(AGENPARL) – Rome, 17 June 2024
(AGENPARL) – Mon 17 June 2024 17/06/2024 – Siena
The MAS project begins. Mathematics at the service of the city:
agent models for Sustainable Siena
Collaboration between public and private for a research project on the development of new mathematical models to evaluate urban sustainability and separate waste collection in the historic center
The presentation of the project “Mathematics at the service of the city: Agent Models for Sustainable Siena (MAS)” was held today at the Rectorate of the University of Siena, in the presence of the rector Roberto Di Pietra, professor Chiara Mocenni, professor of Complex Systems and Game Theory and Dr. Vittoria Socci, student of the DAUSY National Doctorate, both from the Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (DIISM) of the University of Siena. The presentation was also attended by Giulio Ancilli, CEO of the company Prometeo Srl and the Councilor for Tourism, Commerce and Productive Activities and Relations with the University of the Municipality of Siena, Vanna Giunti.
MAS (Agent Models for Sustainable Siena) is a research project carried out in collaboration between the University, the Sienese company Prometeo Srl and the Municipality of Siena which focuses on the development of mathematical models for the evaluation of sustainability in the urban context in historic center of Siena with the direct involvement of residents, students, tourists and workers.
The objective is to collect data to develop mathematical models capable of helping to plan improvement actions, thus becoming a reference model for social contexts found in even larger urban areas.
Every citizen has a fundamental role in the process of adopting sustainable practices since individual actions can make a big difference where responsible interaction with the environment is relevant to continue producing goods and services and at the same time safeguard the planet by keeping it available also for future generations and helping to preserve natural resources, reduce pollution and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The MAS project was born within a partnership, developed by Professor Chiara Mocenni of the University of Siena and Doctor Giulio Ancilli of Prometeo Srl, which intercepts the commitment of the City of Siena on the topic of sustainability, seeing it as the protagonist and tester of a more ambitious and use case project for other urban realities.
In the first phase of development of the project, citizens will be involved – among those who reside in Siena permanently as residents or temporarily, such as tourists, visitors, students and off-site workers – with the administration of a questionnaire to obtain individual opinions on the climate change and on environmental issues in various aspects that directly concern the city, such as separate waste collection, the care and cleaning of public places, the consumption of energy and water, the purchase of food and goods, low-emission means of transport and renewable energy technologies for the home. The information collected will allow us to create a realistic and well-calibrated agent-based mathematical model capable of reflecting the specificities and needs of our territory in which the agents simulate the behaviors of the interviewees and which will allow us to make predictions and evaluations of future scenarios.
The second development phase of the project involves the creation of the actual mathematical model, for which collaboration with the Inter-university Consortium for Automatic Calculation (Cineca), the largest Italian calculation center and one of the most important at the level of worldwide, which for this project provides the fifth most powerful calculator in the world.
Some phases of direct interaction with citizens are foreseen, both for the return of the data obtained from the questionnaire and for the sharing and exchange of opinions on the results of the study. The organization of in-depth moments on the mathematical models developed is envisaged.
The questionnaire will be made available for completion starting from 17 June and will remain open until 31 October 2024.
Rector Roberto Di Pietra states: “Mathematics is often and wrongly considered pure abstraction and, instead, in the MAS project it becomes an application to the search for models for the creation of a sustainable city, of Siena understood as a sustainable city. Mathematical models help to identify a future for the sustainability of urban centers and this promises to be a great merit.”
Professor Chiara Mocenni explains: “The MAS project was born from the collaboration between public and private entities who share an interest in environmental protection and the systemic and integrated management of common goods. We propose the development of an agent-based mathematical model, which describes a complex system composed of individuals who interact with each other and with the surrounding environment and make decisions based on individual propensities, interaction with others and rules or regulations. In our case, the agents are citizens, tourists, students and workers who live or frequent the historic center of Siena, making decisions on aspects that impact environmental sustainability. The project has great scientific and cultural value as it directly involves the opinions, behaviors and needs of citizens in the development of advanced mathematical and computational models. The results of the study will be made available to the entire Sienese community on specific occasions and moments of real training on the mathematical model and scientific research”.
“This project – adds Giulio Ancilli, CEO of Prometeo – is part of a broader partnership agreement with the University. For the challenges we face, it is essential to be at the cutting edge of technology and research, so what better way than to collaborate with those who make research their ‘profession’?”.
Councilor Vanna Giunti intervenes: “I welcomed the presentation of the MAS project with enormous interest since it represents, in its current content, a relevant problem of interest for the city, but above all because it is replicable and applicable to numerous areas of interest for the municipal administration. The “scientific” approach, through innovative tools, can be of great help in resolving problems that arise over time, inevitably following a physiological social evolution of habits, behaviors and interests, and therefore a powerful decision-making tool. The above also does not ignore my delegation which has as its primary objective that of promoting continuous dialogue and synergy with the University of Siena, in order to share a path aimed at the construction of forms and tools of connection and co-design on strategic themes for the community, with a view to mutual exchange and enrichment, aware that the University represents a wealth in terms of analysis, development and innovation capabilities”.
“This project – adds Vittoria Socci, student of the DAUSY National Doctorate – is part of my doctoral research, which focuses on the study of agent models in the field of environmental sustainability and climate change and which I carry out under the supervision of the professor Chiara Mocenni. Working on this project is of great importance to me, not only for the scientific interest, but also because it contributes to the creation of a mathematical model specifically designed for Siena, the city where I was born, I studied and which I love deeply. We put mathematics at the service of the Sienese community, using advanced scientific tools to better understand environmental dynamics to improve the quality of life of citizens and also to provide a useful tool to the municipal administration so that it can adapt sustainable policies based on the specific needs of the citizens. citizens”.
Prometeo will finance a doctoral scholarship to further strengthen this partnership. In particular, MAS (Agent Models for Sustainable Siena) is part of a broader project which aims to create a suite of products capable of integrating with current LLM systems and extending their capabilities. This project has already been presented in Silicon Valley at the Innovit-Italian Innovation Culture Hub in San Francisco in the presence of the Consul General of Italy Sergio Strozzi, the Director of the Innovation Center Alberto Acito and the largest global players in the sector, enjoying great success.
the link to the questionnaire will be included in the articles that will be published on the websites www.sienacomunica.it and www.visitsienaofficial.it, in the Municipality’s newsletter that will be launched after the conference, in the posts and stories of the FB profiles of the Municipality of Siena and HYPERLINK ” https://www.facebook.com/visitsienaofficial”; t “_blank” Visit Siena, finally in the stories of the IG profiles of the Municipality of Siena and HYPERLINK “https://www.instagram.com/visitsienaofficial/”; t “_blank” Visit Siena.
—–
Chiara MocenniChiara Mocenni is Associate Professor at the Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Siena, where she teaches Complex Systems and Game Theory in the master’s courses in Engineering Management, Artificial Intelligence and Automation Engineering and Applied Mathematics. Since 2022 you have been the Rector’s Delegate for the Third Mission (Public Engagement). She carries out her research in the field of complex systems, modeling of environmental systems and individual and collective human behaviour.
Prometeo SrlPrometeo is an Innovative SME based in Siena that offers strategic solutions to use Artificial Intelligence tools in order to face the challenges that today’s complex scenarios require, thus allowing it to have a significant effect in terms of profitability. Since 1994, the year it was founded, Prometeo has helped companies understand how emerging technologies allow companies to grow and strengthen their business. http://www.prometeonet.it
———————————————
Photo:
The presentation of the project at the University of Siena
Project website: http://mas.diism.unisi.it/
Press office – University of Siena
