Lucia Valentina GAMBUZZA

Current position

• Since 1st October 2024 she is Associate Professor in the field Automatica at University of Catania, where she also teaches “Process modeling and control”, ”Control Systems Technologies" and and “Automatic Control”.
• From 1st October 2021 to 30th September 2024 she was Assistant Professor (RTD-B) in the field ING-INF/04 Automatica at University of Catania.
• She also regularly supervises Bachelor and Master Students in their thesis work both for the Master degree in Automation and Computer Sciences Engineering; she is tutor of the student Matilda Saladdino within the Ph.D course in Systems, energy, computer and telecommunications engineering of University of Catania, she is also tutor of the student Amarnath Venkatachalam within the national Ph.D. program in autonomous systems (DAUSY). She was tutor of two PhD students, Cinzia Tomaselli and Alessandra Corso and Chiara Condorelli at University of Catania.
• She is member of the board of professors of the PhD course in Systems, Energy, Computer Science and Telecommunications Engineering.

Education, training and previous positions

• In June 2025 she received the National scientific qualification as Full Professor in the field Automatica ING-INF/04.
• In January 2014 she received the PhD Degree in Systems Engineering at the University of Catania with the thesis entitled "Memristor and networks: new structure for complexity”.
• In 2010 she received the Master Degree in Automation Engineering and Control of Complex Systems (110/110 cum laude) at the University of Catania.
• From 08/05/2020 to 07/05/2021 she Postdoctoral Researcher (assegnista di ricerca) granted by a research scholarship at University of Catania developing the program “Control techniques of complex networks based on the control of the Laplacian matrix”.
• From 03/03/2014 to 02/03/2020 she was Postdoctoral Researcher (assegnista di ricerca) at University of Catania, developing the programs "Control of chaotic circuits based on memristors" and "Memristive synapses for adaptive consensus/synchronization”.
• Since October 2010 to October 2013 she was PhD Student of the course Systems Engineering at the University of Catania.

Teaching activities

She held the following courses at the University of Catania:

• Since A.Y. 2024/2025, “Controlli Automatici” (57 hours, 7 CFU), bachelor degree in Industrial Engineering L-9.
• Since A.Y. 2023/2024, “Process Modeling and Control” (79 hours, 9 CFU), master degree in Automation Engineering and Control of Complex Systems LM 25.
• Since A.Y. 2018/2019, “Optimization techniques for control systems” (50 hours, 6 CFU), master degree in Ingegneria Informatica LM 32. 
• She was tutor for the course "Robust Control", in Master degree in Automation and Control of Complex Systems, in the academic year 2012/13.

Research activity

Her research activity is summarized in about 70 scientific contributions in international journals and conferences, and is mainly focused in the following areas: analysis and control of complex systems; consensus and synchronization; higher order interactions; nonlinear systems and their applications; control of nonlinear dynamics and chaos; control of micro-robots team.

The research is carried out with the following collaborations: School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (L. Minati; Università Federico II di Napoli (P de Lellis; University of Namur, Belgium (T. Carletti); RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Japan (R. Muolo) Istituto di Sistemi Complessi, CNR Firenze (S. Boccaletti, S. Olmi); University of New Mexico (F. Sorrentino); New York University Tandon School of Engineering, US (M. Porfiri); University of Zaragoza, Spain (J. Gomez-Gardenes); Technical University of Berlin, Germany (P. Hoevel); Institute of Interdisciplinary Physics and Complex Systems IFISC Palma de Mallorca, Spain (E. Estrada); Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Applicata, Firenze (R. Meucci); University of Bristol  UK (E. Gale); Democritus University of Thrace, Greece (G. Ch. Sirakoulis).

Invited presentations

Invited speaker for the 2024 IEEE Workshop on Complexity in Engineering (COMPENG), which was held in Florence Jul. 22 - 24, 2024.

Invitation to take a course on “Synchronization of coupled dynamical systems” at the International School - Dynamical Systems & Applications, seminar given on 24 October 2023, organized by Stefanella Boatto from Mathematical Institute, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil, online presentation.

Invited speaker for the satellite on Dynamics On and Of Complex Networks 2023 DOOCN-XIV: Cascading Failures in Complex Networks, within the 28th International Conference on Statistical Physics, Statphys28 August 28-29, 2023, with a contribution entitled “Reconstruction of cascading failures in dynamical models of power grids”. 

Editorial activities

• Since January 2025 she is Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.
• Since January 2024 she is Associate Editor for the IEEE Open Journal of Control Systems.
• Since October 2023 she is Associate Editor for Nonlinear Engineering, Modeling and Application.
• Since July 2023 she is Associate Editor for Frontiers in Physics.
• Since January 2017 she is Associate Editor of Chaos Solitons and Fractals.
• She regularly serves as Referee for many international journals, among which: IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, IEEE Trans on System Man and Cybernetics, IEEE Trans on Control Networks Systems, IEEE Trans on Circuits and Systems I, Automatica, Communications Physics, Nature Communications, Int. Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos, Nonlinear Dynamics, Chaos Solitons and Fractals, Int. Journal of Adaptive Control and Signal Processing.

Organization activities

• She is Technical Program Chair for THE 21st IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA 2026).
• She is Program chair for CCS, Conference on Complex Systems 2025.  
• She is member of the Program Committee for NetSci-X 2024, and for CCS, Conference on Complex Systems 2024.
• She was general co-secretary of the International Symposium on Nonlinear Theory and Its Applications, NOLTA 2023.
• She was member of the program committee of the Automatica national meeting 2023.
• Member of the Local organizing committee for the 6th IFAC Hybrid Conference on Analysis and Control of Chaotic Systems CHAOS 2021, held in Catania 27-29 September 2021.
• Member of the Local organizing committee for the CNNA 2021, the 17th IEEE International Workshop on Cellular Nanoscale Networks and their Applications, held at the University of Catania 29- 30 September 2021. 
• Member of the Local organizing committee for the 7th Memristor and Memristive Symposium held in Catania 1 October 2021.
• Chair of participant session for the "International School on Informatics and Dynamics in Complex Networks" which was held in Catania 15-19/10/2018 and for the 2nd edition which was held in Catania 10-14/02/2020.
• Organizer of the Special Session "The backbone of nonlinear dynamics: from cellular to complex networks"  for CNNA 2018 (16th International Workshop on Cellular Nanoscale Networks and their Applications), 28-30 Agosto 2018, Budapest, Hungary.
• Member of the Local organizing committee for NDES, Nonlinear Dynamics of Electronic Systems, held in Acireale 11-13/06/2018.
• She was special session chair of the 23rd European Conference on Circuit Theory and Design (ECCTD 2017).
• Since September 2021 she is member of the Cellular Nanoscale Networks and Memristor Array Computing Technical Committee (CNN-MAC) and in December 2021 she has been elected chair of the CCS/Italy Steering Committee (Italian Chapter of the Complex Systems Society).

Participation in research projects

• She is the scientific responsible (PI) within the national project PRIN 2022 for the research project “2022FHHHPC - The structure, dynamics and control of network systems with higher-order interactions” (2024-2026).
• She is the scientific responsible (PI) within the research project “CoCoS: Control of complex systems from theory to applications” in the framework of the research program of the “Piano di incentivi per la ricerca di Ateneo 2024/2026”, (2024-2026).
• She was the scientific responsible (PI) for the research project “TeChMAS: An experimental setup for testing and characterization of consensus strategies in multi-agent systems” in the framework of the research program “Starting Grant” of the “Piano di incentivi per la ricerca di Ateneo 2020/2022”, (2022-2025).
• Member of the research unit of the University of Catania within the MIMIT Call for Proposals funded under the National Research Programme “PULSES - PULtruded Smart Sustainable Elements with Sensors” (2026-2028).
• Member of the research unit of the University of Catania for the research and development project carried out within the framework of the Innovation Agreements “Innovative flexible manufacturing systems for eco-compatible composite materials that are fully recyclable – RE-COMP” (2025-2026).
• Member of the research unit of the University of Catania within the national project PRIN 2017 - ADVANCED NETWORK CONTROL OF FUTURE SMART GRIDS, (2020-2024).
• Member of the research unit of the University of Catania within the COST Action IC1401 MEMOCIS "Memristors - Devices, Models, Circuits, Systems and Applications" (2014-2020).
• Member of the research unit of the University of Catania within national project PlastICs PON (2012-2015).
• Member of the research unit of the University of Catania within the APOSTILLE Project (2010-2012),  an EU founded project aimed to reinforce the research capacities and capabilities of the Faculty of Technical Sciences (FTS) in the field of nano and organic/flexible/printed electronics.
• Member of the research unit of the University of Catania within the bilateral project Italy-Turkey 2012-2014 on “Networks of memristor-based circuits.

Last edit: 09/25/2026