Nicolò Crescini
Researcher in Quantum Technologies, Center for Sensors and Devices, Bruno Kessler Foundation
Nicolò Crescini is a physicist specialising in fundamental physics and quantum technologies. His research spans beyond-the-Standard-Model physics, quantum metrology, and superconducting device design. Before joining FBK, he was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow at Institut Néel–CNRS in Grenoble and a researcher at IBM Research–Zürich. He earned his PhD from the University of Padua, with a visiting appointment at Princeton University. His current work focuses on superconducting quantum technologies and next-generation sensors.
Richard Hall-Wilton
Director, Sensors & Devices Centre, Bruno Kessler Foundation
Richard Hall-Wilton is a physicist and the Director of the Sensors & Devices Centre at FBK. Holding a PhD in experimental particle physics, he has worked across high-energy physics, radiation sensors, instrumentation, neutron scattering, and quantum device engineering. His current research focuses on quantum science and technology, leading the “Complete Quantum Systems” spoke within the Italian National Quantum Science & Technology Institute (NQSTI). He is also part of the proto-collaboration on quantum detector development associated with CERN.
Sara Hejazi
Anthropologist and Researcher, Centers for Sensors & Devices and Religious Studies, Bruno Kessler Foundation
Sara Hejazi is an anthropologist whose research bridges technology, ethics, and culture. At FBK, she studies how quantum and digital innovations reshape human perception, intimacy, and belief systems. She holds a PhD in anthropology and has published widely, including Il senso della specie (Erickson, 2021) and Iran, donne e rivolte (Morcelliana, 2023). Her work focuses on gender, posthumanism, and the transformations of contemporary societies through emerging technologies.
David Hrankovic
Founder and Director, SMAC San Marco Art Centre
David Hrankovic is Co-founder and Co-Director of SMAC San Marco Art Centre. Before establishing SMAC, he served as CEO of Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21). His earlier career spans finance and entrepreneurship, including roles as a portfolio manager at Polygon, an Associate at Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, and founder of a healthcare services company in Berlin. He holds an MA in Law from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Economics and Social Sciences from Sciences Po, Paris.
Massimo Leone
Director, Center for Religious Studies, Bruno Kessler Foundation; Full Professor of Semiotics, University of Turin and University of Shanghai
Massimo Leone is Director of the Center for Religious Studies at FBK and Full Professor of Philosophy of Communication at the University of Turin, as well as Visiting Professor of Semiotics at the University of Shanghai. A scholar of international reputation, he has held fellowships in Paris, Dublin, Fribourg, and Cambridge, and is a 2018 ERC Consolidator Grant recipient. His work explores how meaning is produced across cultures and technologies, with a focus on religious communication, visual culture, and digital transformation.
