Michele Vittorio has journeyed quite a bit in his time, but has recently settled into the Charger community, bringing with him an expansive knowledge of geographic information systems or GIS.  

“I spent most of my working career abroad. I was in North Africa, Norway, and my last place was Saudi Arabia,” said Vittorio. “Now I am here studying and supporting the criminal justice area, so I am working here in analyzing the data that I am collecting”.

Vittorio is a brand new faculty member, using his skill set to support analysts through digital systems that compile statistical and geographical data. The applications of his research are expansive, but he’s set his sights on those dealing with the criminal justice system, including terrorist databases.

“It’s still in the early stage because I arrived here two months ago, so I’m still exploring opportunities here,” said Vittorio. “I have not proven anything so far but I am talking to people and brainstorming and developing ideas for the model”.  

Aside from being a faculty member, he is also a student at the University of New Haven, in pursuit of his PhD. After starting out his education in the field of environmental science, which he acknowledges is a completely different field, he found it important to continue his schooling into the field of criminal justice since that is where his research is more focused.

The objective is “to apply the same thinking and skills to another area,” he said. “To do that I need to learn all the basic standards I miss, and in this way my call is to be more useful and helpful to the people I’m working with in the field.”

Moving  to Connecticut from another country, with four children in tow can take some adjustment, however, the University of New Haven has thus far provided an accommodating and warm environment.

“I’m happy to be here and the faculty is very lively,” said Vittorio. “ It looks like so far it’s easier to get in touch with people and create personal relationships that are going to be useful for my career and the quality of life in general.”