Marco Lanzagorta

Marco Lanzagorta received a PhD in physics from Oxford University and has worked at prestigious research institutions in England, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico and the US. During the past 18 years, he has conducted research in physics, computer science, and neuroscience. Currently, Marco is a scientific consultant for the US Department of Defense at a major research laboratory in Washington DC, and an affiliate associate professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

But Marco's true love is, and always has been, horror cinema. Pursuing his dreams while at Oxford, Marco also studied filmmaking at the eminent Oxford University Film Workshop and produced and directed a couple of short films. Years later, he took more film courses at George Mason University and at the Smithsonian Institution.

In addition to its cultural importance, Marco sees film as the grand fusion of art and science, so he is deeply interested in the technologies that drive filmmaking, and keeps himself up to date on the latest advances in cinematography and special effects. Then, perhaps it is not coincidence that some of the research work he does for the Department of Defense involves the exact same technologies as those used by Hollywood to create movie magic. As such, every year he is an active contributor at Siggraph, by far the most important computer graphics, animation and digital effects conference.

Marco has also been offering his expertise in digital technologies to an independent film company associated to the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he taught an intensive course on computer animation and digital effects. While there he also starred in a major role and helped in the production of the upcoming Mil Mascaras vs. The Aztec Mummy the first US production in the legendary "Mexican Masked Wrestlers vs. Monsters" genre.

In addition to cinema, Marco is also interested in military history, science, technology, criminal psychology, and sagas of world exploration. He listens to movie soundtracks and he is currently doing research on the evolution of horror film music. Marco has read most of the books by Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, Frederick Forsyth, Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, David Morrell and the Douglas Preston-Lincoln Childs team. His favorite books include Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal, and Richard Matheson's I am Legend. Marco equally enjoys reading graphic novels about seriously disturbed superheroes such as Batman, The Punisher, Spawn and Venom.