Story Behind the Success: 2022 IEEE AESS Robert T. Hill Best Dissertation Award

Receiving the Robert T. Hill Best Dissertation award is an incredible honor for me. Reflecting on the events that have brought me to this point, it is fascinating to see how certain facts and decisions shaped my life in ways I could never have anticipated.

In high school, I received a humanistic education. We were taught classical subjects, but my favorite ones have always been mathematics and physics. The result was that after five years, I was totally unprepared to choose how to continue my education path. On one hand, there was my passion for scientific subjects, on the other hand, the education I had received led me more naturally toward different paths and choices.

After much thinking, I decided to let my passions win and enrolled in a degree program in engineering at the Sapienza University of Rome. Fast forward a few years later, on a day in January, I am in the beautiful cloister of the engineering faculty of Sapienza, just a few meters away from the Colosseum, and I finally receive my master degree in teleommunication engineering with a focus on radar and remote sensing.

In Italy, doctoral programs usually start after summer. This meant I had some time to make up my mind about the possibility of pursuing a Ph.D. It is at this point that I become aware of the NATO STO-CMRE, an international maritime research center in La Spezia, Italy. There were a couple of open positions for internships on a project on radar sensor networks for maritime surveillance. I thought it could be the perfect opportunity for me to get a glimpse into the world of research without necessarily committing to a multi-year plan.

I applied and, to my great surprise, I was offered the position. I made my way to CMRE in June for six months. I have to admit I immediately fell in love with the working environment, but I only had a six-month plan in mind. Then, as life has its plans and you can only accept them, months turned into years and I am still here, at CMRE in La Spezia. Indeed, it took me some years more to eventually come to the decision of pursuing a Ph.D. in Information Engineering at the University of Pisa.

Today, I am humbled and honored to receive the Robert T. Hill Award for my Ph.D. dissertation "Machine Learning and Data Fusion Methods for Enhanced Maritime Surveillance." It has been a long way from the confused kid who was afraid to indulge his engineering inclinations and a long way from the boy unsure about pursuing his Ph.D.

I would have never imagined receiving such an award, and I strongly believe that it would not have been possible without the support and help of the many exceptional individuals I had the privilege to work with during these years. First and foremost, I am grateful to Dr. Paolo Braca, not only as a tutor, colleague, and friend but as the one who first encouraged me to pursue my research interests and develop a research career. I am thankful to my advisors at the University of Pisa, Prof. Fulvio Gini and Prof. Maria Sabrina Greco, who have provided me with the invaluable opportunity of pursuing a Ph.D. and accompanied me throughout the journey. I am beholden to Prof. Peter Willett for his precious mentoring, support, and letter of recommendation. I am thankful to the reviewers of my thesis and the AESS Awards Committee for reading and evaluating my dissertation. Finally, I am deeply grateful to Prof. Marco Martorella for nominating me for this award.

Authored by Leonardo M. Millefiori