Meet Our Team
Meet our dedicated research team, including the principal investigator, post-docs, PhD students, and research assistants, and explore their expertise and contributions from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Warwick.
  • Prof Valentina Donzella
    Principal Investigator, Professor

    Valentina Donzella (Senior Member, IEEE) received the B.Sc. degree in electronics engineering from University of Pisa, the M.Sc. degree from Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, and the Ph.D. degree in innovative technologies for information, communication, and perception engineering from Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies.
    She is currently full Professor in Sensors and Perception for Intelligent Systems; Head of SPRING group (Sensing and PeRception for INtelliGent Systems), School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London. She was awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering Industrial Fellowship on camera sensors from 2020 to 2022, and currently leads the work package on perception sensor noise models within the four-year EU ROADVIEW project. Prof. Donzella is Full College Member of EPSRC, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
  • Dr Milan Lovrić
    Assistant Professor
    Milan Lovric earned a diploma in Computing from the University of Zagreb (Croatia) in 2005 and completed his PhD in Finance at Erasmus University Rotterdam (the Netherlands) in 2011. Prior to joining Queen Mary University of London, he was as an Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick (UK). He has also held research appointments at several leading institutions, including University College London (Centre for Transport Studies), the University of Southampton (Transportation Research Group), MIT (Smart Centre in Singapore), the University of Oxford (Mathematical Institute and INET), the Santa Fe Institute, and Rotterdam School of Management. His research interests span agent‑based simulation, transport demand and supply modelling, and - more recently - automated mobility and sensor technologies.
  • Harry (Pak Hung) Chan
    PhD Candidate
    Pak Hung Chan received a M.Eng. degree in mechanical engineering and a M.Sc degree in smart, connected and autonomous vehicles from the University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K., in 2018 and 2023 respectively. Since graduating, he has been working in the automated vehicles’ field, on various projects relating to perception sensors. He is currently at Queen Mary University of London, working on the EU ROADVIEW Project, on physics-based modelling of noise factors on automotive sensors, and has produced a framework to analyze noise factors and break them down to understand how the noise affects the output data. He has several publications with IEEE, including a review article in the IEEE JSTQE and effect of compression on perception in the IEEE T-ITS.
  • Dr Boda Li
    Research Assistant
    Boda Li is a Research Assistant in the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London, where he works on the Horizon Europe ROADVIEW project. He received the B.Sc. degree in Vehicle Engineering from Hunan University and the M.Sc. degrees in Sustainable Automotive Engineering and in Smart, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles from WMG, University of Warwick. He subsequently obtained the Ph.D. degree in Engineering from WMG, University of Warwick, where his research focused on automotive camera noise factor modelling and simulation for robust perception in autonomous driving. His research interests include automotive perception sensor data modelling, controllable scene generation, and closed‑loop training and testing for automated driving systems and mobile robotics. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
  • Jiangyin Sun
    PhD Candidate
    Jiangyin is a PhD researcher at the University of Warwick, where her doctoral work focuses on LiDAR perception and point cloud processing for autonomous vehicles. Her research investigates how noise impacts sensor performance and develops data reduction techniques to improve perception reliability, achieving high-precision results under challenging conditions. Building on her background with dual postgraduate training in smart connected systems and mechanical engineering, she integrates simulation, sensor fusion, and infrastructure considerations to address both technical and practical challenges of future mobility. Alongside her research, she has gained experience through teaching support and industry collaborations, contributing to the wider field of intelligent transportation.
  • Lintong Jiang
    PhD Candidate
    Lintong is a PhD candidate at the University of Warwick, specialising in multi-agent decision making for automated driving systems. Her research focuses on developing decision-making frameworks that allow autonomous vehicles to operate safely and efficiently in complex traffic scenarios such as intersections and roundabouts. By combining reinforcement learning, social attention mechanisms, and advanced simulation environments, she investigates how multiple agents can cooperate, coordinate, and negotiate in dynamic driving conditions. With a background in mathematics and data analytics, she integrates strong quantitative skills with applied machine learning to tackle key challenges in intelligent transportation and the future of mobility.
  • Jocelyn (Yiting) Wang
    PhD Candidate
    Jocelyn (Yiting) is currently a visiting PhD student in the SPRING Group, Queen Mary University of London, and a Ph.D candidate in WMG, University of Warwick, UK. Prior to that, she completed a master's degree in Smart Connected and Autonomous Vehicles with distinction at the University of Warwick, UK. Her research interests are perception robustness, computer vision and sensor fusion.
  • Anima Rahman
    PhD Candidate
    Anima Rahman is a PhD researcher in Future Mobility Technologies at WMG, University of Warwick, with a focus on intelligent vehicle sensors and driver monitoring systems. Her research integrates machine learning to develop non-contact solutions for driver state detection. She has a background in Electronic and Electrical Engineering (BEng, University of Birmingham) and a postgraduate certificate in Automotive Technology, and specialises in automotive sensors, sensor fusion, machine intelligence, and human-technology interaction.
  • Hetian Wang
    PhD Candidate, Research Assistant
    Hetian Wang is a PhD candidate in SPRING group. He received an MSc degree in Smart, Connected, and Autonomous Vehicles. He received BEng degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Automotive) and Vehicle Engineering from University of Birmingham, UK and Hefei University of Technology, China. His research focus covers image/video processing, camera compression, data transmission, camera simulation, and camera perception systems etc.
  • Zixiang Wei
    PhD Candidate, Research Assistant
    Zixiang Wei is currently a PhD candidate in University of Warwick. He worked as a research assistant at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the VLIS LAB of Artificial Intelligence Thrust and Tongji University, Department of Electrical Engineering. His research interests lie in low-level computer vision tasks, and his current research primarily focuses on data degradation and impact on learning based model. He has served as reviewer of IEEE T-ITS, IEEE T-ASE, PeerJ Computer Science and IET Image Processing. His research interests also include bench press (PR 135kg), squat (PR 190kg) and deadlift (PR 235kg).
  • Yunruo Jiang
    PhD Candidate
    Yunruo is a PhD candidate at SPRING Group, WMG. He received his bachelor's degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Liverpool John Moores University and his master's degree from the University of Bristol. His research foucs on image and video processing, image restoration, computer vision, image generative models, and thermal infrared images. Besides, he is also interested in badminton restringing and different rackets stringing methods.
  • Luyao Wang
    PhD Candidate
    Luyao Wang received her B.Eng. in Telecommunication Engineering from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and her M.Sc. in Optical Communications and Signal Processing from the University of Bristol. Her research focuses on robust object detection for autonomous driving in adverse weather, with an emphasis on multi-modal sensor fusion across camera, LiDAR, and RADAR data.
  • Yufeng Zhang
    PhD Candidate
    Yufeng Zhang is a Ph.D. student in the school of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London. He received a BEng degree in Data Science and Big Data Technology with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism from Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool Univeristy and a MSc degree in Smart, Connect and Autonomous Vehicles from WMG, University of Warwick. His research interest includes deep learning, computer vision, domain adaptation and active learning.
Visiting Student
Current
  • Pierpaolo Serio
    Currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pisa, Pierpaolo Serio previously earned his M.Sc. in Robotics Engineering from the same institution. His research interests center on robust long-term navigation in dynamic environments, spanning the full stack from low-level extrinsic calibration to high-level loop closure tasks. Working with the SPRING group, his work has primarily focused on advancing place recognition and characterizing endogenous LiDAR noise factors.
  • Maikol Funk Drechsler
    Maikol Funk Drechsler is a Brazilian PhD candidate and research fellow at THI Ingolstadt, Germany, specializing in simulation credibility and validation for automated driving systems. His research focuses on credibility assessment for XiL testing methods under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Werner Huber and Prof. Dr. Valentina Donzella.
  • Leticia Cristófoli Duarte
    Leticia Cristofoli Duarte is a mechanical engineer and research associate at the CARISSMA Institute of Automated Driving in Germany. She is pursuing a PhD co-supervised by Professor Donzella, focusing on sensor noise modelling under adverse weather conditions. Her work investigates the water spray phenomenon, including the development of a road spray simulator for reproducible testing, data acquisition, and data-driven LiDAR degradation models. Through open datasets and collaboration, her research supports more robust and reliable automated vehicle perception.
Group Alumni
  • Dr Hamed Haghighi
    Postdoc Research Assistant
    Hamed Haghighi completed his Ph.D. in "Generative Models for Enhancing the Perception Sensor Simulation" from the University of Warwick, UK. He obtained a B.Sc. (2016) in Software Engineering from Isfahan University of Technology (Isfahan, Iran) and an M.Sc. (2019) in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Tehran (Tehran, Iran). His research interests include machine learning, computer vision, computer graphics, and autonomous vehicles. He has moved onto ML Engineer role at Kwalee.
  • Dr Sepeedeh Shahbeigi
    Ph.D.
    Sepeedeh Shahbeigi completed her Ph.D. with Prof. Valentina Donzella at the University of Warwick, UK. Following her graduation, she joined the University of York as a Postdoctoral Research Associate.
  • Dr Gabriele Baris
    Visiting Ph.D.
    Gabriele Baris was a visiting Ph.D candidate with Prof. Valentina Donzella. Following his visit, he completed his Ph.D at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy, and joined JLR as an AAD Measurement Technique and Ground Truth Engineer.
  • Dr Guido Dell'Annunziata
    Visiting Ph.D.
    Guido Dell'Annunziata was a visiting Ph.D candidate with Prof. Valentina Donzella. Following his visit, he completed his Ph.D at Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy, and remained at his alla mater as a postdoctoral research fellow.
  • Dr Ivan Enzo Gargano
    Visiting Ph.D.
    Ivan Enzo Gargano was a visiting Ph.D candidate with Prof. Valentina Donzella. Following his visit, he completed his Ph.D at Livera Università di Bolzano, Italy, and started work as an uncrewed systems engineer for his Ph.D sponsor, Iveco Defence Vehicles.
  • Yuri Poledna
    Visiting Researcher
    Yuri Poledna is a research assistant at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt and was a visiting researched with the group to develop Carla 4D RADAR sensor and weather noise models for the EU Horizon ROADVIEW project. Following his visiting period, he returned to Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, Germany, where he continued to closely work with the SPRING research group together on the ROADVIEW project.
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