form, expressing facts and rules about some problem domain. Major logic prog ...

and

functional programming In computer science, functional programming is a programming paradigm where programs are constructed by Function application, applying and Function composition (computer science), composing Function (computer science), functions. It is a declar ...

. Originally from Italy, she has worked in Italy, the US, and France, where she is a director of research for the

French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) () is a French national research institution focusing on computer science and applied mathematics. It was created under the name ''Institut de recherche en informatiq ...

(Inria).

Education and career

Palamidessi was born in 1959 in

Fucecchio Fucecchio () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany. The main economical resources of the city are the leather industries, shoes industry and other manufacturing activities, although in the ...

, a small village in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, and when she began her studies at the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

, despite the discouragement of her parents, she became the first woman from that village to go to a university. Continuing her studies there, she earned a

laurea In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremony ...

in 1982 and a Ph.D. in 1988, with Giorgio Levi as her doctoral advisor. She was an assistant professor at the University of Pisa from 1988 to 1992, an associate professor at the

University of Genoa The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...

from 1992 to 1994, and a full professor at Genoa from 1994 to 1997. From 1998 to 2002 she worked as a professor at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in the US, and in 2002 she and her husband moved together to France as directors of research at Inria. At Inria, she is the leader of the Comète team, based at

Paris-Saclay University Paris-Saclay University (french: Université Paris-Saclay) is a public research university based in Paris, France. It is one of the 13 prestigious universities that emerged from the division of the University of Paris, also known as the Sorbonne. ...

, focused on

formal methods In computer science, formal methods are mathematically rigorous techniques for the specification, development, and verification of software and hardware systems. The use of formal methods for software and hardware design is motivated by the expec ...

computer security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

and

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

Recognition

In 2022, Palamidessi was awarded the .

Personal life

Palamidessi is married to Dale Miller, an American computer scientist who also works at Inria Saclay.

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palamidessi, Catuscia Living people Italian computer scientists Italian women computer scientists University of Pisa alumni Academic staff of the University of Pisa Academic staff of the University of Genoa Pennsylvania State University faculty 1959 births