Michele Nati, PhD has 15 years of experience in the fields of data and IoT, working on research and development and recently on innovation in a number of roles, from Academia to SMEs to government organisations. During his career he pioneered and touched all the technologies and aspects that helped to create the connected world we are living today.

In 2007, Michele obtained a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Rome La Sapienza. He researched, designed and deployed novel cross-layer communication protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks and other resource-constrained embedded devices, dividing his time between Rome and Boston where he was a visiting researcher at the Northeastern University. After his PhD, he worked for academia and a number of SMEs as a research scientist in the area of remote sensing / monitoring.

In 2010 Michele moved to the UK to work at the University of Surrey, where he was a Senior Researcher at the 5G Innovation Centre. As part of the first large scale european smart city project, SmartSantander, he led the development and deployment of an Internet of Things campus-wide testbed comprising of thousands of sensor devices for energy monitoring applications. He led a group of PhD students investigating the impact of IoT and data in creating more sustainable buildings and campuses. He developed proposals and led a number of other European Projects, researching the field of privacy-aware communication and crowdsensing in mobile Internet of Things.

Since 2015 Michele has worked as the Lead Technologist for Data and Trust at Digital Catapult London, driving open innovation in the area of data and trust. He worked on a number of projects and initiatives to increase transparency and individual control on how personal data are collected and shared. He championed the introduction of a standardized Personal Data Receipt to increase transparency, track personal data sharing transactions and provide General Data Protection Regulation compliance.

In his research into trust and transparency, Michele was exposed to blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. He researched DLTs as a means to build an infrastructure for sharing data with trust, and to create innovation in the digital manufacturing and creative industries.

Currently he is an active member of the Mydata community, actively liaising with academia, SMEs, large organizations and governments to identify open innovation activities in the field of data and IoT.

Beyond technology Michele is a keen trail runner and meetup organiser.

On joining IOTA

The IOTA technology and vision bring together all the aspects that have filled my technical and research interests for the last 15 years, IoT (from its early stage), data and trust. I believe these are the same three pillars on top of which innovation should now be created. I like the way the IOTA Foundation is working and establishing its presence in different vertical domains, through open innovation, demonstrators and partnership, rather than just capitalising only on the value associated with a cryptocurrency. I am very excited to use my experience in managing multi-stakeholder initiatives, to find real world problems and to help with adoption of IOTA as trust infrastructure for creation of new data sharing ecosystem.

Michele’s has deep technical knowledge, multi-sector exposure and has participated in different stages of research and innovation activities. These qualities, together with his innate ability to manage multiple stakeholders, will be of great value for adoption and evolution of the IOTA protocol.

Michele is based in London, where he works as the Lead Technical Analyst to support innovation in Global Trade and Supply Chains. In light of his deep domain knowledge and network of contacts, Michele also serves as the Personal Data Lead, working with the Business Development team to define a strategy for the Personal Data arena. Give him a warm welcome!