Empowering Women in Science

Anna Castellano is a Senior Assistant Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at the Department of Architecture, Construction and Design (ArCoD) of the Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy. She also serves as the President of the university’s Guarantee Committee for Equal Opportunities, Well-being, and Non-Discrimination at Work (CUG) for the 2024–2027 term. Dr. Castellano holds a Ph.D. in Mechanics of Solids and Structures and an M.Sc. in Building Engineering, both from the Polytechnic University of Bari. Her research focuses on experimental mechanics, nondestructive testing, and structural health monitoring, with particular expertise in ultrasonic techniques for evaluating stress-induced damage in materials. She has authored over 70 publications and serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnostics and Prognostics of Engineering Systems (ASME).

Mary is Chair of the International Federation of Automatic Control’s Diversity and Inclusion Executive Committee and Council Member. She is also an active member in IFACs TC9.5 and was previously Chair of their Diversity and Inclusion Working Group from 2019 to 2022.
Mary is a graduate of the Doctoral Programme in Engineering Science in Mechanical Engineering in TUWien, Austria. In Ireland she graduated from the Technological University of Dublin (DIT) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Production Engineering, from Trinity College Dublin with a Masters Degree in Mathematics, and from Dublin City University with a Masters Degree in Engineering.
Mary is the Head of the Department of Engineering Technology in the South East Technological University (SETU) Ireland. She is a Principal Investigator with INformation SYstems and TEchno-culture (INSYTE) based in SETU. As an Irish Management Institute Associate and a Faculty Member of the MSc Engineering Management Programme in TUWien Austria she lectures on executive post graduate programmes.
Mary’s specialist subject areas include Industry 4.0, Materials, Design, Production Management, Production Technology, Advanced Machining and Quality Management. Also Inclusion, Diversity and Equality in Engineering, Mentoring, Engineering Ethics and Environmental Design.
Mary’s background is in the manufacturing industry, both in Ireland and Europe, working as a New Products Engineer and Manager in the automotive, medical device and toy industries for over a decade. As Chair of South East Region of Engineers Ireland, Mary has been a very active volunteer for over twenty years, promoting engineering as a profession, and in particular, encouraging minority groups such as young women.

Industry is an important driver for prosperity in Europe. Industrial and technological developments have influenced European society more than any other developments. The challenge has always been for policy makers to protect citizens from the negative aspects and embrace the positive elements. Innovation is one of the key elements for novel technological developments. The European Commission state that future technological evolutions must respect all key priorities including the environmental, social, human-centric ones. This means complex and challenging problems that need to be solved will require new ways of thinking and working. One of the most important assets we have is a well-educated workforce. Futureproofing this workforce with diverse and inclusive work practices will be critical ensure that top talent will be attracted, and remain, in these companies going forward. “Managing for diversity” as described by Chavez et al. in 2008 means bringing that competitive advantage through the attraction, retention, and leveraging of the unique skills and capacities of a diverse workforce. With recent changes in the international political policies, especially in the USA, DEBI now has the potential to enhance competitive advantage in Europe.

Elisabetta Venezia, Ph.D., Adj. Professor and researcher in Applied Economics at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, Department of Economics and Finance. She teaches Economic Evaluation of Investments, Transport Economics, and Economics of Transport Mobility in UG and PG courses. Her research activity is mainly concentrated on the following topics: sustainable transport, economic evaluation of infrastructures and projects, costs and benefits analyses, equity, gender issues, and travel behavior. She is the author of more than 100 publications. She is a coordinator/component of several research project groups at national and international levels in the transport sector. She is an active referee of several scientific journals. She is the Director of Ap.E.R.Lab. (Applied Economic Research Laboratory). She has been a consultant to several Ministries and Local Authorities as a senior economist in the transport economics and sustainability fields. She is an independent scientific expert for the scientific evaluation of Italian research (REPRISE) for the Italian Ministry of University and Research  (MUR). She is also a component of the Italian Evaluation Body (O.I.V.) and of the Italian Evaluation Society board. President of the board “Traffic and Transport Commission” of Automobil Club Bari-BAT. She has been appointed as a component of the technical table at the national board on Sustainable Mobility.

Sergio Angelastro is Coordinator of the Software Development Area at Macnil, an IoT Mobility and Security Company based in the #murgiavalley, specializing in integrated systems for the automotive, fleet management, and logistics sectors. He leads a multidisciplinary team of 10 professionals, including developers and designers, focused on building cloud-native, data-driven digital solutions.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Digital Communication (2013), a Master’s degree in Computer Science (2015), and earned his Ph.D. in 2020 from the University of Bari with a research focus on process mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. His academic work is published in several international conferences and journals, available on DBLP.
At the intersection of research and industry, Sergio promotes inclusive, collaborative innovation aimed at improving the safety, reliability, and scalability of smart mobility systems.

Kenneth Carling is Full Professor and Head of Computing at Dalarna University, Sweden. With a Ph.D. in Statistics, his research bridges data analytics, algorithmic decision-making, and applied system modeling. He has led or contributed to numerous projects on digital transport systems, last-mile logistics, and data-driven environmental monitoring, often involving sensor data, simulation, and optimization. His recent work focuses on supporting decision-making in complex systems through smart data integration and analytics. Carling has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles and held academic leadership roles in both research and curriculum development in data science and systems analytics. He has extensive experience in European research collaborations, both as project leader and as expert evaluator.

Monica Misceo is head of laboratory for projects and best practises for energy renovation of buildings in ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development. She has got an University degree in Civil Engineering, PhD in Science of the Hearth (Geology) and a master in “Management and Control of Environment”. She works in ENEA since 2000, starting with renewable energy technology (solar thermodynamics) and at present, in the Department Technical Unit of Energy Efficiency, dealing with energy building renovation, Nearly Zero Energy Building (EPDB), support to PA in energy efficiency. She has a long and consolidated experience in technology transfer actions and EU project coordination.