Talks
These are some of the places where I’ve been presenting my research. Click here for a pdf version. Do you want to see these places on a map?
Invited talks marked with ✦.
Summary
77 (31✦) Talks at conferences
44 (44✦) Talks at department seminars
6 (5✦) Lectures at PhD schools
8 (4✦) Posters at conferences
17 (17✦) Outreach talks
Talks at conferences
77. ✦ Machine learning in gravitational-wave population inference
Scientific Machine Learning for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Providence RI, USA, Jun 2025.
76. Black holes and gravitational waves are discovered (also) with Python!
PyCon Italia 2025, Bologna, Italy, May 2025.
75. We observe compact binaries but are interested in single objects, this is hard
Theoretical Horizons in Unraveling Relativity, Astrophysics, and Mergers (THURAM), L’Aquila, Italy, May 2025.
74. ✦ Spin the black circle
Stellar black hole formation and detection, Kyoto, Japan, Mar 2025.
73. It’s not at all trivial to say which is BH1 and which is BH2
Gravitational-wave snowballs, populations, and models, Sexten, Italy, Jan 2025.
72. ✦ 36 186: the kick strikes back
6th Milan Christmas Workshop, Milan, Italy, Dec 2024.
71. ✦ Merge many times
Spanish and Portuguese Relativity Meeting (EREP 2024), Coimbra, Portugal, Jul 2024.
70. ✦ One population fit to rule them all
Emerging methods in gravitational-wave population inference, Trieste, Italy, Jun 2024.
69. Gravitational-wave selection effects, the easy way
Linking Advances in our Understanding of Theoretical Astrophysics and Relativity to Observations (LAUTARO), Milan, Italy, Apr 2024.
68. Quasar 3C186 as a recoiling massive black hole: still possible but unlikely
April APS Meeting, Sacramento CA, USA, Apr 2024.
67. Black-hole generations in AGN disks
TEONGRAV meeting, Naples, Italy, Dec 2023.
66. ✦ Correlated black holes from AGN disks
5th Milan Christmas Workshop, Milan, Italy, Dec 2023.
65. ✦ The masses and spins of LIGO’s black holes are correlated… here is a disk explanation
RESCEU-NBIA workshop on gravitational-wave sources, Tokyo, Japan, Dec 2023.
64. ✦ Gravitational waves: figuring out what’s missing
6th World Laureates Forum, Shanghai, China, Nov 2023.
63. A lonely gravitational wave
LISA Astrophysics Working Group Meeting, Milan, Italy, Sep 2023.
62. Eccentricity, spin precession, and gravitational-wave signals that are too short
15th Edoardo Amaldi Conference, (online), Jul 2023.
61. When orbital eccentricity and spin precession are kind of the same
April APS Meeting, Minneapolis MN, USA, Apr 2023.
60. ✦ The black-hole binary formation-channel problem in gravitational-wave astronomy
57th Rencontres de Moriond - Gravitation, La Thuile, Italy, Mar 2023.
59. ✦ You’ll never merge alone
Unsolved problems in astrophysics and cosmology, Jerusalem, Israel, Dec 2022.
58. Characterization of LIGO/Virgo selection effects with neural networks
Machine learning in GW search: g2net next challenges, Pisa, Italy, Sep 2022.
57. Machine learning and the origin of LIGO’s black holes
31th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, Prague, Czechia, Sep 2022.
56. ✦ Gravitational-wave populations with a pinch of deep learning
23nd International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR23), Beijing, China, (online), Jul 2022.
55. Accretion disks around supermassive black-hole binaries can break
EuCAPT workshop: Gravitational-wave probes of black hole environments, Rome, Italy, Jun 2022.
54. ✦ Black-hole binary spin precession: new theoretical predictions and current observational evidence
9th KAGRA international workshop, Beijing, China, (online), Jun 2022.
53. ✦ A deep-learning solution to the gravitational-wave population problem
NBIA Workshop on black-hole dynamics: from gaseous environments to empty space, Copenhagen, Denmark, Jun 2022.
52. Gravitational-wave populations and black-hole spin time travel
April APS Meeting, New York NY, USA, Apr 2022.
51. ✦ I’ve seen a deviation from General Relativity: do you believe me?
4th Milan Christmas Workshop, Milan, Italy, Dec 2021.
50. ✦ Filling the gap with hierarchical black-hole mergers
4th World Laureates Forum, Shanghai, China, (online), Nov 2021.
49. ✦ Inspiral, merge, repeat: hierarchical black-hole mergers and their gravitational-wave signatures
XXIV SIGRAV Conference 2021, Urbino, Italy, Sep 2021.
48. Two precessing spins and how to find them
14th Edoardo Amaldi Conference, Melbourne, Australia, (online), Jul 2021.
47. Waveform systematics and gravitational-wave catalogs
2nd European Physical Society Conference on Gravitation: measuring gravity, London, UK, (online), Jul 2021.
46. Probing warped accretion disks with gravitational-wave observations of supermassive black-hole mergers
European Astronomical Society Annual Meeting (EAS2021), Leiden, The Netherlands, (online), Jun 2021.
45. ✦ Hierarchical black-hole mergers in the LIGO/Virgo band
Gravitational Wave Astrophysics Conference 2021, Hefei, China, (online), Jun 2021.
44. Testing GR? Keep calm and mind the waveform
24rd Capra Meeting on Radiation Reaction in General Relativity, Waterloo, Canada, (online), Jun 2021.
43. Warped accretion disks with LISA
Distorted astrophysical discs: new insights and future directions, Cambridge, UK, (online), May 2021.
42. Detectability of gravitational-wave signals with neural-network classifiers
RAS Specialist Meeting – Machine learning and artificial intelligence applied to astronomy 2, London, UK, (online), May 2021.
41. ✦ Transitioning to research independence in gravitational-wave astronomy (my own view on postdoc and grant applications)
Gravitational Wave Astrophysics for Early Career Scientists, Leiden, The Netherlands, (online), May 2021.
40. Can a computer learn if LIGO and Virgo will observe gravitational waves?
APS April Meeting, (online), Apr 2021.
39. A self-consistent treatment of warped accretion disks surrounding spinning supermassive black holes
Science at the Horizon: the Next-Generation Event Horizon Telescope, (online), Feb 2021.
38. ✦ Astrophysical black-hole binaries: the elephant in the room
Primordial black holes confront gravitational-wave data, Rome, Italy, (online), Feb 2021.
37. ✦ Black holes, gravitational waves, and the BEARs
10th Birmingham Environment for Academic Research (BEAR) Conference, Birmingham, UK, (online), Sep 2020.
36. Warped accretion discs, black-hole spins, and LISA
13th LISA Symposium, (online), Sep 2020.
35. Multi-timescale post-Newtonian dynamics of spinning black-hole binaries: a status update
23rd Capra Meeting on Radiation Reaction in General Relativity, Austin TX, USA, (online), Jun 2020.
34. ✦ An attempt to navigate the astro job market
LISA Early Career Scientists (LECS) training workshop, (online), Jun 2020.
33. Second-generation black holes, the pair-instability mass gap, and the escape speed of stellar clusters
30th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, Portsmouth, UK, Dec 2019.
32. Testing the no-hair theorem with multiband black-hole binaries
30th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, Portsmouth, UK, Dec 2019.
31. Pick the right one: Bayesian model selection on catalogs of gravitational-wave events
22nd International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR22) and 13th Edoardo Amaldi Conference, Valencia, Spain, Jul 2019.
30. Space-ground multiband detections. How many?
22nd International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR22) and 13th Edoardo Amaldi Conference, Valencia, Spain, Jul 2019.
29. ✦ Black-hole kicks: how and where
Taipei Gravitational Wave Group (TGWG) Conference, Taipei, Taiwan, Oct 2018.
28. ✦ Forming binary black holes out of stars
Taipei Gravitational Wave Group (TGWG) Conference, Taipei, Taiwan, Oct 2018.
27. ✦ Getting ready: exploit LISA to improve LIGO’s tests of General Relativity
Einstein Fellows Symposium 2018, Cambridge MA, USA, Oct 2018.
26. Runaways: recoiling black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures
COSPAR 2018 42nd assembly, Pasadena CA, USA, Jul 2018.
25. An unprecedented opportunity: black-hole spectroscopy with LISA forewarnings and LIGO optimizations
12th LISA Symposium, Chicago IL, USA, Jul 2018.
24. ✦ What do LIGO’s black holes remember?
April APS Meeting, Columbus OH, USA, Apr 2018.
23. Modeling black hole kicks with waveform approximants
34rd Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting, Pasadena CA, USA, Mar 2018.
22. Black holes from other black holes?
Graviy@Malta 2018, Valletta, Malta, Jan 2018.
21. ✦ The gravitational-wave astronomy revolution
2nd Milan Christmas Workshop, Milan, Italy, Dec 2017.
20. Reanalysis of LIGO black-hole coalescences with alternative prior assumptions
IAU Symposium 338, Baton Rouge LA, USA, Oct 2017.
Proceedings published by Cambridge University Press (2018).
19. ✦ Careful with the priors: a reanalysis of LIGO black-hole coalescences
Einstein Fellows Symposium 2017, Cambridge MA, USA, Oct 2017.
18. Empty galaxies to constrain black-hole superkicks
3rd Swinburne-Caltech Galaxy Workshop, Pasadena CA, USA, Sept 2017.
17. ✦ Surprises from the spins: astrophysics and relativity with detections of spinning black-hole mergers
12th Edoardo Amaldi Conference (plenary talk), Pasadena CA, USA, Jul 2017.
Proceedings published by IoP (2018).
16. Core collapse and compact-object formation to test General Relativity
LIGO Core Collapse Supernova Workshop, Pasadena CA, USA, Mar 2017.
15. The curious and simple limit of equal-mass precessing black-hole binaries
33rd Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting, Santa Barbara CA, USA, Mar 2017.
14. ✦ Spins remember: spin signatures of astrophysical black hole formation mechanisms
Strong Gravity and Binary Dynamics with Gravitational Wave Observations, Oxford MS, USA, Feb 2017.
13. The kick is in the waveform: detection of black-hole recoils
The Dawning Era of Gravitational-Wave Astrophysics, Aspen CO, USA, Feb 2017.
12. Kicked waveforms: prospects for direct detection of black hole recoils
``April’’ APS Meeting, Washington DC, USA, Jan 2017.
11. ✦ Getting the most out of gravitational-wave observations: kicks and spin precession
Einstein Fellows Symposium 2016, Cambridge MA, USA, Oct 2016.
10. Averaging the average: multi-timescale analysis of precessing black-hole binaries
21st International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR21), New York NY, USA, Jul 2016.
9. Differential accretion means differential alignment
BritGrav 16, Nottingham, UK, Apr 2016.
8. A new instability to black-hole spin precession
28th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, Geneva, Switzerland, Dec 2015.
7. Binary black-hole spin precession: a tale of three timescales
One Hundred Years of Strong Gravity, Lisbon, Portugal, Jun 2015.
6. Giant and empty: black-hole occupation fraction in brightest cluster galaxies
BritGrav 15, Birmingham, UK, Apr 2015.
5. ✦ Not so fast: gas-driven spin alignment in merging black-hole binaries
Milan Christmas Workshop, Milan, Italy, Milan, Italy, Dec 2014.
4. Missing black holes in brightest cluster galaxies as evidence for the occurrence of superkicks
99 years of Black Holes, Potsdam, Germany, May 2014.
3. Rival families: waveforms from resonant black-hole binaries as probes of their astrophysical formation history
3rd Session of the Sant Cugat Forum on Astrophysics, Sant Cugat, Spain, Apr 2014.
Proceedings published by Springer (2015).
2. Gravitational-wave signals from stellar-mass black-hole binaries in resonant configurations
BritGrav 14, Cambridge, UK, Mar 2014.
1. Spin alignment effects in stellar mass black hole binaries
22nd Midwest Relativity Meeting, Chicago IL, USA, Sep 2012.
Talks at department seminars
44. ✦ Gravitational-wave populations: deeper statistics for deeper astrophysics
Joint Israeli seminar series on gravitational physics, Israel, (online), Jun 2025.
43. ✦ The case of quasar 3C 186 as kicked black hole
Astronomy seminars, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK, Jul 2024.
42. ✦ Black-hole binaries, formation channels, and repeated mergers
Gravitational-wave seminars, Università di Pisa, , Pisa, Italy, May 2024.
41. ✦ Deep learning and Bayesian stats to uncover the origin of merging black holes
INAF/OAPD seminars, Università degli Studi di Padova, , Padua, Italy, Apr 2023.
40. ✦ Deep-learning emulators for gravitational-wave population fits
Theoretical Astrophysics seminars, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, Feb 2023.
39. ✦ Comparing gravitational-wave data and stellar-physics predictions with deep learning
Theoretical Physics colloquium, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, Feb 2023.
38. ✦ Gravitational-wave data exploitation with deep learning
Astrophysics seminars, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy, Jan 2023.
37. ✦ Some of the LIGO events might have merged a few times already
Gr@v seminars, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal, (online), Nov 2021.
36. ✦ Entering the data-driven regime of gravitational-wave astronomy
Physics Department colloquium, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy, (online), Oct 2020.
35. ✦ Waiting for the next black-hole surprise, from the upper mass gap to GW190412
Gravity seminars, University of Mississippi, Oxford MS, USA, (online), Jun 2020.
34. ✦ Keep the black holes merging: cluster escape speed and the curious case of GW190412
Astronomy seminars, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK, (online), Jul 2020.
33. ✦ Growing up: the next generation of black holes moves out of the cluster
Black Hole Initiative Colloquium, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA, (online), Mar 2020.
32. ✦ Multiple generations of black-hole mergers to pinpoint their astrophysical origin
Gravity seminars, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, Feb 2020.
31. ✦ Assembling multiple generations of black-hole mergers in the LIGO/Virgo band
Theoretical Astrophysics seminars, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK, Feb 2020.
30. ✦ Predicting LIGO’s black holes with LISA
AstroParticle seminars, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, Trieste, Italy, Nov 2019.
29. ✦ Multiband gravitational waves: event rates, detectability, and tests of gravity
Particle Cosmology seminars, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK, Nov 2019.
28. ✦ Understanding birth and growth of binary black holes with gravitational waves
Physics Colloquium, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA, USA, Feb 2019.
27. ✦ The (astro)physics of black-hole mergers and their gravitational-wave emission
Physics and Astronomy Colloquium, California State University Northridge, Los Angeles CA, USA, Jan 2019.
26. ✦ Model selection for large catalogs of gravitational-wave events
Cosmology seminars, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD, USA, Nov 2018.
25. ✦ How to kick black holes out of their galaxies
Strong Gravity Seminars, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Canada, Sep 2018.
24. ✦ (Astro)physical consequences of black-hole recoils
CITA Seminars, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Toronto, Canada, Sep 2018.
23. ✦ Black-hole spins and the astrophysics of LIGO’s sources
AEI seminars, Albert Einstein Institute, Hannover, Germany, Apr 2018.
22. ✦ Dynamics of spinning black-hole binaries as a tool to uncover their formation pathway
AEI seminars, Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam, Germany, Mar 2018.
21. ✦ Runaways: phenomenology and detectability of black-hole recoils
Theoretical Astrophysics seminars, University of Florida, Gainsville FL, USA, Mar 2018.
20. ✦ Testing relativity with past and future supernova explosions
Physics colloquia, Montana State University, Bozeman MT, USA, Feb 2018.
19. ✦ More astrophysics out of the first gravitational wave detections
GSSI seminars, Gran Sasso Science Institute, L’Aquila, Italy, Jan 2018.
18. ✦ Where do binary black holes come from? How do we find out?
Theory seminars, Sapienza Università di Roma, , Rome, Italy, Jan 2018.
17. ✦ Monopole radiation, hyper scalarization and inverse chirps: the promise of testing gravity with stellar collapse
Steward Observatory lunch seminars, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, USA, Nov 2017.
16. ✦ Black-hole binary spin precession: from relativity to astronomy
GRITTS seminars, Massachusetts Institute of Technology LIGO Lab, Cambridge MA, USA, Oct 2017.
15. ✦ Constraining the astrophysics behind the first LIGO detections
Physics colloquia, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson TX, USA, Sep 2017.
14. ✦ Binary black hole astrophysics with the first gravitational-wave events
Theory group seminars, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, May 2017.
13. ✦ Astrophysics with the first gravitational-wave events: from supernova asymmetries to multiple black-hole generations
GR seminars, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge, UK, May 2017.
12. ✦ Black-hole binaries on the road to merger
Oskar Klein Center colloquia, Stockholms Universitet, Stockholm, Sweden, Jan 2017.
11. ✦ A tale of astronomy and relativity: formation and evolution of black-hole binaries
Department seminars, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy, Apr 2016.
10. ✦ A new paradigm for black-hole spin precession
Astrophysics seminars, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, Feb 2016.
9. ✦ New insights on binary black-hole spin precession
Relativity division seminars, Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam, Germany, Feb 2016.
8. ✦ Spontaneous scalarization: a promising avenue for gravitational-wave astronomy
GReCO seminars, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, Paris, France, Jan 2016.
7. ✦ Innovative multi-timescale approach to binary black holes
Theoretical Astrophysics seminars, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy, Dec 2015.
6. ✦ Stellar collapse in scalar-tensor theories of gravity: prospects for gravitational-wave astronomy
Gravity and Particles seminar, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK, Dec 2015.
5. ✦ Core collapse and relativistic stars in scalar-tensor theories of gravity
Gravity seminars, STAG Research Center, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, Oct 2015.
4. ✦ Binary black-hole spin alignment: gas-driven and relativistic inspiral
Wednesday seminars, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, Jun 2015.
3. ✦ Spin-orbit resonances: unveiling black-hole binary dynamics on both stellar-mass and supermassive scale
Gravitational Physics seminars, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK, May 2014.
2. ✦ Spin-orbit resonances: unveiling black-hole binary dynamics on both stellar-mass and supermassive scale
GR seminars, Department Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, May 2014.
1. ✦ Spin alignment and resonant plane in stellar mass black hole binaries
Lunch talks, Leiden Observatory, Leiden, The Netherlands, Jan 2012.
Lectures at PhD schools
6. ✦ Tips on academic job applications for early career scientists
Gravitational-wave early-career scientists (GWECS) online talks, (online), Nov 2024.
5. ✦ My thoughts on the academic job market
IPTA Student Week 2024, Milan, Italy, Jun 2024.
4. ✦ Stellar-mass black-hole binary formation channels
Kavli-Villum Summer School on Gravitational Wave, Corfu, Greece, Sep 2023.
3. ✦ Gravitational waves: principles of emission
Kavli-Villum Summer School on Gravitational Wave, Corfu, Greece, Sep 2023.
2. ✦ Introduction to gravitational waves (theory background)
VIPER summer school on PTA GW astrophysics, Nashville TN, USA, (online), Jul 2022.
1. Multiband gravitational-wave (astro)physics
Gravitational-wave Excellence through Alliance Training (GrEAT) PhD school, Birmingham, UK, Nov 2019.
Posters at conferences
8. ✦ Exploitation of gravitational-wave data
Milano-Bicocca Physics Department 25th anniversary, Milan, Italy, Sep 2024.
7. PRECESSION: efficient black-hole binary evolution with python
Mathematics and Big Data showcase, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, Apr 2016.
6. ✦ Numerical relativity group at University of Cambridge
Einstein’s Legacy: celebrating 100 years of general relativity, London, UK, Nov 2015.
5. ✦ Formation and evolution of compact objects in relativity and modified gravity
5th DiRAC Science Day, Cambridge, UK, Sep 2015.
4. New analytic solutions to binary black-hole dynamics: from spin precession to inspiral
Eurostrings 2015, Cambridge, UK, Mar 2015.
3. ✦ Analytic solutions to binary black-hole spin precession: recalling Kepler’s two-body problem
Compact objects as astrophysical and gravitational probes, Leiden, The Netherlands, Jan 2015.
Best presentation award.
2. Efficient precession-averaged evolution of spinning black-hole binaries
RAS Specialist Meeting – Towards gravitational-wave astronomy: data analysis techniques and challenges, London, UK, Dec 2014.
1. Morphologies and binary transfer: a new approach to the post-newtonian dynamics of precessing black-holes binaries
DPG Physics School ``General Relativity @99’’, Bad Honnef, Germany, Sep 2014.
Outreach talks
17. ✦ Buchi neri ed onde gravitazionali (aka: ``Cosa racconto alla vostra prof. dopo una giornata di lavoro’’)
Collegio San Carlo, Milan, Italy, Jun 2024.
16. ✦ Al confine fra astronomia e relativit`a
Finals of the Italian Physics Olympiad, Senigallia, Italy, Apr 2024.
15. ✦ Black holes on the way to merger
Cambridge University Astronomical Society, Cambridge, UK, Feb 2024.
14. ✦ Gravity with some data science in the blender
Datrix Tech Dissemination, Milan, Italy, (online), Oct 2023.
13. ✦ Hands-on astrophysics. Il ruolo del ricercatore
Italian Association of Physics Students (AISF), Milan, Italy, May 2023.
12. ✦ Gravity explorers
Istituto Svizzero, Milan, Italy, Mar 2023.
11. ✦ Onde gravitazionali, buchi neri e dove trovarli
Fondazione Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy, Sep 2022.
10. ✦ Quando la gravit`a viaggia
Astronomiamo Association, Italy, (online), Mar 2022.
9. ✦ Hearing the Universe with gravitational waves
Bromsgrove Astronomical Society, Bromsgrove, UK, (online), Jun 2021.
8. ✦ Esplorare l’Universo con le onde gravitazionali
Settimana dell’Astronomia, Fondazione Lombardia per l’Ambiente, Italy, (online), Apr 2021.
7. ✦ Can black-hole binaries really make it?
University of Birmingham Astronomical Student Society, Birmingham, UK, (online), Mar 2021.
6. ✦ The (gravitational) sound of the Universe
Institute of Physics (IoP) Lecture Series, UK, (online), Dec 2020.
5. ✦ Looking at the Universe with gravity
Marling School visit, Birmingham, UK, Feb 2020.
4. ✦ Somewhere in between astronomy and relativity
Astronomy in the City, Birmingham, UK, Jan 2020.
3. ✦ Gravitational waves: somewhere between astronomy and relativity
Malvern Physics Olympics, Great Malvern, UK, Oct 2019.
2. ✦ Ride the wave (with gravity)
Physics Day Experience, Birmingham, UK, Jun 2019.
1. ✦ Onde gravitazionali: ascoltare l’Universo (anzich'e solo vederlo?)
Liceo Candia and Liceo Frassati, Seregno, Italy, Jan 2018.