Barbara Previtali is a Full Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her research focuses on the study of advanced manufacturing processes, particularly laser and additive manufacturing, with an experimental approach supported by modeling, sensing, and monitoring. Her work includes beam shaping techniques and the modeling of the laser beam-material interaction, extending to active control for industrial applications such as laser cutting. Her expertise also covers other thermal processes, such as Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). She is a member of the jury for the Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis, the Scientific Committee of the EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hub in Manufacture using Advanced Powder Processes, and the board of stakeholders of Photonics21. She serves as an editor for the international journals Journal of Laser Applications and Optics & Laser Technology.