Claudia Vicentelo holds a Ph.D. in Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a master’s degree in urban planning from the Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy), and a degree in architecture from the Catholic University of Valparaíso (Chile). Her research focuses on urban development, urban innovation, smart cities, e-governance, information technology for planning, pre-disaster planning, and smart and sustainable architecture. Her primary contribution has been to the field of knowledge planning (k-planning) for developing and fostering smart cities and Cyberenvironments.

Dr. Vicentelo received the Fulbright Doctorate Grant, and she has been recognized with awards from various institutions and programs including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Fulbright Academy of Science and Technology, and ThinkChicago, among others. She has been a member of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and currently serves as a lead member of the Innovative Territories – Global Academic Agenda.