KEYNOTE LECTURE

Fabrizio Barone

University of Salerno, Italy

The living environment is a complex and dynamic system in which buildings, infrastructures, urban spaces, environmental conditions, and human activities continuously interact. Understanding these interactions requires integrated approaches that combine metrology, building science, environmental engineering, architecture, and human-centred design to assess environmental quality, comfort, health, and well-being.

Within this framework, vibroacoustic analysis offers a powerful measurement-based approach for investigating the behaviour of living environments. Sound and vibration phenomena emerge from the interaction between materials, structural systems, building services, transportation networks, environmental factors, and human presence. Their measurement and interpretation provide valuable information on building performance, structural integrity, environmental quality, energy efficiency, and occupant experience. Living environments can therefore be regarded as dynamic systems whose vibroacoustic responses reveal both physical conditions and patterns of use.

A central challenge is the development of interpretative models capable of linking objective measurements with human perception and environmental performance. Addressing this challenge requires advanced sensing technologies, intelligent monitoring systems, numerical simulations, digital twins, and data-driven analytical methods operating within a rigorous metrological framework. In this context, the integration of hard and soft metrology becomes essential, enabling measurable physical parameters to be correlated with indicators of comfort, well-being, and perceived environmental quality.

This keynote lecture presents current advances in methods and techniques for vibroacoustic measurement and characterisation of living environments. Particular attention is given to innovative sensing systems, computational modelling, and data analysis strategies that support the design, assessment, and management of sustainable, resilient, and human-centred environments. The lecture highlights how vibroacoustic measurements can contribute not only to understanding environmental dynamics but also to improving the quality of life of those who inhabit them.

Professor Fabrizio Barone is Full Professor of Applied Physics at the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana” of the University of Salerno, where he founded and directs the Applied Physics Research Group. Over more than thirty years of academic and scientific activity, he has developed an internationally recognised profile in applied physics, precision metrology, advanced sensing technologies, and the study of complex physical systems. His research output includes over 800 scientific publications and several international patents, reflecting significant contributions to both fundamental research and technological innovation.
Professor Barone has played leading roles in major international scientific collaborations, particularly within the VIRGO gravitational-wave detector project. He contributed to the scientific achievements that enabled the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of black holes. In recognition of these landmark discoveries, he shared the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and the Gruber Cosmology Prize in 2016.
His current research focuses on innovative metrological approaches for investigating complex living environments through advanced sensing technologies, vibroacoustic measurements, environmental monitoring, and data-driven methodologies. By combining high-sensitivity instrumentation, measurement science, and computational modelling, he studies the interactions between physical systems, built environments, and human activities, supporting evidence-based strategies for sustainability, resilience, environmental quality, and human well-being.
In addition to his scientific contributions, Professor Barone has extensive experience in research governance, innovation management, and technology transfer. He serves as Rector’s Delegate as President of the Patents Commission at the University of Salerno and is a member of IMEKO TC22 on Vibration Measurement, contributing to international activities in measurement science and metrological standardisation.