Francesco Franco

Dr. Franco is active in many fields of mechanical and aerospace engineering such as structural dynamics, structural-acoustics, i.e. coupling among vibrating structures and acoustic enclosures, structural-acoustic optimization, computational methods in structural-acoustic with reference to low and medium-high modal density problems, experimental techniques for the modal analysis – flutter clearance in aeronautics – localization and characterization of vibration and noise sources, active structural-acoustic control, smart materials with particular reference to magnetostrictive and piezoelectric materials, damage detection by using frequency response functions.
Up to date Dr. Franco has been involved in several research projects funded by the European Directorate for the Research and Industrial Development (DG XII). Many European research centers have collaborated in these research projects and Dr. Franco has served with different roles: partner, task and work-package leader, member of the steering committee.  Moreover, Dr. Franco has been involved in many research projects sponsored by industrial companies (Alenia Aeronautica, Piaggio Aero Industries, Fiat, AnsaldoBreda, etc.) for the structural-acoustic design and optimization of transportation mean prototypes.
Dr. Franco has been member of the steering committee of the Campania Regional Center for Transportation, funded by the European Union, for constituting a center of excellence of laboratories experimentally supporting the industrial development of new transportation prototypes.
Dr. Franco has collaborative research exchanges with several European Institutions and with The Georgia Institute of Technology (USA).
Dr. Franco is currently teaching a class on “Model Validation, Updating and Optimization in Structural Dynamics” for the master degree programme in aerospace engineering. In the past he thought a class on “Advanced Design of Aerospace Structures”, a class on “Standard and Innovative Technologies for Aircraft Production” and a class on “Numerical Methods for the Design of Aerospace Structures”. The first one is in the master degree programme and the others are in the bachelor degree programme in aerospace engineering. Moreover, he gave the class on “Standard and Innovative Technologies for Aircraft Production” at the Second University of Naples (Italy) for the three years degree programme in aeronautics and at the University of Salento (Italy) for the master degree programme in aeronautics, too.