The Mandate of Heaven

Daniele L.R. Marini earned his degree in Physics from the University of Milan. He contributed to the establishment of the "Giovanni degli Antoni" Department of Computer Science, where he taught and conducted research. He was a professor of Computer Science at the Polytechnic University of Milan, playing a key role in the creation of the Industrial Design degree program. In 1980, he founded a startup for the development of computer animation systems, Eidos S.p.A., which he directed until 1989. Since 2014, he has been on leave.

His primary research and teaching interests, often pioneering, have focused on the field of eidomatics (computer graphics and digital imaging). He has been consistently dedicated to the dissemination and application of computer science techniques.

Since 2016, he has also been engaged in the history of technology and astronomy. He has published over 200 scientific papers and presentations at national and international conferences, as well as several books, including:

• Marini D., Bertolo M., Rizzi A., Comunicazione visiva digitale: fondamenti di Eidomatica, Addison Wesley, Milan (2001)


• Rasheed S., Marini D., Rizzi A., Recognition of Colors in EEG: Planning Towards Brain-Computer Interface Applications, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany (2012)


• Marini D.L.R., La Prima Macchina Astronomica: Antikythera, La Voce di Hora (2022)


• Marini D.L.R., The Planetary Machine Designed by Johannes Kepler, Giornale di Fisica, Vol. LXV (2024)


• Marini D.L.R., Imago Cosmi: The Vision of the Cosmos and the History of Astronomical Machines, Springer (2023), also published in Italian in 2024.


• Marini D.L:R:, Il mandato del cielo. L’astronomia nell’antica Cina, Springer (2025)

The author is a permanent member of IEEE, a Fellow of IS&T, a former ACM member, and a member of the British Horological Society, the Antiquarian Horological Society, the Scientific Instruments Society, and the Scientific Instruments Commission.