We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Gianluigi Ferrari has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of Future Internet (ISSN: 1999-5903). With an extensive background in scientific research and publishing, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this prestigious role.

Prof. Dr. Gianluigi Ferrari was born in Parma, Italy, on November 13, 1974. He received the "Laurea" degree (5-year program) in electrical engineering summa cum laude from the University of Parma, Parma, Italy in October 1998. He earned a Ph.D. in information technologies from the Department of Information Engineering (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, DII) of the University of Parma in January 2002. From July 2000 to December 2001, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Communication Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA. Between February 2002 and August 2002, he was a postdoctoral student at the DII, University of Parma.

Between September 2002 and October 2010, he was a Research Professor at the DII of the University of Parma. Between November 2010 and February 2023, he was an Associate Professor at the same department (he received the Italian nation-wide habilitation from the Polytechnic of Milan in August 2010). In December 2013, he received the "Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale" (National Scientific Qualification) for Full Professorship in Telecommunications. Since March 2023, he has been a Full Professor at the DIA.

In 2023, he was included, on the basis of his h-index, in the list of the Top Italian Scientists in Engineering (ranking 176th worldwide).

The following is a Q&A with Prof. Dr. Gianluigi Ferrari, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views on the research field and on open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to become its Editor-in-Chief?
I had the opportunity to read several papers from Future Internet and I really appreciated their scope. I really believe that the Internet of the future, interpreted as an extension of the current one, will pave the way towards significant innovations and will support the design and implementation of smart systems. I was also impressed by the editors of the journal and by the efficiency of all the administrative staff, which makes paper management very effective.

2. What are your plans and vision for the journal?
I would like to contribute to select strategic research directions to be included in the journal’s aims, in order to attract relevant publications. I think that the journal can become a key reference venue for papers focusing on smart systems, which will be more and more important for the Internet of the future.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
The future of this field of research looks brighter and brighter. On the one hand, we are witnessing the distribution of intelligence from cloud to edge to device, making the design and implementation of smart systems more and more feasible. On the other hand, the Internet will evolve to support the integration of very heterogeneous systems. Great research opportunities lay ahead.

4. What do you think of the development of open access literature in the publishing field?
I think that it is very relevant, as it allows knowledge to be shared more effectively. For instance, several funding agencies (such as the European Commission) are strongly committed to supporting open access science.

We wish Prof. Dr. Gianluigi Ferrari every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the journal.