Call for Action
Join us for the introductory Call for Action session of the WHISKEY-AI Workshop 2026, a forum designed to mobilise researchers, practitioners, and industry stakeholders around the next generation of fermentation, maturation, and process engineering for food and beverage systems. Building on the workshop’s interdisciplinary foundations, this session will introduce the key challenges and opportunities at the intersection of chemical and biochemical engineering, food science, microbiology, sensory science, advanced sensing, machine learning, and physics-informed modelling. Participants will be invited to help shape a shared agenda for more sustainable, adaptable, and data-enabled production systems, identifying where fundamental insight, experimental innovation, computational methods, and industrial practice can be brought together to accelerate progress in fermentation-driven sectors such as brewing, distilling, food technology, and alternative proteins.
Speaker
Davide Conficconi
Assistant Prof. Computer Systems@PoliMi (Politecnico di Milano)
Davide Conficconi is a Assistant Professor in Computer Systems at Politecnico di Milano, leading a research programme in hardware-software co-design of digital systems that are fundamentally more efficient, scalable, and aligned with the semantics of the domains they support. As co-organiser of the Whiskey AI workshop, he explores how energy-efficient computing systems can impact whiskey aging for a sustainable production ... read more
Fabio Pizzetti
Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering @ Politecnico di Milano
Fabio Pizzetti is an Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. His work focuses on formulation chemistry and engineering for applications in biomedical and food sector, such as drug delivery systems, slow-release fertilizers systems and acceleration techniques for aged beverage. As co-organiser of the Whiskey AI workshop, he explores how ultrasound techniques can impact whiskey aging for a sustainable production.... read more
Melanie Köhler
Junior Reserach Group Leader at Leibniz-LSB@TUM & TUM Junior Fellow at TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich
Dr. Melanie Köhler is head of the Junior Research Group Mechanoreceptors & Sensory Biophysics at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich (Leibniz-LSB@TUM). Her research bridges biophysics, food chemistry, and sensory science to uncover the molecular basis of mouthfeel and flavor perception. Within the WHISKEY-AI project, she and colleagues from Leibniz-LSB@TUM contribute expertise in flavor research for foods and beverages, linking process innovation ... read more
Ovidiu Serban
Research Fellow, Imperial College London
Ovidiu Șerban (ʃerban) is a Research Fellow at Imperial College London, leading work in AI, real-time NLP, and large-scale data systems. As co-organiser of a Whiskey AI workshop, he explores how machine learning and sensor technologies can transform whiskey ageing, bridging tradition with data-driven innovation.... read more