Massimo Ferri's home page

Alla Versione italiana (per studenti)

My name is Massimo Ferri, and I am a full professor of Geometry at the Engineering Faculty of the Bologna University. I am a member of the Department of Mathematics, of the Research Center for Mathematical Applications and of the Advanced Research Center for Electronic Systems "E. De Castro". I list my scientific and teaching activities, and also my other academic duties. You can also have a look at a complete CV of mine and at some personal notes.


Office: Dip. di Matematica, Piazza di Porta S. Donato 5, I-40126 BOLOGNA Italy.
Tel.: +39-051-2094452.

What is the only maths you can't ever apply? The one you don't know! (Mario Pezzana)

Scientific activity

Currently, all my scientific activity is devoted to our little research group in Vision Mathematics, which I warmly invite you to visit. In particular, I worked at the VIDET project, to which I had given the starting idea.

I've started my research in the topology of manifolds; in more recent years I've drifted towards applications of geometry and topology to some aspects of robotics, in particular computer vision. My bibliographic references are available on line. Much of our research activity also goes through the theses we assign.

My Masters are Mario Pezzana and Luigi Cavalieri D'Oro, who have taught me all that I know, and also a lot of other things I've never been able to learn. I used to share drinks, studies, research, journeys, articles with Carlo Gagliardi, now at Modena University, for a long time. Colin Rourke was very important during my year at Warwick University. I dreamed of - never found - invariants together with Sóstenes Lins (at UFPE, Recife, BR) and Louis Kauffman (of the U. of Illinois at Chicago). I am proud to have had a number of Ph. D. students, among which there are two wonderful colleagues: Patrizio Frosini and Michele Mulazzani.

Teaching activity

In the current academic year I give the following courses:

  • Geometry and Algebra t1 for the 1st degree in Automation Engineering and Information Engineering in Bologna (a program in Italian is available)
  • Complements of Geometry for the 2nd degree in Mechanical Engineering in Bologna (a program in Italian is available)

  • Mathematical Methods (part A) for the 2nd degree in Materials and Sensors Systems for Environmental Technologies (MASSET) (a program is available)

  • Algebraic Topology for the 1st degree in Mathematics (a program in Italian is available)

    • Academic duties

    I have been a member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Mathematical Union for some periods. From May 2003 to May 2009 I have been the coordinator of its Committee for Research and Teaching of Mathematics in the Engineering Faculties.

    For the period 2005-2009 I am a member of the scientific committee of the Inter-University Centre for the access to Engineering and Architecture Schools and I have been the coordinator of its Thematic Group "Mathematics" from 2006 to 2009.


    (Pages prepared with Hypertext Master 2).