In 2019, Alessandra Cantini earned her Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering ("management and production" curriculum) from the University of Florence, graduating with 110 cum laude and receiving special mention for her academic career.

From 2019 to 2022, she pursued a Ph.D. through a Co-tutelle agreement between two institutions: the University of Florence (UNIFI) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). At the end of this period, she was awarded two Ph.D. degrees, both with praise: a Ph.D. in "Industrial and Reliability Engineering" from UNIFI and a Ph.D. in "Production Management" from NTNU.

Since 2023, Alessandra has been an Assistant Professor at Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), where she conducts research and teaches "Innovation in Action Lab" and "Gestione dei Sistemi Logistici e Produttivi."

Within the field of industrial engineering, Alessandra Cantini's research interests are multifaceted and include spare parts management, inventory management, distribution network configuration, additive manufacturing, and explainable artificial intelligence. She has recently published articles on stock deployment in distribution centers within supply chains, focusing on the decision-making process between inventory centralization and decentralization. She has also conducted research aimed at enhancing supply chain sustainability through explainable artificial intelligence. Finally, she has carried out innovative studies on the selection of optimal manufacturing technologies for mechanical components (comparing additive and conventional manufacturing and investigating quality control issues related to 3D-printed parts).

1. Machine learning applications on IoT data in manufacturing operations and their interpretability implications: A systematic literature review. Presciuttini, A., Cantini, A., Costa, F., Portioli-Staudacher, A. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 2024, 74, pp. 477–486.
2. Optimising centralisation in distribution networks for perishable products through mathematical modelling, parametric analysis, and machine learning.Cantini, A., Leoni, L., Ferraro, S., De Carlo, F. International Journal of Production Research, 2025.
3. Additive or conventional manufacturing for the management of spare parts inventories? The impact of qualification testing. Cantini, A., Coruzzolo, A.M., De Carlo, F., Lolli, F., Peron, M. Production Planning and Control, 2025.
4. Exploring remanufacturing conveniency: An economic and energetic assessment for a closed-loop supply chain of a mechanical component. Ferraro, S., Baffa, F., Cantini, A., ... De Carlo, F., Campatelli, G.. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2024, 458, 142504.
5. Machine learning and deep learning for safety applications: Investigating the intellectual structure and the temporal evolution. Leoni, L., BahooToroody, A., Abaei, M.M., ... BahooToroody, F., De Carlo, F. Safety Science, 2024, 170, 106363

1. 2024: "Best Student Paper Award", AMEST 2024 for the paper: Collina, G., Cantini, A., Leoni, L., Ferraro, S., De Carlo, F., Buccelli, M., Paltrinieri, N. (2024). Hydrogen in glass sector: a comparison between risk-based maintenance and time-based maintenance approaches. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2024. Awarded by the following Scientific Committee: Prof. Simone Arena (Università degli Studi di Cagliari), Prof. Irene Roda (Politecnico di Milano), Prof. Alexandre Voisin (Université de Lorraine). Cagliari, 14 Giugno 2024.
2. 2023: Two "Certificates of Merit", XXVIII Summer School "Francesco Turco" for these 2 papers: (i) A., Cantini, S., Ferraro, L., Leoni, F. De Carlo (2023). A Mathematical Model for Choosing Between Centralization and Decentralization in Distribution Networks for Perishable Products. Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2023. (ii) L., Leoni, A., Cantini, F. De Carlo, M., Tucci (2023). Reducing Energy Consumption in Industrial Plants: an Integrated Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Framework with Similarity Aggregation Method. Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2023. Awarded by the following Scientific Committeei Prof. Roberto Revetria (Università degli Studi di Genova), Prof. Shawn Mathew (Middlesex University Dubai). Genova, 8 Settembre 2023.
3. 2023: Laude for the Ph.D. Thesis developed under a Cotutelle agreement between Università degli Studi di Firenze (UNIFI) and Norwegian University of Science and Technologies (NTNU). Awarded by the following Scientific Committee: Prof. Sri Talluri (Michigan State University), Prof. Salomée Ruel (KEDGE Business School), Prof. Shen Yin (Norwegian University of Science and Technologies), Prof. Marco Frosolini (University of Pisa), Prof. Fabio Fruggiero (University of Basilicata), Prof. Andrei Lobov (Norwegian University of Science and Technologies). Trondheim (Norvegia), 24 Marzo 2023.
4. 2022: Two "Certificates of Merit", XXVII Summer School "Francesco Turco" for these 2 papers: (i) S., Ferraro, F. De Carlo, A., Cantini, L., Leoni (2022). Green Logistics for Heavy Equipment: a bibliometric analysis. Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2022. (ii) L., Leoni, A., Cantini, F. De Carlo, M., Tucci (2022). Integration of Empirical Mode Decomposition and Machine Learning for Operating Condition Classification: a Proposal. Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2022. Awarded by the following Scientific Committee: Prof. Roberto Revetria (Università degli Studi di Genova). Riviera dei Fiori, 9 Settembre 2022.
5. 2022: "Best Presentation Award", IX PhD on the go Marco Garetti. Awarded by the following Scientific Committee: Prof. Marco Macchi (Politecnico di Milano). Benevento, 17 Giugno 2022.
6. 2021: "Best Paper Award", XXVI Summer School "Francesco Turco" per il paper: A., Cantini, F. De Carlo, L. Leoni, M., Tucci (2021). A novel approach for spare parts dynamic deployment. Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2021. Awarded by the following Scientific Committee: Prof. Sergio Cavalieri (Università degli Studi di Bergamo), Prof. Giuditta Pezzotta (Università degli Studi di Bergamo), Prof. Marco Perona (Università degli Studi di Brescia), Prof. Paolo Gaiardelli (Università degli Studi di Bergamo). Bergamo, 10 settembre 2021.

Alessandra contributes to the sustainability of the industrial and manufacturing sector by promoting research activities in the field of operational excellence. Her work aims to support companies in decision-making processes, reducing operational costs and minimizing environmental impacts.