The MMSE International Doctoral programme belongs the Department of Industrial Engineering and represents the highest academic educational level. It aim at educating professionals able to play a key role in the research, design and production fields of industrial engineering. A particular focus is given to advanced materials, mechatronics and systems engineering.

Among most relevant Materials Science and Engineering research areas we can include:

• nanostructured materials (metallic alloys, ceramic powders, inorganic systems from sol-gel and nanocomposites)
• powder metallurgy
• biomaterials and biomedical technologies (also developed at the BIOtech, Center for Biomedical Technologies)
• polymeric and composite materials
• materials for energy (photovoltaic, solar thermal, fuel cells, hydrogen storage)
• materials chemistry
• high-strength glasses and ceramics
• coatings and surface treatments
• wear phenomena
• corrosion and mechanical fatigue
• degradation
• experimental characterization of the mechanical behaviour and numerical modeling
• atomistic modeling of materials
• chemical plants
• microscopy (optical, electronic and atomic force)
• NMR
• thermal analysis
• microstructural and micromechanics analysis through X-ray diffraction
• materials and technologies for cultural heritage

The research activities on Mechatronics and Mechanical Systems are based on a multidisciplinary approach reflecting the most advanced developments of the Concurrent Engineering approach. Among the research topics, the following can be listed:

• autonomous vehicles and robots
• intelligent machine tools and machining processes
• product innovation
• modeling, simulation and control of process
• modeling and simulation of mechatronics system
• measurement systems and sensor data fusion
• accessibility and assistance systems
• modeling of the human movements
• mechanisms for space applications
• numerical analysis and SW development for dynamic simulation and optimization
• control and identification of linear, non-linear and hybrid dynamic systems

The main research activities in the area of Electronic Systems and Integrated Microelectronic Systems are focused on design and development of systems for acquisition, processing and management of signals and information useful to solve problems of industrial and social relevance. Among the current research topics, the following can be listed:

• microelectronics
• microsensors
• CMOS image sensors and radiation detectors
• embedded systems
• wireless sensor networks and cyber physical systems
• wearable computing
• intelligent systems and instrumentation for the quality of life
• systems on chip (SoC), energy harvesting and ultra-low power methodologies
• distributed measuring systems
• smart energy systems
• metrology for quality management

The main research in the area of Operations Research consists of the development of mathematical models to support t and analyze the economical efficiency, productivity, performance, and quality of industrial processes. In particular, the activities comprise the development and use of software tools to help managers and engineers in evaluating complex contexts and reach "optimal" decisions when complete knowledge is not available, or uncertain, or contradictory. The following is a partial list of current topics of interest:

• multi-criteria decision modelling
• preference modelling
• linear and non-linear programming
• dynamic programming
• network analysis (PERT CPM)
• queuing models
• inventory models
• risk analysis
• simulation techniques
• fuzzy systems
• soft computing
• machine learning (ANN, SVM)
• project management
• project financing
• decision support systems
• learning management systems
• business analysis
• requirements engineering
• web reputation management
• smart management of cultural heritage for a sustainable tourism

In each of the above mentioned fields, and in additional related ones, it is possible to develop PhD thesis having more fundamental or industrial oriented approaches.

Official language: English

Duration: 3 years