Personal Information

• Place and Date of Birth: Rome (Italy), 4 March 1979
• Citizenship: Italian
• Office Address: INESC-ID, Rua Alves Redol, 1000-059, Lisbon, Portugal
• E-mail: romanop at gsd dot inesc-id dot pt
• Home Page: http://www.gsd.inesc-id.pt/~romanop
• Telephone : (+351) 21 310024 (Office)
• Fax: (+ 351) 21 3145843

Education

• PhD in Computer Engineering at the Department of Computer and Systems Engineering, ``Sapienza'' Rome University (February 2007)
  Title: ``Protocols for End-to-End Reliability in Multi-Tier Systems''
  Advisor: Prof. F. Quaglia ``Sapienza'', Rome University.
  External Referees: Prof. D.K. Pradhan (University of Bristol, UK) and Prof. M. Singhal (Ohio State University, USA).

• Master Degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Rome ``Tor Vergata'' (October 2002),
  Title: Fault Tolerant Web-Sever Systems.
  Advisors: Prof. S. Tucci and Prof. B. Ciciani
  Final Rank: 100/100 summa cum laude.

• Certificate of Advanced English from Cambridge University, June 1997.

Current Position

Senior Researcher at the Distributed Systems Group at INESC-ID, a research laboratory associated with the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) of the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa.

Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Engineering of the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) of the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa.

Awards

• Best paper award for the article:

  Nuno Diegues and Paolo Romano Self-Tuning Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions The 11th International Conference on Autonomic Computing (ICAC 2014), Philadelphia, USA, 18-20 June 2014

• Winner of the FutureGrid Project Challenge for the article:

  Sebastiano Peluso, Pedro Ruivo, Paolo Romano, Francesco Quaglia, and Luis Rodrigues, When Scalability Meets Consistency: Genuine Multiversion Update Serializable Partial Data Replication, 32nd International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS 2012)

• Best INESC-ID Young Researcher 2011 (Category: researchers up to 5 years after the PhD)

• Distinguished member of the Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication (INSTICC)

• Best paper award for the article:

  Diego Didona, Pascal Felber, Derin Harmanci, Paolo Romano and Joerg Schenker Identifying the Optimal Level of Parallelism in Transactional Memory Systems The International Conference on Networked Systems 2013 (NETYS'13), LLNCS, May 2013

• Best paper award for the article:

  P. Romano, D. Rughetti, F. Quaglia and B. Ciciani, APART: Low Cost Active Replication for Multi-tier Data Acquisition Systems, Proc. 7th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA'08)}, IEEE Computer Society Press, July 2008.

• Best paper award for the article:

  B.Ciciani, A.Santoro and P. Romano, Approximate Analytical Models for Networked Servers Subject to MMPP Arrival Processes, Proc. 6th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA'07)}, IEEE Computer Society Press, July 2007.

• Awarded a three years scholarship for the 19th XIX Doctoral course at the Department of Computer and System Sciences, Rome University ``La Sapienza''.

• Exempted from military service duties for scientific merits.

• MsC Degree Summa com laude in Computer Engineering from the University of Rome ``Tor Vergata''.

Research Interests

• Dependable Distributed Systems:
  • Replicated transactional systems
  • Fault-tolerance in multi-tier systems
  • Fault-tolerant platforms for RFID data acquisition services
  • Multi-Path protocols for large scale transactional systems
  • Formal verification of distributed protocols
• Performance Modelling and Evaluation:
  • QoS in content delivery networks
  • Modelling of concurrency control schemes
  • Machine-learning based performance prediction
  • Approximate solution methods for complex queueing systems
  • Modelling of standard security mechanisms via Petri-nets
• Autonomic Systems:
  • Automatic workload and data access pattern characterization
  • Adaptive concurrency control and data replication schemes
• Parallel/Distributed Computing:
  • Transactional Memories
  • High Performance Simulation Platforms
  • Optimistic Simulation Systems

Participation in Technical Committees of International Conferences

• IEEE International Conference on Big Data (BigData) 2014
• 6th Workshop on the Theory of Transactional Memory (WTTM) 2014 (Program co-chair)
• 18th International Conference On Principles Of DIstributed Systems (OPODIS) 2014
• 20th EuroPar Conference (EUROPAR) 2014 (Track co-chair)
• 13th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2014
• 2nd Second Workshop on Dependability and Interoperability in Heterogeneous Clouds (DIHC) 2014
• 4th International Conference on Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications (SIMULTECH) 2014
• 10th IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2014
• 3th IEEE International Symposium on Network Cloud Computing and Applications (NCCA) 2014
• 8th International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SIMUTOOLS) 2014
• 7h IARIA International Conference on Dependability (DEPEND) 2014
• 10th IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2014
• 5th Workshop on the Theory of Transactional Memory (WTTM) 2014 (Program co-chair)
• 9th IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2013
• 9th IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2013
• 12th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2013
• 7th International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SIMUTOOLS) 2013
• 5th IEEE Conference on Cloud Computing Technology and Science (CloudCom) 2013
• 8th International Conference on P2P, Parallel, Grid, Cloud and Internet Computing (3PGCIC) 2013
• 3rd International Conference on Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications (SIMULTECH) 2013
• 13th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Cluster, Cloud and Grid Computing (CCGRID) 2013
• 6th International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SIMUTOOLS) 2013
• 16th International Conference On Principles Of DIstributed Systems (OPODIS) 2012
• 17th EuroPar Conference (EUROPAR) 2012 (Track co-chair)
• 11th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2012
• IEEE Symposium on Wireless Technology & Applications (ISWTA) 2012
• 7th Workshop on Middleware for Next Generation Internet Computing (MW4NG) 2012
• IEEE International Conference on Open Systems (ICOS) 2012
• 2nd International Conference on Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications (SIMULTECH) 2012
• 3th Workshop su Informatica Quantitativa (InfQ) 2012
• 5th International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SIMUTOOLS) 2012
• 8th IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2012
• 8th IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2012
• Workshop on Market Implementation of Cloud Interoperability and Portability Research in IaaS and PaaS (InteropCloud) 2011
• 3rd Conference CloudViews 2011
• 3th IEEE Conference on Cloud Computing Technology and Science (CloudCom) 2011
• 2nd Workshop on Software Services (WoSS) 2011
• 10th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2011
• 7th IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2011
• 7th IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2011
• 4th International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SIMUTOOLS) 2011
• 1st International Conference on Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications (SIMULTECH) 2011
• 1st IEEE Symposium on Computers and Informatics (ISCI) 2011
• 2nd Workshop su Informatica Quantitativa (InfQ) 2011
• 9th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2010
• 1st IEEE International Conference on Open Systems (ICOS) 2010
• 6th IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2010
• 6th IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2010
• International Workshop on Advanced Architectures and Algorithms for Internet DElivery and Applications (AAA-IDEA) 2009
• 8th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2009
• 14th IEEE Workshop on Dependable Parallel, Distributed and Network-Centric Systems (DPDNS) 2009
• 5th IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2009
• 5rd IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2009
• 7th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2008
• 4th IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2008
• 13th IEEE Workshop on Dependable Parallel, Distributed and Network-Centric Systems (DPDNS) 2008
• 4rd IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2008
• 6th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2007
• 3rd IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2007
• 3rd IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2007
• 12th IEEE Workshop on Dependable Parallel, Distributed and Network-Centric Systems (DPDNS) 2007
• 5th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA) 2006
• 2nd IEEE International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS) 2006
• 2nd IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS) 2006

Editorial Activities for International Journals

• Member of the Editorial Board of the IARIA Journal On Advances in Intelligent Systems
• Member of the Editorial Board of the Horizon Research Publishing World Journal of Computer Application and Technology

Reviewing Activities for International Journals

• Elsevier Journal on Parallel and Distributed Computing (JPDC)
• IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems (TPDS)
• IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering (TKDE)
• ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems (TOPLAS)
• International Journal of Systems Science
• International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling
• Journal of Universal Computer Science
• International IARIA Journal on Advances in Intelligent Systems

Reviewing Activities for International Books

• “Performance and Dependability in Service Computing: Concepts, Techniques and Research Directions”, IGI Publisher

External Examiner for PhD Dissertations

• Yousef Abushnagh, Contention Management Framework for Preserving Causality and Maintaining Consistency in Optimistic Replication Systems, Advisor: Dr. Graham Morgan, Newcastle University, April 2013.

Reviewing Activities for MsC Thesis

• Partial Replication in Distributed Software Transactional Memory, Author: Joao Silva, Advisor: Prof. Herve M. C. Paulino, Prof. Joao M. S. Lourenço
• Reducing conflicts in Software Transactional Memory, Author: Bruno Jorge Gaspar Franco, Advisor: Prof. Joao Cachopo, Maio 2013
• Verificação Prática de Anomalias em Programas de Memória Transaccional, Author: Vasco Pessanha, Advisor: Prof. Joao Lourenço, 17 October 2011
• RepComp - Replicated Software Components for Improved Performance, Author: Paulo Alexandre Lima da Silva Mariano, Advisor: Prof. Nuno Preguiça, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 3 March 2011
• Static Detection of Anomalies in Transactional Memory Programs, Author: Bruno Cava Teixeira, Advisor: Prof. Joao Lourenço, 4 March 2010

Editorial Activities for International Books

• Member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the book: “Achieving Real-Time in Distributed Computing: From Grids to Clouds”, IGI Publisher.

Current National and International Research Projects

I am currently the coordinator of the following research projects:
ARISTOS
Type: FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) - All Scientific Domains 2009
Role: Project's Coordinator
Start date: Feb 2010
End date: Feb 2013
Total Budget (100% funded): 125,000 euro
Participants: Inesc-ID (IT), Sapienza Rome University (Italy)

Cloud-TM
Type: FP7 Strep
Role: Project's Coordinator, Scientific and Administrative Coordinator of the INESC-ID team
Start Date: June 2010
Ending Date: June 2013
Total Budget: 2,497,720 euro
EC Funding:1,700,000 euro
Partners: INESC-ID (coordinator), CINI (IT), Algorithmica S.r.l (IT), Red Hat Limited (IE)

Transactional Memories: Foundations, Algorithms, Tools, and Applications (Euro-TM) :
Type: Cost Action
Role: Action's Chair
Start Date: fall 2010
Ending Date: fall 2014
Total Budget: 400,000 euro (estimated)
Prospective Partners: 42 institutions, 12 Countries

Other research projects in which I participate:
Fast-Fix :
Type: FP7 Strep
Role: Researcher
Start Date: June 2010
Ending Date: June 2013
Total Budget: 3,479,978 euro
EC Funding: 2,617,330 euro
Partners: Grupo S2 (coordinator) (SP), Technische Universität München (DE), University College Dublin/National University of Ireland (IE), INESC-ID (PT), TXT E-solutions SPA (IT), Prodevelop (SP)

RuLAM: Running Legacy Applications on Multicores :
Type: FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) - All Scientific Domains 2009
Role: Researcher
Start Date: Jan 2010
Ending Date: Jan 2013
Total Budget: 150,000 euro (100% funded)
Partners: INESC-ID

High-Performance Computing over the Large-Scale Internet :
Type: FCT / CMU Program
Role: Researcher
Start Date: May 2010
Ending Date: May 2013
Total Budget: 127,000 euro (100% funded)
Partners: INESC-ID

specSTM: Software Transactional Memoty with Thread-Level Speculation Support:
Type: FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) - All Scientific Domains 2011
Role: Researcher
Start Date: Jun 2011
Ending Date: Jun 2014
Total Budget: 127,000 euro (100% funded)
Partners: INESC-ID

Academic Teaching Activities

2012/2013:

• Lecturer of the course ``Operating Systems'', Degree in Computer Engineering, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Portugal.

2011/2012:

• Lecturer of the course ``Operating Systems'', Degree in Computer Engineering, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Portugal.
• Lecturer of the course ``Computer Architectures'', Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Portugal.

2009/2010:

• Invited Lecturer for the course ``Capacity Planning'', Master Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University, Rome.

2008/2009:

• Invited Lecturer for the course ``Capacity Planning'', Master Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University, Rome.

2007/2008:

• Lecturer of the course ``Foundations of Programming'', Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University, Rieti.
• Lecturer of the course ``Programming Techniques'', Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University, Rieti.

2006-2007:

• Lecturer of the course ``Computer Architectures II'', Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University.
• Invited lecturer for the course ``Advanced Computer Architectures``, Degree in Computer Engineering, ''Sapienza" Rome University.
• Teaching assistant of the course ``Computers I'', Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University.

2005-2006:

• Invited lecturer for the course ``Advanced Computer Architectures``, Degree in Computer Engineering, ''Sapienza" Rome University.
• Teaching assistant of the course ``Computer Architecture I'', Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University.
• Teaching assistant of the course ``Computers II'', Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University.

2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005:

• Teaching assistant of the course ``Computer Architecture I'', Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University.
• Teaching assistant of the course ``Computer Architecture II'', Degree in Computer Engineering, ``Sapienza" Rome University.

Other Professional Activities

2007:

• Lecturer of the ``Unix Shell Programming'' courses for the training programs of Covansys-Lucent and Sytel-Reply.

2003-2006:

• Research and teaching assistant at the Department of Computer and Systems Engineering, D.I.S., ``Sapienza'' Rome University.

2003:

• Member of the technical committee for the standardization of the OASIS ``WS-Reliable Messaging''
• Consultant for the technical center of R.U.P.A. (Unified Network for Italian Public Administration) involved within the national e-Government project in the specification of the national standard (SOAP) envelope to be used by the Italian public administration entities.
• One year (2003-2004) research grant by the C.I.N.I. (Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per l'Informatica) in the context of the FIRB Project ``Middleware for advanced services distibuted on large scale wired-wireless infrastrucutes.

Publications and Talks

Students advising activities

Technical Skills

• Programming Languages: Java (J2SE, J2EE), C++, C, PHP, Assembler, Promela (Spin Model Checker), Fortran
• Web Service Technologies: XML, SOAP, UDDI, WSDL, WS-RX.
• DBMS: expertise with a large number of commercial and open-source products (e.g. IBM DB2, Oracle, Solid SQL Server, AG Tamino XML Database, MySQL). Deep knowledge of PostgreSQL's internals gained while integrating novel concurrency control and demarcation schemes within its kernel.
• Operating Systems: expertise as system administrator, shell and system programmer with both Linux and Windows Operating Systems.