Dr. Tommaso Polonelli

Dr. Tommaso Polonelli received his Ph.D. in Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies Engineering from the University of Bologna (Italy) in 2020, following his Master’s Degree in Electronic Engineering from the Alma Mater Studiorum with top marks – Università degli Studi di Bologna in 2017.

In October 2020, he joined ETH Zürich as a Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Project Based Learning (PBL), where he currently leads teaching initiatives and research projects in innovative electronics and IoT systems. In June 2024, he further expanded his professional portfolio by assuming the role of Scientific Advisor at RTDT Laboratories AG, an ETH Zürich spin-off dedicated to innovative solutions in sensor technology and predictive maintenance.

From July 2021 to December 2022, he served as a Consultant and Researcher at the University of Bologna, managing interdisciplinary research teams and collaborating with industrial partners on projects ranging from structural health monitoring to predictive maintenance. During his Ph.D. studies, he focused on ultra-low power IoT applications, mastering a broad spectrum of wireless protocols and hardware design techniques.

Dr. Polonelli’s research activity focuses on energy-efficient and self-sustaining systems, smart sensing, IoT wireless protocols, indoor localization, tinyML, parallel ultra-low power computing, nano-UAVs, and autonomous technologies. He has co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications that have garnered over 1300 citations, and his work has been recognized through several Best Paper Awards.

His professional experience has been further acknowledged with multiple awards, including the Certificate of Achievement for the National Scientific Qualification for the functions of University Professor of Second Level (December 2023), recognition as one of the three finalists for the KITE Award 2024, the Spark Award (September 2021) for his innovative ultra-wide band low power wake-up radio, as well as the Captain of the Year 2016 and TI Innovation Challenge 2016 accolades.

Dr. Polonelli is an active IEEE Member since 2020 and continues to contribute to both academic research and industrial innovation.