Contact: ai_images@unimore.it
People – research group
The Research Group emanates from three Departments of the University of Modena and Reggio
Emilia.
Lorenzo Manera is an Assistant Professor (RTDB) in Aesthetics at the Department of Education and
Human Sciences, whose research focuses on visual arts, digital media, and educational practices.
He specializes in aesthetics and digital technologies, particularly in image theory and aesthetic
education. He has published on the impact of AI on the documental value of images, and the
relevance of visual literacy in educational curricula. He contributes by leading the development of
the theoretical framework, analyzing the aesthetic dimensions of synthography, and integrating these
insights into educational practices to enhance visual literacy skills.
Federico Montanari is an Associate Professor of Sociology of Cultural and Communicative
Processes, at the Department of Communication and Economics, where he teaches Media
Semiotics, Visual and Media studies, and Communication Theories, and after having taught at
several other universities. He works on sociosemiotics applied to the study of media, war and conflict
situations, technologies, and visual and aesthetic phenomena, more recently on the issues of the
environment and urban spaces. He also works on the philosophy of poststructuralism. He has written
several books and articles on these topics. He contributes to this project by applying sociosemiotic
analysis to media and visual phenomena, enhancing the theoretical framework and comparative
analysis.
Enver Sangineto is an Assistant Professor (RUTD-B) at the Department of Engineering “Enzo
Ferrari”. PhD in Computer Engineering, his research area is Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Deep
Learning. Sangineto has published dozens of scientific articles in peer-reviewed international
Journals and Conferences on AI-based image generation topics. He is the Associate Editor of the
journals Machine Vision and Application and Machine Learning, and has served as an Area Chair in
several AI international conferences. He teaches Machine Learning and Image Processing at
UNIMORE. He contributes to this project by developing advanced AI algorithms for image
generation, analyzing TTI technologies, and providing technical insights for tool development.
Antonella Pugnaghi is an Assistant Professor (RUTD-B) of Didactics and Special Pedagogy at the
Department of Education and Human Sciences at UNIMORE. She has pedagogical-didactic
competencies related to didactic and educational design and evaluation and adult education.
She specializes on creativity education and on training in reflexivity and critical thinking in education.
She has published about creativity education in ECEC contexts and the relevance of the promotion
of critical thinking in the training of professionals in the educational sector. She contributes to this
project by designing and implementing educational training courses and integrating TTI technologies
into educational curricula.