David Palma, PhD, DE

received his M.Sc. degree (magna cum laude) in Electronic Engineering and his Ph.D. and Doctor Europaeus degrees (Hons.) in Industrial and Information Engineering from the University of Udine, Italy, in 2017 and 2021, respectively. He is currently a Professor in the field of Information Processing Systems at the Polytechnic Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Udine, where he is the holder of the Information Security course. He also holds the Python Programming for Engineers course at the same institution, where he previously held the position of Research Associate within the Distributed and Dynamical Systems Research Group. From 2017 to 2018, he worked as an external consultant specialising in ICT systems design and software development at the Friuli Innovazione Research and Technology Transfer Centre. From 2018 to 2019, he was a Doctoral Researcher in defence and security with the Control and Power Research Group at Imperial College London, United Kingdom. Since 2018, Professor Palma has served as a reviewer for leading international journals and conferences, covering a broad spectrum of security-related fields, including biometrics, computer networking, cryptography, cyber-physical security, distributed computing, systems theory, industrial control systems, neural networks, and machine learning. In 2022, he ranked first in the competition for full professorship in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (A040 competition class). In 2023, he was awarded the University of Udine's Ph.D. Award and nominated for the EUROSIM Ph.D. Award in recognition of his outstanding international contributions to science and technology. In addition to his academic commitments, Professor Palma has provided consultancy services in ICT and cybersecurity to judicial authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private companies.

Research interests

His primary research interests include multidimensional signal processing, pattern recognition, and dynamical systems theory, from both theoretical and practical perspectives, with applications ranging from biometrics, surveillance, and cryptography to networking and cyber-physical security for critical infrastructures protection.

  • A branch of his research focuses on the theory, design, and application of biometric characterisation of human beings, based on physiological and/or behavioural traits, in particular for authentication, identification, or surveillance purposes in both cooperative and non-cooperative scenarios, encryption, and medical diagnosis.
  • A second branch of his work revolves around the study of novel and smart methods to improve the detection and prevention of cyber-threats and attacks for core underlying technologies used in cyber-physical systems and critical infrastructures.
  • The last branch of his research aims to explore innovative technological solutions necessary for the development of next-generation pervasive computing systems allowing ubiquitous networks of devices to intelligently cooperate towards common goals in context-aware applications.

Reviewer

  • Automatica
  • Cybernetics and Systems
  • IEEE Access
  • Information Fusion
  • International Journal of Fuzzy System Applications
  • Journal of Computers and Information Technology
  • Journal of Network and Systems Management
  • Neurocomputing
  • Phytopathology
  • Scientific Reports (Nature)

Professional memberships

Additional info

Beyond his professional life, Professor Palma was a light-heavyweight boxer, initially with the Udine Boxing Association in Udine, Italy, and later with the Moreno Boxing Club in London, UK. Prior to his boxing career, he earned certification as a karate and martial arts instructor from the European Federation of Karate and Associated Disciplines (FEKDA). Notably, he achieved victories in several competitions in both disciplines. Additionally, he shared his expertise as a karate and self-defence instructor at the Shotokan Karate Sports Centre in Milan, Italy.

You can find a more detailed Curriculum Vitae on LinkedIn. You can also visit the Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and GitHub profiles.