PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Rita Cucchiara

Rita Cucchiara is an AI researcher whose work uses computer vision and machine learning to analyze images. She earned engineering degrees and moved from a research post at Ferrara to UNIMORE. There, she led AImageLab and directed CINI's national AI laboratory. Her team co-authored MOTSynth, a synthetic dataset for pedestrian detection and tracking, and she received the 2006 IAPR Fellowship. Since November 2025, she has served as Rector of UNIMORE and directs ELLIS Unit Modena.

Now at
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and ELLIS Unit Modena
Works
707
Citations
22,956
h-index
60

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.

Photo of Rita Cucchiara

Timeline

  1. 1989–1993

    An engineering education

    She earns an electronic-engineering degree in 1989 and a computer-engineering doctorate in 1993. She also studies at University College London in 1991.

  2. 1993–2005

    From Ferrara to UNIMORE

    At Ferrara, she works as a researcher from 1993 to 1998. She joins UNIMORE as an associate professor in 1998 and becomes a full professor in 2005.

  3. 1998

    An image lab for AI

    She begins leading AImageLab, where research spans computer vision, machine learning, AI, and multimedia.

  4. 2006

    An IAPR Fellowship

    She receives the IAPR Fellowship in 2006.

  5. 2018

    A national AI laboratory

    In 2018, she directs CINI's National Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems.

  6. 2021

    Synthetic data for tracking

    She co-authors MOTSynth, a synthetic dataset for object detection and tracking. The paper reports that the dataset can replace real data for pedestrian detection, re-identification, segmentation, and tracking.

  7. Since November 2025

    Leading her home university

    She has served as Rector of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia since 1 November 2025. She also directs ELLIS Unit Modena, whose work includes machine learning and computer vision.

Sources and credits

Photo: Lasek, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. “Ritratti di Donne 2 – Scienza” per la Giornata della Ricerca italiana nel Mondo – Italiana – Lingua, cultura, creatività nel mondo italiana.esteri.it. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Cucchiara Rita - Rettrice Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia crui.it. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. La prof.ssa Rita Cucchiara tra le 25 donne di riferimento del 2018 per la robotica magazine.unimore.it. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. UNIFIND - UNIMORE - CUCCHIARA Rita unimore.unifind.cineca.it. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. MOTSynth: How Can Synthetic Data Help Pedestrian Detection and Tracking? arxiv.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Modena | European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems ellis.eu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. [24/06/26] Italian Tech: Rita Cucchiara racconta il modello Unimore per l’IA – Press Room pressroom.unimore.it. Checked 14 October 2026.