On Thursday, November 5, a seminar will be held in Room 26.0.1 (Campus Leonardo, Building 26, floor 0), starting at 14:30 CET.
The seminar will be given by Prof. Vincenzo Gattulli, Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, and is titled “Learning from Structural Data: Artificial Intelligence, Uncertainty and Digital Twins”.
The seminar can also be followed remotely at the following link: https://politecnicomilano.webex.com/meet/luca.martinelli
Abstract
The growing availability of structural monitoring data and the rapid development of artificial intelligence are expanding the possibilities for understanding and assessing existing structures. Their engineering value depends on how effectively observations and learning algorithms are connected to structural mechanics, and on how uncertainty is represented throughout the inference process. This seminar explores these connections through the development of hybrid digital twins for civil infrastructure and cultural heritage.
The growing availability of structural monitoring data and the rapid development of artificial intelligence are expanding the possibilities for understanding and assessing existing structures. Their engineering value depends on how effectively observations and learning algorithms are connected to structural mechanics, and on how uncertainty is represented throughout the inference process. This seminar explores these connections through the development of hybrid digital twins for civil infrastructure and cultural heritage.
The presentation draws on recent research on structural identification, model calibration and long-term monitoring to examine the foundations of trustworthy hybrid digital twins. Two complementary cases provide the methodological focus: the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, where detailed geometry coexists with incomplete knowledge of material properties and thickness distributions, and the steel-glass Exedra hall at the Capitoline Museums, where extensive vibration records are influenced by environmental variability. These cases illustrate the different challenges posed by limited observations and abundant but uncertain data.
Particular attention is given to the role of machine learning in extracting information from monitoring records, modelling nonlinear residual behaviour and supporting the separation of environmental effects from potentially damage-related changes. Bayesian inference, model updating and uncertainty quantification provide a framework for evaluating how much confidence can be placed in both physical models and learned predictions. Results already obtained are discussed alongside ongoing developments towards closer integration of finite element models and data-driven learning.
The seminar concludes with perspectives on multiscale sensing and transferable digital-twin workflows. The central question is how data and artificial intelligence can produce interpretable structural knowledge and support reliable assessment and engineering decisions.
Speaker’s bio
Vincenzo Gattulli is Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics in the Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, and President of the MSc programme in Project and Construction Management. He holds a PhD in Structural Engineering from Sapienza and an MSc in Civil Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His research integrates structural dynamics, nonlinear mechanics, vibration control, structural identification and health monitoring with computational and data-driven methods. He received an EASD award in 2023. His recent research activities include TECNODIGIT, IRIS and ATENA, addressing digital twins, robotic inspection, integrated sensing and the assessment of infrastructure and cultural heritage. He is co-editor, with Spartaco Paris and Claudio Parisi Presicce, of Marcus Aurelius in the Digital Age, a volume connecting interdisciplinary investigations, digital documentation and mechanical modelling of the equestrian statue and its museum setting. His current research focuses on the integration of structural mechanics, monitoring data, artificial intelligence and uncertainty quantification.
Vincenzo Gattulli is Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics in the Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, and President of the MSc programme in Project and Construction Management. He holds a PhD in Structural Engineering from Sapienza and an MSc in Civil Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His research integrates structural dynamics, nonlinear mechanics, vibration control, structural identification and health monitoring with computational and data-driven methods. He received an EASD award in 2023. His recent research activities include TECNODIGIT, IRIS and ATENA, addressing digital twins, robotic inspection, integrated sensing and the assessment of infrastructure and cultural heritage. He is co-editor, with Spartaco Paris and Claudio Parisi Presicce, of Marcus Aurelius in the Digital Age, a volume connecting interdisciplinary investigations, digital documentation and mechanical modelling of the equestrian statue and its museum setting. His current research focuses on the integration of structural mechanics, monitoring data, artificial intelligence and uncertainty quantification.
