Sonia Massari

Sonia Massari, Ph.D. has over 20 years of experience in Food Design and Innovation, human-food interaction, Sustainability Education, and the Co-Creation and Co-Design of innovative agri-food systems.

After graduating in Communication Sciences and Interaction Design from the University of Siena, she worked as an evaluator for EU research projects and as a consultant in the advertising sector. She then lived and taught for two years in New York, where she attended adult education courses and served as a visiting professor for the course Introduction to Visual Art (Basic Design) at the School of Art and Communication, Montclair State University.

Upon returning to Italy, she began working in scientific research for the European Commission. In 2007, she contributed to the establishment and then directed Gustolab International ( International Institute for Food and Sustainability studies) for 13 years—the first academic institution entirely dedicated to Food Studies Abroad. From 2010 to 2020 she was the Academic Director of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Food Studies in Italy. Coordinator of the “Critical Studies on Food In Italy” program in Italy for UMASS Amherst ( 2010-2020).

She designed and coordinated more than 50 academic programs and over 150 place-based initiatives on food and sustainability for prestigious universities including University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Chatham University, New York University, New Mexico State University, UMass Amherst, SUNY Oswego, Auburn University, Bowling Green University, Redlands University, Vantan Japan, among others. She developed food and sustainability abroad programs in Italy, Japan, and Vietnam, and later in hybrid format in Spain, France, and Austria.

She holds a Ph.D. in Food Experience Design (Ph.D. in Engineering, Telematics and Information Society, specialization in Interaction Design – University of Florence), with a dissertation on the role of digital technologies in food systems, cultural transmission, and the innovation of food practices. Her research combines critical and empirical approaches to the intersection of food, technology, and education.

She served for five years as coordinator of the ADI Permanent Design Observatory (ADI Index) Food Design Commission, and has been a jury member for numerous awards for startups, researchers, and innovators (EIT Food Journalism Award, Food Startupbootcamp, Archiproducts, BCFN YES!, among others). In 2015, she co-founded and co-directed the first European conference on Food Design: Understanding Food Design: from user-centered to people-centered design (Milan), together with ADI, Politecnico di Milano Design Department, and SPD Scuola Politecnica di Design.

From 2012 to 2023, she was a scientific advisor to the Barilla Foundation, where she coordinated high-impact projects including:
BCFN YES! (competition for MA and PhD students)
The Milan Protocol (coordinating  the Sustainable Agriculture section)
– The Youth Manifesto ( coordinating  the whole process)
– National education programs supported by the Ministry of Education (“Noi, il cibo, il nostro Pianeta”)
SKILLED for Food (Erasmus+), a sustainability training program for high school teachers

In 2020, she left her role as director of Gustolab to fully dedicate herself to scientific research, educational innovation, and participatory approaches in agri-food. Since then, she has collaborated with universities, research centers, public institutions, and food private companies and  organizations as a researcher, designer, consultant and trainer ( LegaCoop, Parmalat, Nestle, PepsiCo, VTI, WFP, Studio Volpi, IIT, ….).

Since 2012 she teaches Food Design in numerous national and international institutions, including th Basque Culinary Center Department of Master in Gastronomic Sciences, University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Bologna Business School, Rome Business School, Politecnico di Milano, SPD, The New School, ELISAVA, ESTHE, Munich University of Applied Sciences, CHIEAM Bari and Austral University in Argentina, to mention a few. In 2017 she was selected as faculty for the SDGAcademy MOOC Course: Sustainable Food Systems: A Mediterranean Perspective

Since 2013, she has taught at ISIA Roma Design ( courses such as “Sociology of Change” and “Scenarios for Sustainability) and co-lead workshops for Pordenone Design Week and RDE Rome. Since 2024, she co-coordinates the doctoral curriculum in Design for Social Change and conducts research on sustainability-oriented design education.

From 2017 to 2022, she was adjunct professor at Roma Tre University (Economics), where she taught the MA course “Sustainability Design Thinking” (64 hours) and supervised numerous theses on design and sustainability.

From 2020 to 2024, she served as Director of the Academy of the Future Food Institute, where she co-designed and co-coordinated programs such as Climate Shapers Bootcamps, Gastrodiplomacy Bootcamps, and sustainability education initiatives for schools and teachers, small and big food companies, collaborating with international organizations such as FAO, WFP, INTERHEI,EC, UNDP, Chef’s Manifesto, and different national ministries.

Since 2022, she has been a researcher at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences at the University of Pisa, collaborating  within the PAGE research group. Her work focuses on human-food interaction, participatory design methods, and the role of design in transforming rural and agri-food contexts. She integrates transdisciplinary learning, empathy-oriented methodologies, and transformative educational formats. She also launched and co-developed Tenuta Lab, a place-based education hub rooted in agricultural enterprises, and coordinated co-teaching initiatives between design, agricultural economics, bioeconomy, and agroecology. She launched and coordinated the national conference Design, Food, Agriculture: More Connected Than We Imagine?

In 2021, she co-founded FORK Food Design Organization, the world’s largest non-profit international platform dedicated to food design. With FORK, she launched the annually World Food Design Day (WFDD) and co-organizes the be-annual EFOOD, the European conference on Food Design.

She has published numerous academic articles on food studies, education, HCI, ICT, and food design. Her work has been presented at conferences and workshops across all five continents.

Her Special issues:

Special Issue: ID City, Italian Cities and Identities (Northeast Modern Language Association – 2011)

Special Issue: Designing Digital Technologies for Sustainable Transformations of Food Systems (Intellect – 2023) openaccess

Her Books:
FOR ALL

Transdisciplinary Case Studies on Design for Food and Sustainability (Elsevier-  2021)

Experiencing and Envisioning Food Designing for Change ( Taylor and Francis, 2024) openaccess

Food Design for the Real World (FrancoAngeli – 2025 )

openaccess

FOR TEACHERS

Coltivare il futuro. Dagli orti didattici alla Dieta Mediterranea verso la transizione ecologica e digitale (Giunti – 2024)

more materials for teachers

She was a board member of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS), where she served as Vice President (2023–2025). She is in the board ( direttivo) of the Laboratorio di Studi Rurali “Sismondi” and she is one of the member of Linaria no profit. She is also part of international scientific committees, including the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Food Design and the Advisory Board of the International Food Studies Network. She is currently member of SID, SIEA and AIEAA.

She collaborates as an expert with TV programs, festivals, media outlets, and research hubs such as JRC Science Hub, RAI, Gambero Rosso Magazine, Elle Decor, and others.

Awards and recognitions:
Tecnovisionarie – Women Innovation Award (2012)
Innovative Research in International Education – NAFSA Award (2014)
ASFS Pedagogy Award (2020)
Most Innovative New Program Award for Climate Shapers Bootcamp – GoAbroad (2021)
– Finalist for Reimagine Education Award for Best Online Program (2021)
World Food Design Day listed in the ADI Design Index (2023)
– FORK’s work shortlisted for the Donald Norman Design Award and Compasso d’Oro Internazionale
EFOOD 2022 Proceedings Book, awarded the Gourmand Award as Best Food Design Book

Originally from Romagna, she has lived in Rome for many years. She has two wonderful children who often join her on her many work and leisure travels.

Chi sono e di cosa mi occupo

Sonia Massari, Ph.D. ha oltre 20 anni di esperienza nel Food Design e nell’Innovazione, nell’interazione uomo-cibo, nell’educazione alla sostenibilità e nei processi di co-creazione e co-progettazione di sistemi agroalimentari innovativi.

Dopo la laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione e Interaction Design all’Università di Siena, ha lavorato come valutatrice di progetti di ricerca europei e consulente nel settore della pubblicità. Ha poi vissuto e insegnato per due anni a New York, dove ha seguito corsi di formazione per adulti e insegnato come visiting professor il corso Introduction to Visual Art (Basic Design) presso la School of Art and Communication della Montclair State University.

Tornata in Italia, ha iniziato a lavorare nella ricerca scientifica per la Commissione Europea. Nel 2007 ha co-fondato e diretto per 13 anni Gustolab International, il primo istituto accademico interamente dedicato ai Food Studies Abroad. Dal 2010 al 2020 è stata Academic Director del programma Food Studies in Italy della University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign e coordinatrice del programma Critical Studies on Food in Italy per UMASS Amherst.

Ha progettato e coordinato oltre 50 programmi accademici e più di 150 iniziative educative e territoriali su cibo e sostenibilità per prestigiose università come University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Chatham University, NYU, New Mexico State University, UMass Amherst, SUNY Oswego, Auburn University, tra le altre. Ha sviluppato programmi sul cibo abroad in Italia, Giappone e Vietnam, e successivamente in formato ibrido in Spagna, Francia e Austria.

È Dottore di Ricerca in Food Experience Design (Ph.D. in Ingegneria – Telematica e Società dell’Informazione, specializzazione in Interaction Design – Università di Firenze), con una tesi sul ruolo delle tecnologie digitali nei sistemi alimentari, nella trasmissione culturale e nell’innovazione delle pratiche alimentari. La sua ricerca unisce approcci critici ed empirici all’intersezione tra cibo, tecnologia ed educazione.

È stata per sei anni coordinatrice della Commissione Food Design dell’ADI Permanent Design Observatory (ADI Index), e ha fatto parte di numerose giurie per premi rivolti a startup, ricercatori e innovatori (tra cui EIT Food Journalism Award, Food Startupbootcamp, Archiproducts, BCFN YES!). Nel 2015 ha co-fondato e diretto, insieme ad ADI, al Dipartimento di Design del Politecnico di Milano e a SPD – Scuola Politecnica di Design, la prima conferenza europea sul Food Design: Understanding Food Design: from user-centered to people-centered design (Milano).

Dal 2012 al 2023 è stata consulente scientifica della Barilla Foundation, coordinando progetti di alto impatto tra cui:
BCFN YES! (competizione per studenti MA e PhD)
The Milan Protocol (coordinando la sezione Agricoltura Sostenibile)
Youth Manifesto (coordinando l’intero processo)
– Programmi educativi nazionali patrocinati dal Ministero dell’Istruzione (“Noi, il cibo, il nostro Pianeta”)
SKILLED for Food (Erasmus+), programma europeo di formazione alla sostenibilità per insegnanti delle scuole superiori

Nel 2020 ha lasciato la direzione di Gustolab per dedicarsi completamente alla ricerca scientifica, all’innovazione educativa e agli approcci partecipativi nell’ambito agroalimentare. Da allora collabora con università, centri di ricerca, istituzioni pubbliche e aziende del settore food come ricercatrice, designer, consulente e formatrice (LegaCoop, Parmalat, Nestlé, PepsiCo, VTI, WFP, Studio Volpi, IIT…).

Dal 2012 insegna Food Design in numerosi atenei nazionali e internazionali, tra cui: Basque Culinary Center (Dipartimento Master in Scienze Gastronomiche), Università di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo, Bologna Business School, Rome Business School, Politecnico di Milano, SPD, The New School, ELISAVA, ESTHE, Munich University of Applied Sciences, CHIEAM Bari, Universidad Austral in Argentina.
Nel 2017 è stata selezionata come faculty per il corso MOOC della SDGAcademy: Sustainable Food Systems: A Mediterranean Perspective.

Dal 2013 insegna presso ISIA Roma Design (tra i corsi: Sociologia del Cambiamento e Scenari per la Sostenibilità) e ha co-condotto workshop per la Pordenone Design Week e per RDE Roma. Dal 2024, co-coordina il curriculum di dottorato in Design for Social Change e conduce ricerca sulla didattica del design per la sostenibilità.

Dal 2017 al 2022 è stata docente a contratto presso l’Università Roma Tre (Facoltà di Economia), dove ha tenuto il corso MA Sustainability Design Thinking (64 ore) e supervisionato numerose tesi su design e sostenibilità.

Dal 2020 al 2024 è stata Direttrice dell’Academy del Future Food Institute, dove ha co-progettato e coordinato programmi come i Climate Shapers Bootcamp, i Gastrodiplomacy Bootcamp, e attività educative sulla sostenibilità per scuole, docenti e aziende alimentari, collaborando con organizzazioni internazionali come FAO, WFP, INTERHEI, EC, UNDP, Chef’s Manifesto, e vari ministeri nazionali.

Dal 2022 è ricercatrice presso il Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Agro-ambientali dell’Università di Pisa, all’interno del gruppo di ricerca PAGE. La sua attività si concentra sull’interazione uomo-cibo, sul design partecipativo e sul ruolo del design nei processi di trasformazione dei contesti rurali e agroalimentari. Integra approcci transdisciplinari, metodologie empatiche e formati educativi trasformativi.
Ha inoltre fondato e co-sviluppato il Tenuta Lab, uno spazio di apprendimento place-based legato alle aziende agricole, e coordinato attività di co-teaching tra design, economia agraria, bioeconomia e agroecologia. Ha ideato e coordinato la conferenza nazionale “Design, Food, Agriculture: More Connected Than We Imagine?”. Insegna nei programmi di dottorato legati al dipartimento. Fa parte del gruppo tematico sulla didattica di SIDEA.

Nel 2021 ha co-fondato la FORK Food Design Organization, la più grande piattaforma no-profit internazionale dedicata al food design. Con FORK ha lanciato il World Food Design Day (WFDD), celebrato ogni anno, e co-organizza EFOOD, conferenza europea sul Food Design.

Ha pubblicato numerosi articoli scientifici su food studies, educazione, HCI, ICT e food design, presentando il proprio lavoro in conferenze e workshop nei cinque continenti.

Numeri speciali curati:
ID City. Italian Cities and Identities (Northeast Modern Language Association, 2011)
Designing Digital Technologies for Sustainable Transformations of Food Systems (Intellect, 2023) accessibile qui

Libri:
Transdisciplinary Case Studies on Design for Food and Sustainability (Elsevier, 2021) accessibile via elsevier
Coltivare il futuro. Dagli orti didattici alla Dieta Mediterranea verso la transizione ecologica e digitale (Giunti, 2024) per docenti qui
Experiencing and Envisioning Food. Designing for Change (Taylor & Francis, 2024 – open access) accessibile qui
Food Design for the Real World (FrancoAngeli, 2025 – open access)accessibile qui

È membro del Board dell’Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS), dove ha ricoperto il ruolo di vicepresidente (2023–2025). Fa parte del comitato scientifico del Laboratorio di Studi Rurali “Sismondi”, ed è membro dell’associazione Linaria. Fa inoltre parte di comitati scientifici internazionali, tra cui l’Editorial Board dell’International Journal of Food Design e l’Advisory Board dell’International Food Studies Network.

Collabora come esperta con programmi televisivi, festival, testate e centri di ricerca, tra cui: JRC Science Hub, RAI, Gambero Rosso Magazine, Elle Decor, ecc.

Riconoscimenti:
Premio Tecnovisionarie – Women Innovation (2012)
Innovative Research in International Education – NAFSA Award (2014)
ASFS Pedagogy Award (2020)
Most Innovative New Program Award per Climate Shapers Bootcamp – GoAbroad (2021)
– Finalista Reimagine Education Award per il miglior programma online (2021)
World Food Design Day incluso nell’ADI Design Index (2023)
– Il lavoro di FORK selezionato per Donald Norman Design Award e Compasso d’Oro Internazionale
– Il volume EFOOD 2022 Proceedings ha vinto il Gourmand Award come miglior libro sul Food Design

Originaria della Romagna, vive da molti anni a Roma. Ha due figli meravigliosi che spesso la accompagnano nei suoi numerosi viaggi di lavoro e di piacere.

Memories