PRIN 2022 - DiSPeA - Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate

Assessing Compliance of IoT API for Security Critical Environments (AsCoT-SCE)

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: The fast evolution of (Internet-of-Things) IoT devices and the increasing number of applicative fields in which such devices are involved is rapidly pushing toward a paradigm where third-party developers develop services and applications for collaborative IoT devices. This model, which has already proven successful in mobile systems (e.g., Android and iOS), is pushing standardization consortia, such as W3C, to propose integration frameworks presenting a high level generalized and structured way to represent resources and functionalities offered by IoT devices such as smart cameras, smart TVs, smart doorbells, etc. These frameworks act as an integration point for both third-party application developers, aiming at providing smart services, and device producer developers, implementing device-specific functionalities and API, willing to make them available to third-party developers. By using these frameworks, such as Web of Things, FIWARE, IFTTT, and OpenHAB, to name a few, third-party app developers can invoke their generic code functionalities, such as “change on TV channel 5”, without worrying about the actual brand and model of smart TV in a specific home. Given the early stage of development of some of these frameworks, there is not a mechanism to certify the correct and security-compliant integration between a device-specific API and a generic functionality. This is highly undesirable because there might be a mismatch between an invoked functionality and the performed behaviour. Considering the physical dimension of the IoT environment, such a mismatch can cause unexpected behaviours and risks related to privacy, security, and even safety. The AsCoT-SCE project aims to develop a set of mechanisms and methodologies to be used as building blocks for a certification framework. The developed methodologies will provide a structured representation of IoT functionalities through ontologies, their semantics in terms of behavioural policies expressed in a logical language, a set of guidelines for the compliant implementation of such functionalities, a representation of such implementation through manifest, whose integrity is verifiable, and, finally, model checking techniques to verify the compliance of the integration (association between functionality and proposed implementation) and the compliance with respect to specific requirements of safety, privacy, and security. The project will perform research activities on these topics developing a proof-of-concept prototype for a Smart Home environment. The Smart Home is a representative and impactful application of IoT technologies, on which the partners can leverage their experience acquired with an ongoing H2020 project (SIFIS-Home GA #952652), improving the possibility of exploitation on both activities.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 82.359

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Alessandro Aldini

Codice progetto: 2022598LMZ

CUP: H53D23003430006 

Resilience of Ancient Coastal Communities. Multidisciplinary investigations into the human settlement of the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf between the 6th century BC and the 10th century AD, the climatic and environmental changes in the area and the reciprocal influences on the relationship between man and the environment.

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: The aim of the project is to examine the possible dynamics of growth and decline of the various settlements, especially those linked to maritime activities, along the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf from the 6th century BC to the 10th century AD, in the light of the possible environmental, territorial and climatic changes that the research will be able to identify. The project therefore also aims to examine how man was able to adapt to the climatic and environmental conditions of the Persian Gulf, and in some way to overcome this conditioning by using traditional skills, especially for freshwater management. The originality of the project derives from its objective and methodological approach. It aims to understand the importance of the economic needs linked to trade, the political events and decisions of the various dynasties, but also the changes in environmental conditions, from geological to climatic, in the settlement of the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf, which has never before been studied in a comprehensive manner. The project is characterised by a strong interdisciplinary approach, using an investigation based on archaeology and archaeometry, as well as on environmental sciences, primarily geomorphology. The two lines of research, "Man" and "Environment", work in parallel to achieve a methodologically sound reconstruction of the relationship between environmental conditions and human settlement, in a region with peculiar environmental characteristics and in a diachronic perspective. Archaeological research will make it possible to ensure that all the information, including that on the "environment" line, has a chronological context and a link to the various historical situations. The Project intends to verify the often invoked relationship between the emergence, decline and abandonment of numerous settlements and changes in environmental conditions, which can actually be attributed to geological events or climatic changes, but also to the consequences of incorrect human intervention in the environment. This explanation may not be reflected in environmental research and may be linked to administrative and political reasons, or economic reasons due to the role of ports in the region. Therefore, only an overall framing of the two areas in this multidisciplinary and then interdisciplinary perspective can prevent simple hypotheses from being used to advance other hypotheses. The Project, which constitutes an enrichment in line with what is stated in the National Research Plan (PNR) in Area 5.5.2 Climate change, mitigation and adaptation, also makes a historical contribution to Component 4 of Mission 2 of the National Resilience and Recovery Plan (PNRR), and specifically to Investment 3.3, priority objective i) to increase the level of awareness of climate change scenarios and their consequences, in the global and international perspective that according to the PNR must characterise the study of climate change.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 92.529 di cui € 31.489 cofinanziati

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof.ssa Maria Letizia Amadori

Codice progetto: 20224X9ATP

CUP: H53D23000060006

AUTOMATION OF SAMPLE PREPARATION PROCEDURES

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: The goal of the proposed research is to develop innovative, fast, reliable and environmentally friendly analytical methods to determine pesticides in Cannabis sativa L. inflorescences. The research program consists in the development of a new system for the Real-time in Electron Ionization (REI) detection, where the high identification power, given by the EI, represents a significant analytical progress compared to the limitations of the current available ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) techniques. The prototype is designed to be fast and robust by providing the direct analysis of targeted compounds and EI spectra for library search and reliable identification. The new instrument will be developed with a view to meet the criteria of green and especially white chemistry, the latter aimed at encouraging the ecologic approach of researchers in the development of new instrumentations and methods, but without loss of functionality at the expense of analytical performance. Based on this assumption, REI aims to be an easy tool with high level of analytical feature, suitable for the analysis of pesticides in Cannabis sativa L. samples. Contemporary, a fully-automated and miniaturized strategy will be developed for the extraction of pesticides from hemp inflores ences by using a robotic workstation. The on-line coupling with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry systems will guarantee not only precision of analytical data in term of repeatability, but also the speed up of the entire analytical workflow. Two different instrumental set-ups will be explored: monodimensional gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography hyphenated to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-HR-ToF-MS) for targeted and untargeted profiling, respectively. The proposed analytical methods will play a role of reference with regard to REI technical advances. REI prototype will require a series of tests in order to reach the optimal configuration. The experiments shall assess several parameters relating to both the instrumental components and the operating conditions. The next phase will focus on the analysis of cannabis inflorescence samples. The data obtained by GC-MS/MS and GC×GC-HRMS profiles will also support the progress in the development of REI system. The researchers aim to work and develop competitive analytical techniques, complying as much as possible with the criteria of green and white chemistry, and greenness assessments will be performed. The improvement of REI design represents another significant task of the project, and even more the possibility of making the REI device portable for in-situ analysis.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 100.000

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof.ssa Adriana Arigò

Codice progetto: 202224R9NL

CUP: H53D23003760001

Analogical Reasoning in Contemporary Physical Theories

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: Analogy is an effective form of reasoning adopted in scientific practice. Indeed, hypotheses are often formulated by applying analogical inferences based on alleged similarities with previously successful cases. As a matter of fact, analogical thinking proves to be a powerful heuristic tool, both in the context of discovery and in the context of justification, or confirmation, of scientific hypotheses, especially in physics. Furthermore, thanks to the ability of making complicated concepts more accessible by drawing upon already familiar similar cases, it represents a useful pedagogical vehicle to transfer scientific knowledge both in school teaching and in the popularization of science. Yet, the conceptual and formal status of analogies remains an open problem in nowadays philosophy of science. The putative scheme for analogical inferences holds that, given two systems sharing a number of properties, one can infer that if the source system is known to possess an additional property, then the target system ought to possess a similar property as well. Nevertheless, this conclusion is not logically warranted. There thus arises an outstanding philosophical question: that is, how can we draw plausible analogies in science? Such a question becomes even more pressing in those domains of physics where we have limited empirical access to a target system, as it happens in the sub-atomic quantum world as well as in the large-scale structure of spacetime. Two case-studies are particularly relevant here, since they are the subject of cutting edge investigations in contemporary physics:

1) In quantum physics, the construction of models of sub-atomic particles that can hardly be observed in the laboratory, like the celebrated Higgs boson, has been guided by a formal analogy with symmetry breaking in statistical mechanics.

2) In astrophysics, the study of black holes in which no direct experiment can be conducted has been supported by the analogy with the behaviour of thermodynamical systems.

These are examples of the use of analogical reasoning in the context of discovery and confirmation, respectively, wherein a philosophical analysis proves of outmost importance for the foundations of physics. The present project in philosophy of physics deals with open problems concerning analogy in contemporary research. It is articulated into four subprojects to be developed by two local units, one at the Politecnico di Milano and the other at the Università di Urbino, in the course of two years. The theoretical Subproject T aims to provide a characterization of physical analogies and their plausibility criterion. Moreover, Subproject C1 on sub-atomic physics and Subproject C2 on black-holes physics will investigate the above case-studies. Finally, in Subproject A we will apply our philosophical analysis to improve pedagogical methods appealing to analogy in the context of physics teaching and the communication of science broadly-construed.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 130.272 di cui € 33.633 cofinanziati

Periodo: 04/10/2023 – 03/10/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Vincenzo Fano

Codice progetto: 2022F4Z8YH

CUP: H53D23004220006

Smart Shires: Sustainable Smart Services for the Countryside

Importo totale UniUrb: € 97.873 di cui € 39.158 cofinanziati

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Alessandro Bogliolo

Codice progetto: 2022N2NH42

CUP: H53D23003570006

Virtual, Mixed and Augmented reality for improved landslide risk management

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: This project advances the use of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed reality (VR, AR, MR) techniques in landslide risk studies and management. The aim is to improve the understanding about landslide behaviour and develop a new tool to be potentially used in future by local and regional authorities, able to improve decision-making practices for hazard and risk management and decrease the costs associated with such practices. The project will be structured as two main stages: Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 1 will be the initial stage of the project and will be focused on the analysis of two selected landslide areas located in the Friuli Venezia Giulia and Marche regions of Italy. More precisely, the first case example will be in Passo della Morte (Province of Udine) while the second the Conero Natural Park (Province of Ancona). All the existing information about the two case studies will be retrieved (mitigation measures, monitoring data, etc) and included in a GIS database. Further surveys (engineering geological and remote sensing) and analyses (conventional and numerical simulations) will be subsequently carried out to improve the understanding about the two landslide areas. In Stage 2, all the data gathered from the Stage 1 will be included into a virtual database and used for multitemporal analyses and for generating a new tool for landslide hazard management. Through this tool it will be possible to visualize (in lab through VR and MR or in the field through AR) the: Remote Sensing (RS) extracted 3D landslide models, landslide characterization data, monitoring data in real time, information about installed mitigation measures (if available) and conventional and numerical analysis results. A new smartphone/tablet application will be developed to be used to visualize on the field the above mentioned landslide information, recognize high risk/restricted areas and multitemporal virtual inspections. This will represent a very powerful tool that can be used for different purposes including local authorities risk management, environmental and tourism applications (when landslides threaten touristic or populated areas) and teaching.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 131.385

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Mirko Francioni

Codice progetto: 2022B3ZFSR

CUP: H53D23001510001

EPOCHAL - Earth system modeling of PaleOClimatic HyperthermALs

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: During the Early Eocene, about 55 millions years ago, the climate of the Earth was characterized by radically different conditions than today: atmospheric CO2 exceeding 1000ppm, 10-15°C higher mean global surface temperature (GST) and strongly reduced pole-to-equator temperature gradient. On top of this extraordinary mean state, the Earth was struck by a series of sudden global warming events, known as hyperthermals, which lasted a few millennia and saw further GST rise by as much as 5°C. They were entirely natural climatic events and were driven by an estimated 2000-5000 Gton carbon release into the atmosphere. Hyperthermals represent the fastest carbon release in the paleoclimatic records and our comprehension of their onset and decay is still partial, also because of the limited spatial and temporal frequency of proxy data. A powerful tool to investigate hyperthermals - and Eocene climate in general - is represented by numerical Earth System Models (ESMs). Due to their capacity of filling gaps in proxy data and to the opportunity they provide for studying climate interactions under different mean states, ESMs are rapidly gaining ground for paleoclimatic applications. Within this developing field, the Italian community lags behind the international scene: while flourishing communities exist both on the Earth System Modeling and on the Paleoceanography/Geochemistry sides, a joint effort aiming at bridging these two scientific worlds has never been undertaken. To this day, no ESM has ever been used on paleoclimatic timescales within the Italian community.  EPOCHAL will fill this gap by developing a novel low-resolution paleoclimatic configuration of the state-of-the-art Earth System Model EC-Earth4, aiming at investigating the characteristics of the Eocene climate and the mechanisms of hyperthermals. By performing a series of 1000-year long "time slice" simulations under different greenhouse gas concentrations, orbital forcing and paleogeography it will be possible to explore the Eocene atmospheric and oceanic circulation as well as the hydrological cycle and associated extremes, at both global and continental scales. The Eocene Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) will be compared with present-day and the impact of orbital forcing on the carbon release tipping point will be assessed. Overall, EPOCHAL will provide a large dataset

1) to investigate the feedback, both positive and negative, that lead to hyperthermals transition

2) to assess possible mismatches between model and proxy data

3) to explore the ability of the ESM to simulate a high-CO2 world similar to what humanity may face in the upcoming centuries.

Most importantly, the EPOCHAL legacy will be the first paleoclimatic Earth System Model available to the Italian community, which could be further developed to tackle different paleoclimatic open issues and will foster collaboration among Italian institutions in the years to come.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 92.652 di cui € 25.241 cofinanziati

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Simone Galeotti

Codice progetto: 2022NB888H

CUP:H53D23001610006

BIGA: Boosting Inference for Gravitational-wave Astrophysics

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: Decades of work culminated in the successful operation of Advanced LIGO and Virgo, delivering many observations of gravitational-wave signals emitted by coalescing compact binaries. Notably, one of these signals, GW170817, was accompanied by radiation detected throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. As we emerge from the infancy of gravitational-wave astronomy and astrophysics, the challenge is to fully unleash the enormous scientific potential of existing and upcoming gravitational-wave observatories by harnessing the vast amount of data they produce. This includes enhancing the chances of achieving new multimessenger observations, and processing their outcomes. Among the many aspects involved in the myriad of avenues of scientific advancement this exciting scenario offers, we specifically focus on the influence of the nuclear equation of state on the coalescence of neutron star binaries, their postmerger dynamical ejecta, and the associated electromagnetic emission. Our main target is the determination of the neutron star equation of state by simultaneous observation and joint interpretation of gravitational-wave and electromagnetic signals observed during the Fifth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Observing Run. The successful GW170817 observing campaign demonstrated that the prompt detection of electromagnetic signals associated with neutron star binary mergers and late time follow up observations of these phenomena are both of paramount importance to capitalize on multimessenger events. We will therefore undertake the following tasks.

* Development of a gravitational-wave full parameter estimation algorithm to rapidly localize in volume coalescing compact binary sources and rank their potential host galaxies.

* Integration of our novel inference algorithm within existing LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration data analysis infrastructures. This combination will improve prompt counterpart identification, thus boosting photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations.

* Planning and implementation of an electromagnetic follow-up campaign designed to maximise the scientific return of our parameter estimation algorithm products. This includes formulating and performing joint fits of gravitational-wave and spectro-photometric observations in order to reconstruct the ejecta structure and dynamics of the sources and ultimately constrain the neutron star equation of state.

While our project focuses on neutron star binaries, the prime candidates for multimessenger astronomy, our proposed methodology can and will be applied also to binary black holes. Hence, at a minimum, we will provide constraints on putative electromagnetic emission mechanisms from merging black holes, gravitational-wave sources for which electromagnetic counterparts are harder to envision in standard astrophysical scenarios. Finally, our parameter estimation algorithm will be made publicly available, thus benefiting the astrophysics and fundamental physics communities at large.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 62.868 di cui € 18.199 cofinanziati

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Gianluca Guidi

Codice progetto: 20228TLHPE

CUP: H53D23000920006

DeKLA: Developing Kleene Logics and their Applications

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: DeKLA (Developing Kleene Logics and their Applications) is an interdisciplinary project, involving logic, epistemology and computer science. It aims to further develop the theory of Kleene logics, modal Kleene logics and their applications in philosophy and computer science. In particular, the project will focus on further exploring external (weak) Kleene logics and modal logics based on strong and weak Kleene logics, with a particular emphasis on epistemic Kleene logics. The logical methods developed will help enrich the study of the epistemology of ignorance, fallible knowledge and of fake news, by providing new formal models of analysis. Moreover, DeKLA will considerably enlarge the space of applications of Kleene logics in computer science, by introducing innovative process algebraic methods based on Kleene logics and applying them to concurrent programming and debugging theory. The research team counts on two units, located at the universities of Cagliari and Urbino and will compete in the line reserved to “under 40”. The development of the project involves the hiring of two post-doctoral researchers and the organization of international workshops and conferences to disseminate the results obtained.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 138.159 di cui € 33.159 cofinanziati

Periodo: 04/10/2023 – 03/10/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Claudio Antares Mezzina

Codice progetto: 2022SM4XC8

CUP: H53D23004330006

Advanced theoretical aspects in PDEs and their applications

Importo totale UniUrb: € 124.623 di cui € 44.129 cofinanziati

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Giovanni Molica Bisci

Codice progetto: 2022BCFHN2

CUP: H53D23001960006 

Wastezilla: Recycled waste biomass for efficient recovery of critical elements

Breve descrizione, finalità e risultati attesi: The project Wastezilla deals with the design and development of new multifunctional nanomaterials (MNMs), based on recycled waste biomass, able to detect, bind and extract critical raw materials (CRMs) such as Nd, Dy and Pd from solutions simulating e-wastes. Once sorbed, green solvents like Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) will be tested for desorption as an alternative to classical treatment. Wastezilla has two main aims: a) valorization of waste biomass; b) development of new sustainable protocols to recover critical elements. Wastezilla will make it possible to connect wastes coming from the food production cycles with those of the digital supply chain, creating a new (bi)cycle at an even higher level. Waste biomass (such as pomaces coming from agri-food supply chains or beached Posidonia oceanica) will be converted into biochars (BCs) and Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) to be used as platforms for the development of MNMs able to interact efficiently and selectively with target cations by means of sorption mechanisms. Platforms will be decorated by polyfunctional organic pendants synthesized ad-hoc to exploit specific functions towards the selected targets. Green conditions and mild methodologies will be adopted. The obtained MNMs will be tested on a lab-scale with synthetic solutions of single or multiple metal cationstypical of e-waste, to assess sorption selectivity. To this aim, thermodynamic and kinetic models will be used to define the sorption mechanism, the equilibrium and the rate constants, and the sorption enthalpy. Computational methods will be employed to support the interpretation of experimental data and drive the fine-tuning of the sorbent materials. Robust chemometric tools based on a multivariate approach will be used to optimize each step of the project and to evaluate its performances. Once concentrated on the solid phase, the metals will be partitioned in a solvent for the successive recovery. Green alternatives to the usual treatments to recover critical elements once they are selectively sorbed onto MNMs from a complex matrix will be tested. In particular, the use of DES which have recently emerged as interesting receiving phases for metal extraction and separation will be explored. Wastezilla will provide the creation of a new multi-level network, collaborating local, national, and international stakeholders, optimizing complementary infrastructures available in the involved institutions. The consortium is sustained by strong chemical expertise, management skills, instrumental and computational facilities that will assess not only a long-term impact in broader scientific collaboration and technology transfer but also a social and economic improvement since it will face issues such as waste management, circular economy, and recovery of critical elements.

Importo totale UniUrb: € 51.247 di cui € 4.830 cofinanziati

Periodo: 27/09/2023 – 26/09/2025

Struttura UniUrb di riferimento: Dipartimento Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA)

Referente UniUrb: Prof. Mauro Formica

Codice progetto: 2022HYH95P

CUP: H53D23003860006