Prof. Dr. Dessislava Petrova-Antonova | GATE Institute, Sofia University | Bulgaria
Prof. Dr. Dessislava Petrova-Antonova is a distinguished Professor at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski,” Bulgaria, specializing in Software Engineering, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence. She earned her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the Technical University of Sofia, where her doctoral research focused on formal methods and optimization strategies for adaptive control of moving objects. With over two decades of academic and research experience, she currently leads the Data Management Unit at the GATE Institute, coordinating innovative projects in data modeling, semantic data enrichment, interoperability, and AI-driven models for smart cities. As the Head of the Master’s Program in Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovations in Information Technologies, and co-founder of the Big Data Technologies program, she has significantly contributed to developing interdisciplinary curricula that bridge technology and innovation. Prof. Petrova-Antonova’s research portfolio includes leadership and participation in numerous high-impact European and national projects such as GATE, EnrichMyData, DataPACT, INTEND, CU, deployEMDS, and FLEdge, focusing on data-intensive systems, urban digital twins, and smart city solutions. She has authored over 135 publications, including 98 conference papers, 37 journal articles, and 3 book chapters, indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, achieving an h-index of 12 with over 700 citations, reflecting her strong international research impact. Her expertise encompasses data interoperability, semantic enrichment, 3D modeling, and urban data platforms, contributing to Europe’s digital and green transformation goals. She played a key role in establishing Bulgaria’s first Urban Data Space under the International Data Space Association (IDSA), supporting the Future Cities research agenda. Prof. Petrova-Antonova is a member of IEEE, FIWARE Foundation, OASC, and OGC, and has led collaborative research with institutions like the University of Twente and Delft University of Technology. Her software engineering contributions include the design and development of several national-scale web-based information systems for the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Sofia University. Her academic excellence has been recognized with prestigious honors such as the Seoul Smart City Prize: Tech-InnovaCity 2025 for developing the Urban Digital Twin of Sofia City, along with multiple Best Paper and Poster Awards from international conferences, including ISPRS, IC3K, and ACM CompSysTech. Through her visionary leadership, Prof. Petrova-Antonova continues to advance research and innovation in big data platforms, AI ecosystems, and sustainable urban development, contributing significantly to Europe’s data-driven future.
Featured Publications
Lazarova, S., & Petrova-Antonova, D. (2025). Health-promoting behaviors in Bulgaria: A cross-sectional study on non-communicable diseases and lifestyle. Societies, 15(1), 15.
Shirinyan, E., & Petrova-Antonova, D. (2024). Large-scale solar potential analysis in a 3D CAD framework as a use case of urban digital twins. Remote Sensing, 16(15), 2700.
Campoverde, C., Koeva, M., Persello, C., Maslov, K., Jiao, W., & Petrova-Antonova, D. (2024). Automatic building roof plane extraction in urban environments for 3D city modelling using remote sensing data. Remote Sensing, 16(8), 1386.
Mitkov, R., Petrova-Antonova, D., & Hristov, P. O. (2023). Predictive modeling of indoor environmental parameters for assessing comfort conditions in a kindergarten setting. Toxics, 11(8), 709.
Lazarova, S., Grigorova, D., Petrova-Antonova, D., & Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2023). Detection of Alzheimer’s disease using logistic regression and clock drawing errors. Brain Sciences, 13(8), 1139.
Hristov, E., Petrova-Antonova, D., Petrov, A., Borukova, M., & Shirinyan, E. (2023). Remote sensing data preparation for recognition and classification of building roofs. Data, 8(5), 80.
Lazarova, S., Petrova-Antonova, D., & Kunchev, T. (2023). Ontology-driven knowledge sharing in Alzheimer’s disease research. Information, 14(3), 188.