Prof. Giuseppe Bonifazi

Full Professor of Raw Material Beneficiation

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali, delle Materie Prime e Metallurgia (010)

Universita' di Roma "La Sapienza" - Via Eudossiana, 18 00184 Rome Italy

Telephone: 0039-06-44585.925 Fax: 0039-06-44585.618

E-mail: bonifazi@imagemp.ing.uniroma1.it

Research Activities

The main scientific and technical field, object of investigation, are: 1. the study of software and hardware integrated architectures for the synthesis, the classification and the recognition of numeric signals; the development and set up of procedures for the identification of objects and material using pattern recognition techniques based on digital imaging techniques; 3. the analysis and the application of methodologies to study and model industrial processes with reference to particulate solids material, solid waste recycling and disposal; 4. the development and set up of remote sensing and imaging techniques devoted to the analysis and evaluation of natural resources and the impact of human activities on the environment at local and regional scale; 5. the morphological and the morphometrical characterisation of fine particles with reference to the utilisation of the results to increase working environment safety (decrease of pollution due to new processing strategies reducing the production of noise and powders); 6. mathematical procedures set up to characterise and model the textural and structural characteristics of industrial ores.

The development and the further application of a systematic approach based on imaging techniques in the field of raw materials, particulate solid materials and the utilisation of such a techniques also in the field of satellite remote sensing to identify the impact on the environment of raw materials exploitation, was strongly and pioneeristically introduced and utilised in Italy by the applicant. In the last years such a techniques have been widely applied, with good results, in several specific industrial sectors, for the detection of specific features related with the quality control of products, human health and materials: ceramic tiles, ornamental stone slabs and tiles, electronics, blood cells, computer axial tomography, powders and fine particles, bulk solids systems processing and handling; permitting this way to define new strategies to promote the innovation of specific industrial processes: production of ceramic tiles and ornamental stones, multilayer electronic circuits and permitting the definition of new software in the field of computer assisted microscopy.

Working in the University the main marketing and related activities are those linked with the promotion of specific contracts and actions (seminars in the University and in the industry) to promote co-operation and defining research contracts for the analysis of specific industrial problems. In this perspective, in the years, marketing was successfully applied to: sands, characterisation of materials and design of processing flow sheets, electronic industry development and implementation of lab procedures for quality control of circuits, glass recycling (separation of cullets on the base of colour adopting optical digital-imaging techniques), electric and electronic scrap recycling, automotive recycling, software industry (new computer assisted microscopy procedures).

Research Management

The research management of the activity is mainly related to the co-ordination of several research groups operating in Italy and in some cases in co-ordination with other EU Universities (TU Delft – NL, Nottingham – UK, Helsinki University of Technology – FIN, VTT -FIN, TU Dresden - D and KTH – S) and industry (automotive recycling, electronic scrap recycling, plastic recycling, glass recycling, powder and bulk solids, ceramics, ornamental stones, minerals, ceramic tiles, wood dust) in the perspective to define different actions and strategies on the bases of the results achieved by the currently active research lines and on the definition of new strategies strongly linked with industry and market new requirements in the perspective of the increasing demand of sharing of expertise and knowledge inside the different EU countries.

Inside the University

Inside the University of Rome “La Sapienza” he was from 1988 to 1990 delegate of the researchers in the Faculty of Engineering of Rome, from 1991 to 1993 he was delegate from the Faculty of Engineering of Rome as member of the Commission for the Evaluation of the Scientific Proposals and Activities of the different research groups operating at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. From 1998 to 2000 he was member of the Commission for the Programming of Lectures in the Faculty of Engineering of Rome. He was member of The Italian Organising Committee of the XXI International Mineral Processing Congress that will be held in Rome in 2000. He is member of the following associations: "Fine Particle Society (FPS), USA" (2121 South Columbia Suite 705. Tulsa, Oklaoma 74114, U.S.A): member from 1989; "Society of Powder Technology (SPT), Japan" (Shibunkaku-Kaikan, 33. 2-7 Tanaka-Sekiden-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606. Japan): member form 1991; "Society of Mining Engineers (AIME - SME), USA" (8307 Shaffer Pakway Littleton, Colorado 80127-4102, U.S.A. - Membership No. 4026364): member from 1991; "Society of Minerals, Metals and Materials (AIME - TMS), USA" (420 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15086-7414, U.S.A. - Membership No. 372597): member from 1993, "Royal Microscopical Society (RMS), UK" (37/38 St. Clements, Oxford OX4 1AJ, United Kingdom): member from 1994, "Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC), Canada" (Cityview 78087, Nepean, Ontario, Canada K2G 5W2): member from 1994 to 1997.

EU Projects

· Responsible Contact Person for the ESPRIT Project: 24931 - ChaCo: The Characterisation of Flotation Froth Structure and Colour by Machine Vision for the Research Unit DIC (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali, delle Materie Prime e Metallurgia - Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza").

· Responsible Contact Person for the GROWTH Project: GRD1-1999-10351 - ENVICUT: Human and Environmentally Friendly Cutting and Milling of Materials for the Research Unit DIC (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali, delle Materie Prime e Metallurgia - Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza").

Patents

Co-authors of the Software Add-on Module ShapeProÔ inside the Media CyberneticsÔ PC based image analysis software ImageProPlusÔ sold world wide.

Regularly trainer of research and industry people in UK and USA in the field of Imaging Techniques Applied to Particle and Particulate Solids Characterization, with particular reference to solid waste sorting.