I am a Professor of Process Systems Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London.

My research interests focus on the development of methods for modelling, simulation, control, optimisation and design of processes using an integrated systems approach, and their application to industrial fields, including sustainable energy systems.

I am also interested in the creation of innovative mechanisms for research, and promoting interfaces between academia and industry. At Imperial I co-founded and led in various positions, to director, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), a worldwide centre of excellence in its sector, co-founded and was a director of the Energy Futures Lab and launched the MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures, two innovative activities fostering interdisciplinary research and teaching in energy. As a director and chairman of the UNIHEAT Project, I led an international UK-Russia applied research programme for energy efficiency in the Oil & Gas sector.

On the enterprise front, I co-founded and led the management team of Process Systems Enterprise Ltd., an early Imperial spinoff in process simulation software and services. As managing director and chairman I led it from formation to 61st, then 30th position in the Sunday Times TechTrack100 list of fastest growing unquoted companies. The company employed >170 in worldwide offices at the time it was acquired by Siemens in 2019. I co-founded a second Imperial spinoff based on my research, Hexxcell Ltd. (high-tech heat transfer software and services – www.hexxcell.com ) of which I was CEO until March 2018 when I sold my interests to the rest of the team. My experience includes commercial strategy development, startup building, and negotiating Intellectual Property, technology licensing and commercial agreements. As Enterprise Champion in the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial, I advise on and promote technology transfer initiatives. As Director of Enterprise in Chemical Engineering, I set up and presently lead ChemEng Enterprise, a pioneering programme which has increased the generation of DeepTech startups by x 4 over historical levels. 

Advisory activities have included the Advisory Board of ENSIACET (Institut National Politechnique Toulouse, France), participation in and chairing of various Peer Review and Evaluation panels (including for the Italian Ministry of Education, French Ministry of Industry, and the Excellence Programme of the German Ministry for Research), membership of the Scientific Committee of the Institut Mines Telecom in Paris (a consortium of 10 research establishments), various Panels at the EU European Research Council (ERC) and as Strategic Advisor to Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute, Nanjing (China). I chaired for 6 years as President the Evaluation Board of the Politecnico di Torino (Italy), overseeing all aspects of the university other than financial audit.

Awards include Fellowships of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institution of Chemical Engineers, a “Queen’s Award for Excellence” (with CPSE) and a “Queen’s Award for Enterprise“ (with Process Systems Enterprise Ltd.), a Rector's Award for Excellence in Leadership and Management, and the Institution of Chemical Engineers Industry Award for Innovation and Excellence (Education and Training). The UNIHEAT Project was shortlisted in the “Research Project of the Year” category for the 2015 IChemE Global Awards. I am receipent of Imperial's President's Award for Excellence in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2023) and the inaugural Imperial Enterprise Champion Award (2026). IChemE awarded me the Sargent Medal (2023) and ChemEng Enterprise was Finalist as “Startup of the Year” in the IChemE Global Awards 2025. 

I am a recipient of the 2008 McRobert Award, the top innovation prize of the Royal Academy of Engineering for profitable innovation, and the President’s Award and Medal for Outstanding Research, Imperial’s highest research award (2016). In 2003 I was made by Presidential Decree a Cavaliere of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the foremost National Order in Italy.