Introducing… Giovanni Colavizza

What’s your name?

Giovanni Colavizza

What’s your background?

I have a mixed background in computer science and history, with a focus on data science, the history of the book, newspapers and scholarship. I was also trained as an archivist, in a distant past.

Prior to joining the Turing, I did my PhD at the Digital Humanities laboratory of the EPFL (DHLAB), Switzerland. I was part of the Venice Time Machine project, helping to build an information system to access the many records on the history of Venice and a citation index for the related scholarly literature (Venice Scholar). I also co-founded the first spin-off of the DHLAB, Odoma.ch.

At the Turing I am part of the Research Engineering Group as a senior data scientist, mostly focusing on the Data science for science program. I am also affiliated with the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS, Leiden University), where I work on text analytics of scholarly literature.

In one sentence, what is your role on the project?

As Co-Investigator, I lead on machine learning engineering: developing automated components as required, and embedding them into the project’s infrastructure.

What excites you about the project?

The combination of scale, talent and ambition we have.

What challenges do you see ahead?

The very same thing. Delivering on our goals will require a joint effort based on trust and a shared culture, which we will have to develop together.

What’s the last (non-work) book you read, exhibition or performance you saw?

Book: Amos Oz, A tale of love and darkness. Exhibition: I am Ashurbanipal at the British Museum. Performance: The Eternal Golden Braid: Gödel, Escher, Bach at the Barbican.

Finally, where can people find out more about you and your work?

My Turing personal page or on Tritter @giovanni1085.