The award, proposed by Thales Alenia Space Italia and established by the University of L’Aquila in collaboration with the Gran Sasso Tech Foundation, recognizes outstanding Master’s theses in Computer, Electronic, and Telecommunications Engineering. Eligible theses focused on digital signal processing technologies for satellite applications and were discussed by graduates of the University of L’Aquila during the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 academic years.
Benedetta De Flaviis received the award for her thesis entitled “Digital FPGA Design of LDPC Reconciliation Algorithms for QKD,” while Simone D’Agostino received the award for his work “Advanced Processing Platforms for On-Board Execution of Satellite Applications: A Case Study in the Telecommunications Domain.”
The award ceremony took place on Friday, March 27, 2026, in the Michela Rossi Hall at the Thales Alenia Space in L’Aquila. The event was attended by Michelangelo L’Abbate, Vice President of the Hardware Engineering Directorate at Thales Alenia Space; Fabio Graziosi, Rector of the University of L’Aquila; Alessandro Pajewski, CEO of the Gran Sasso Tech Foundation; Fortunato Santucci, Professor of Telecommunications at the Department of Information Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics of the University of L’Aquila, Vincenzo Stornelli and Leonardo Pantoli, Director and Professor of Electronics at the Department of Industrial, Information and Economics Engineering of the University of L’Aquila.
Ascolino Bernardi graduated in Electronic Engineering from the University of L’Aquila in 1991 under the supervision of Professor Francesco Valdoni, with an experimental thesis on VLSI integrated circuits developed at the then Alenia Spazio, now Thales Alenia Space, in L’Aquila.
He was subsequently hired by the same company, where he worked for more than thirty years as part of a leading-edge team in the field of electronics, demonstrating outstanding expertise in the development of complex digital circuit design projects.