Position/Role

Associate Professor in Forest Planning and Silviculture at the University of Tuscia (Viterbo, Italy).

Professional career

Associate Professor at DIBAF (Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest systems) of the University of Tuscia since 2016, she is currently Project Coordinator of the EU-funded project PREVAIL (PREVention Action Increases Large fire response preparedness), and Principal Investigator of the projects REFORM (Increasing resilience of forest mixtures) and FREShLIFE (Demonstrating Remote Sensing integration in sustainable forest management). From 2010 to 2016 Assistant professor at the Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest systems (DIBAF) of the University of Tuscia. 

She holds a Degree in Forest Science at the University of Florence (1996) and a Professional Master in “Remote sensing and natural resources evaluation” from the Istituto Agronomico per l’Oltremare (Florence) (1997); a PhD in Forest Economics and Planning from the University of Florence (2001) and a II level Master Degree in “Landscape ecology and environmental planning” from La Sapienza University of Rome (2007).

Scientific results

Her main research interests concern the application of (satellite and drone) remote sensing and forest sampling strategies to forest resources monitoring. As consultant for the UNECE/FAO Timber Section and European Environment Agency, she contributed to the development of the European Forest Types, a forest classification framework for reporting on indicators of sustainable forest management in Europe.

She has participated in three national and international research projects on the topic of wildfire management in the Mediterranean region, where she tested remote sensing technologies (multispectral optical data and LIDAR) for mapping forest fuel types, as a means to support fire behaviour modelling through computer-based simulators. She has also been working on understanding the relationships between frequency and recurrence of forest fires and fuel and landscape determinants of fire ignition and propagation, in order to support decision-making on forest fire risk prevention on a large-scale through fuel management interventions. Other recent research interests include the interactions between biodiversity (number of forest tree species and forest ecosystem structure heterogeneity), ecosystem services (wood and non-wood products, forest biomass, carbon sequestration, habitat provision) and forest resilience to climate change.

Editorial work and publications

She is the author of some 100 scientific and technical publications, among others:

[2018] Bagaram M.B.1, Giuliarelli D., Chirici G., Giannetti F., Barbati A. UAV Remote Sensing for Biodiversity Monitoring: Are Forest Canopy Gaps Good Covariates? Remote Sensing, 10, 1397.

[2018] Barbati A, Scarascia Mugnozza G, Ayan S, Blasi E, Calama R, Canaveira P, Cicatiello C, Collalti A, Corona P, del RíoM, DucciF, PeruginiL. Adaptation and mitigation. In: FAO and Plan Bleu. 2018. State of Mediterranean Forests 2018. Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations, Rome and Plan Bleu, Marseille: 128-146

[2015] Barbati A, Corona P, D’amato E, Cartisano R. Is Landscape a Driver of Short-term Wildfire Recurrence? LANDSCAPE RESEARCH, 40 (1): 99-108. 

[2014] Corona P, Ferrari B, Cartisano R, Barbati A. Calibration assessment of forest flammability potential in Italy. IFOREST, 7: 300-305

[2014] Barbati A, Marchetti M., Chirici G., Corona P. European Forest Types and Forest Europe SFM indicators: Tools for monitoring progress on forest biodiversity conservation.FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT, 321: 145-157

[2013] Chiriacò MV, Perugini L, Cimini D, D’Amato E, Valentini R, Bovio G, Corona P, Barbati A (2013). Comparison of approaches for reporting forest fire-related biomass loss and greenhouse gas emissions in southern Europe. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE, 22(6): 730-738.

[2013] Barbati A, Chirici G, Corona P, Montaghi A, Travaglini D (2009). Area-based assessment of forest standing volume by field measurements and airborne laser scanner data. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING, 30 (19): 5177-5194.

[2011] Corona P., Chirici G., McRoberts R.E., Winter S., Barbati A. Contribution of large-scale forest inventories to biodiversity assessment and monitoring. FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT, vol. 262, p. 2061-2069, ISSN: 0378-1127, doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2011.08.044.

 [2008] Lamonaca A, Corona P, Barbati A. Exploring forest structural complexity by multi-scale segmentation of VHR imagery. REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT, vol. 112, p. 2839-2849, ISSN: 0034-4257.

Awards and prizes

Coordinator of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Unit 8.02.01 - Key factors and ecological functions for forest biodiversity and Member of the Italian Academy of Forest Sciences since 2010.

Position/Role

Professor Emerita of Plant Biology, University of Torino Italy.

Professional career

After graduating in Biological Sciences from the University of Turin in 1970, Paola Bonfante continued her training with a scholarship at the Centro di Studio sulla Micologia del Terreno (CSMT) of the CNR in Turin. Since 1973 she has been a Researcher at the CNR, an activity she carried out until 1985. From that date she was Full Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Turin until 2017. From 1995 to 2009 she was Head of the Turin Section of the CNR Plant Protection Institute. From 2006 to 2011 she is Director of the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Turin, and then, until 2013, she is Coordinator of the PhD course in Biology and Biotechnology. Until 2017, she coordinates the Plant-Microorganism Interactions laboratory. Today, she is Professor Emerita and combines her residual research activity with an intense work of science dissemination.

Scientific results

Paola Bonfante Professor Emerita of Plant Biology at the University of Turin has dedicated her scientific activity to plant-microorganism interactions, a field in which she is considered a pioneer and which is relevant both for the environment and for its impact on society. In particular, with her research group she has focused since 1975 on the study of the biology of symbiotic associations and the taxonomy of fungi, investigating the intimate interactions between fungi and plants and between bacteria and fungi. Applying the techniques of genetic investigation, in the early 1990s she made important contributions to our knowledge of mycorrhizae (symbiotic associations between soil fungi and plant roots) found both in nature and in agroecosystems. Paola Bonfante discovered a group of endobacteria that live within mycorrhizal fungi, in a process of symbiosis within symbiosis, and that can modulate some of the functional traits of their fungal hosts. Using Next Generation Sequencing techniques, her research group has sequenced genomes of mycorrhizal fungi and continues to study the cellular and molecular basis of plant-fungus interactions: by investigating their genetic determinants, she aims to define their biodiversity and communication modes. The ultimate aim of the research is to assess the impact and application of the so-called plant microbiota to natural and agricultural ecosystems, in the light of the sustainability recommendations of the New Green Deal. 

Editorial work and publications

Paola Bonfante was editor of Environmental Microbiology from 2013 to 2022, member of the Editorial Board of several international scientific journals such as the ISME Journal and New Phytologist. She performs review activities for Plant Cell, Plant Journal, Plant Physiology, Planta, Fungal Biology & Genetics, PNAS and for the American and European National Science Foundation (NSF). He performs evaluation tasks for numerous European and international institutions. She has written a book for Il Mulino (Una Pianta non è un'isola, 2021) in which she discusses the scientific topics that fascinate her most.

She is the author of more than 300 international scientific publications, listed on Google Scholar.

Awards and prizes

In 2010 Paola Bonfante received two prestigious awards: the Plant Biology Prize from the Accademia dei Lincei and the French Food Spirit Prize in the Science section. 
From 2012 to 2016 she is a member of the Scientific Committee of the CNR; from 2014 to 2018 of the Scientific Committee for the research activities of the Province of Trento; since 2020 of the General Council of the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation. 
She is a member of numerous Academies, including the Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, and the Accademia dei Lincei, has received international awards, including the Kondorosi Award (2021), and is Commendatore della Repubblica for scientific merit (2019). She was among the Highly Cited Researchers 2017, 2018, 2020 (Clarivate Analitcs), and is on the list of Top Italian Scientists. 

Position/Role

Research Director of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), Section Catania - Osservatorio Etneo

Professional career

She was researcher (1987-1999) at Istituto Internazionale di Vulcanologia in Catania, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), then moved to Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione Catania - Osservatorio Etneo when several CNR institutes dealing with geophysics and volcanology merged together to form INGV. At INGV she was Senior Researcher (2001-2008), then Director of Research (2008-present); head of the Unità Funzionale di Vulcanologia e Geochimica (2002-2009), coordinating the activities of 35 scientists dealing with volcanology and geochemistry; leader of the Tematica Trasversale Coordinata (2004-2013) coordinating the monitoring and research activities on volcanoes of about 150 INGV scientists; leader of the Centro di Pericolosità Vulcanica (Volcanic Hazard Centre, CPV; 2016-present), coordinating within INGV the researches on volcanic hazard assessment, development of tools for hazard evaluation, and acting as a member of the "Unità di Crisi" (Crisis Unit).

Geology degree (full marks with laude) at Università della Calabria (Italy), PhD in Volcanic Hazard at Lancaster University (U.K.).

Scientific results

Monitoring and research on volcanic regions in Italy and abroad and development of tools for prompt hazard assessment, especially during volcanic crisis. Geology of volcanic systems, with development and applications of new methodologies for mapping volcanic terrains, and production of geological maps and data bases. Study on lava flows, lava flow fields and lava tubes, and ideation of routines useful for hazard assessment during effusive volcanic eruptions. Monitoring of explosive eruption using multidisciplinary data, and estimation of erupted volumes and explosion dynamics. Outreach activities, involving also several participations to Italian and foreign TV programs, such as RAI Explora (RAI Educational), Geo & Geo (RAI3), La TV delle Scienze (RAI1), National Geographic, Discovery Channel, plus several contributions and interviews to History Channel, CNN, BBC, Endemol UK, SWR (Germany), and talks to students organized by Zanichelli, where she was presenting the results from the activities and researches carried out by INGV.

Editorial work and publications

Proposer and editor of four geophysical monographs; of these, two were published by the American Geophysical Union: one dedicated to Etna volcano (Bonaccorso A, Calvari S, Coltelli M, Del Negro C, Falsaperla S (eds), Mt. Etna: Volcano Laboratory. Geophysical Monograph Series, v. 143, 2004), and the second to the 2002-03 eruption of Stromboli (Calvari S, Inguaggiato S, Puglisi G, Ripepe M and Rosi M (eds), The Stromboli Volcano: An integrated study of the 2002-2003 Eruption, Geophysical Monograph Series, 182, 2008). The third is a special issue of Frontiers in Earth Science (Calvari S, Bonaccorso A, Oppenheimer C, Spampinato L (eds), Exploring Volcanic Paroxysmal Explosive Activity From Magma Source to Ground and Atmosphere) and is in press in 2019. The fourth is a special issue of Annals of Geophysics (Calvari S, Del Negro C, Harris A (eds) and is in press in 2019. She is also author, together with Professor L.H. Tanner, of a book on Volcanoes for undergraduates published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science of Albuquerque (New Mexico): Tanner LH and Calvari S, Volcanoes: Windows on the Earth. Albuquerque, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, A Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, 2012. 

She was Associate Editor of Bulletin of Volcanology (2011-2015) and currently she is Associate Editor of Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (2018-present). She published more than 120 papers, and here below is a small selection of the most recent papers: 

(2018) Calvari S, Cannavò F, Bonaccorso A, Spampinato L, Pellegrino AG Paroxysmal Explosions, Lava Fountains and Ash Plumes at Etna Volcano: Eruptive Processes and Hazard Implications. Frontiers in Earth Science, 6(107) doi: 10.3389/feart.2018.00107.

(2018) Calvari S, Ganci G, Silva Victória S, Hernandez PA, Perez NM, Barrancos J, Alfama V, et al. Satellite and Ground Remote Sensing Techniques to Trace the Hidden Growth of a Lava Flow Field: The 2014–2015 Effusive Eruption at Fogo Volcano (Cape Verde). Remote Sensing, 10(1115) doi:10.3390/rs10071115.

(2017) Bonaccorso A, Calvari S. A new approach to investigate an eruptive paroxysmal sequence using camera and strainmeter networks: Lessons from the 3–5 December 2015 activity at Etna volcano.Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 475:231-241, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.07.020.

 (2016) Calvari S, Intrieri E, Di Traglia F, Bonaccorso A, Casagli A, Cristaldi A. Monitoring crater-wall collapse at active volcanoes: a study of the 12 January 2013 event at Stromboli. Bulletin of Volcanology, 78(5):1-16. 
(2015) Bonaccorso A, Calvari S, Boschi E. Hazard mitigation and crisis management during major flank eruptions at Etna volcano: reporting on real experience.Geological Society, London, Special Publications 426, SP426, 4. 

Awards and prizes

2017    "Certificate of Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing" awarded October 2017 by the Editors of Earth and Planetary Science Letters (Elsevier, Amsterdam The Netherlands).

2007    Most Cited Author 2003-2007 Award by Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.

2001    Diploma and Medal from the Italian Department of Civil Defence for the work carried out during the 1991-1993 Etna eruptive crisis.

1989    Diploma from the Minister of the Italian Civil Protection for having actively contributed to the first simulation of a volcanic emergency and evacuation of the island of Vulcano, Italy.

Position/Role

Full Professor in Paleontology e Paleoecology at the University of Milano. Past-president of the Presidente of the Italian Geological Society (2015-2017)

Professional career

After graduating in Geological Sciences in 1982, he continued his education with a PhD in Earth Sciences at the University of Milan in 1987. In 1987-1988 she did a post-doctorate at the Geologisches Institut, ETH Zurich. In 1990 she was a researcher at the University of Milan and the following year became an associate professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the same university. Since 2005 she is full professor at the same department of the University of Milan.

Scientific results

Elisabetta Erba is specialist of calcareous nanofossils, the most efficient calcite producers in spite of their very small size. When they die, they fall on the sea floor and over the course of millions of years form marine sediments. Nannofossils are used for dating through biostratigraphy and for paleo-oceanographic reconstructions. Elisabetta Erba studies the interactions between geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere and, in particular, major climate changes. Her research focused on the relationships between atmospheric CO2, climate and ocean ecosystems. In order to understand causes and consequences of current and future climate change it is important to introduce a geological perspective via high-resolution investigations of marine sediments.

Calcareous nannofossils  are also used by Elisabetta Erba to study the nature and origin of organic matter-rich sediments accumulated in stagnant waters, that are potential source rocks to produce oil.

Editorial work and publications

Elisabetta Erba has published numerous papers, including: 

(2018) Gambacorta G., Malinverno A. and Erba E, Orbital forcing of carbonate versus siliceous productivity in the late Albian–early Turonian (Umbria-Marche Basin, central Italy). Newsletters on Stratigraphy.

(2018) Bottini C. & Erba E., Mid-Cretaceous paleoenvironmental changes in the western Tethys. Climate of the Past, 14: 1147–1163.

(2017) Faucher, G., Hoffmann, L., Bach, L. T., Bottini, C., Erba, E., and Riebesell, U., Impact of trace metal concentrations on coccolithophore growth and morphology: laboratory simulations of Cretaceous stress. Biogeosciences , 14: 3603-3613 doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3603-2017.

(2015) Erba E, Duncan RA, Bottini C, Tiraboschi D. Weissert H, Jenkyns HC, Malinverno A. Environmental Consequences of Ontong Java Plateau and Kerguelen Plateau Volcanism. Geological Society of America, Special Paper 511:271-303. 

(2010) Erba E, Bottini C, Weissert HJ, Keller CE. Calcareous Nannoplankton Response to Surface Water Acidification Around Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a. Science, 329:428-432. 

(2006) Erba E. The first 150 million years history of calcareous nannoplankton: biosphere-geosphere interactions. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 232:237-250. 

(2005) Muttoni G, Erba E, Kent DV & Bachtadse V. Mesozoic alpine facies deposition as a result of past latitudinal plate motion. Nature, 434:59-63. 

(2004) Erba E. Calcareous nannofossils and Mesozoic Oceanic Anoxic Events. Marine Micropaleontology, 52:85-106.   

(2004) Erba, E, Bartolini A, Larson RL. The Valanginian "Weissert Oceanic Anoxic Event. Geology, 32:149-152.   

(2004) Erba E & Tremolada F. Nannofossil carbonate fluxes during the Early Cretaceous: phytoplankton response to nutrification episodes, atmospheric CO2 and anoxia. Paleoceanography, 19. 

(2004) Weissert H & Erba E. Volcanism, CO2 and paleoclimate: a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous carbon and oxygen isotope record. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 161:695-702.   

(1999) Larson RL & Erba E. Onset of the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse in the Barremian-Aptian: Igneous events and the biological, sedimentary and geochemical responses. Paleoceanography, 14:663-678.   (1994) Erba E. Nannofossils and superplumes: the Early Aptian nannoconid crisis. Paleoceanography, 9:483-501.

Awards and prizes

Elisabetta Erba was President of the Italian Geological Society in 2015-2017. Since 2013 she is a Member of theAccademia dei Lincei and of the Academia Europaea (section Earth and Cosmic Sciences). In 2012 she was awarded with the Tartufari Prize for Geosciences  (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei).

Position/Role

Research director of the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the CNR, Bologna section

Professional career

Graduated in 1985 at the University of Bologna with a thesis in analytical chemistry, she obtained a PhD at the Department of Chemistry of the same university, and in the same department she became a post doc fellow. In 1987 she was a reaserch fellow at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the CNR in Bologna, and held this position until 1992, when she became head of the laboratory of the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection. In 1996 she entered the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Low and High Atmosphere of the CNR of Bologna. From 2001 to 2006 she was Senior Scientist at the Institute of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences of the CNR. Since 2007 she has been research director of the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the CNR, Bologna section.

Scientific results

Maria Cristina Facchini's main research interests are the physical and chemical processes in the atmospheric system such as aerosols and clouds and their effects on changes in atmospheric composition and climate. At the beginning of her scientific career she investigated the chemical properties of fog and clouds, so much so that her first important scientific result regards the organic partition of the aerosol between mist drops and interstitial air. Based on her research, she contributed to the development of a new aerosol investigation technique based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance. In 2001 she contributed to a joint paper on Science, where the world's leading experts in the field discussed the need to re-establish the theory of cloud formation on the basis of new discoveries concerning the solubility of aerosols and their surface tension, as well as the effects of soluble gases. Her most recent research concerns the interaction between climate and biota (in ecology, the whole of all living beings, animals and plants, which populate a given region) marine, atmospheric, aerosol.

Editorial work and publications

She is the author of over 150 scientific publications, including:

(2011) Decesari S, Finessi E, Rinaldi M, Paglione M, [...] Facchini MC. Primary and secondary marine organic aerosols over the north atlantic ocean during the map experiment. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 116(D22). 

(2011) Rinaldi M, Decesari S, Carbone C, [...] Facchini MC. Evidence of a natural marine source of oxalic acid and a possible link to glyoxal. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 116(D16). 

(2008) Facchini MC, Decesari S, Rinaldi M, et al. An important source of marine secondary organic aerosol from biogenic amines. Environmental Science & Technology, 42:9116-9121. 

(2008) Facchini MC, Rinaldi M, Decesari S, et al. Primary submicron marine aerosol dominated by insoluble organic colloids and aggregates. Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L17814. 

(2005) Kanakidou M, Seinfeld JH, Pandis SN, Barnes I, Dentener FJ, Facchini MC, et al. Organic aerosol and global climate modelling: a review. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 5:1053-1123. 

(2004) O'Dowd CD, Facchini MC, et al. Biogenicallydriven organic contribution to marine aerosol. Nature, 431:676-680. 

(2001) Charlson RJ, Seinfeld JH, Nenes A, Kulmala M, Laaksonen M, Facchini MC. Reshaping theory of cloud formation. Science, 292:2025-2026. 

(2000) Decesari S, Facchini MC, Fuzzi S & Tagliavini E. Characterization of water soluble organic compounds in atmospheric aerosol: a new approach. Journal of Geophysical Research, 105:1481-1489. 

(1999) Facchini MC, Fuzzi S, Zappoli S, et al. Partitioning of the organic aerosol component between fog droplets and interstitial air. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, 26821-26832. 

(1999) Facchini MC, Mircea M, Fuzzi S & Charlson RJ. Cloud albedo enhancement by surface-active organic solutes in growing droplets. Nature, 401:257-259

Awards and prizes

In 2014 she was a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers Rank, ranking of the most influential researchers and researchers in the world. In the same year she received the Haagen-Smit Prize Award. She is a member of several scientific societies, such as the European Association for Geochemistry, the European Geophysical Union, the American Aerosol Society and is one of the founders of the Italian Aerosol Association.

Position/Role

Former full Professor of Ecology at University of Trieste

Professional career

After graduating in Biological Sciences from the University of Trieste in 1974, she continued her training as a research fellow in Ecology at the same university until 1981. Since that year she has been a researcher, and in 1992 she became associate professor and head of the Laboratory of Marine Biology at the University of Trieste. Since 2008 she has been a full professor of Ecology.

Scientific results

Serena Fonda Umani's main research interests concern marine ecosystem dynamics, carbon fluxes, the study of plankton ecology and marine microbial ecology. In order to conduct her studies, she has travelled to various areas of the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Magellan (Chile), Chesapeake Bay (USA) and the Ross Sea (Antarctica). One of the main objectives of Serena Fonda Umani's research is to estimate the carbon fluxes within the pelagic-microbial food chain (from viruses to jellyfish), in order to check whether there is selection by predators on prokaryotes (the first cellular organisms to appear on earth, characterised by the absence of a well-defined nucleus). This is possible through the metagenomic approach (the study of microbial communities directly in their natural environment) that Serena Fonda Umani and colleagues use.

Editorial work and publications

She has authored more than 200 international and national scientific publications, including:

(2016) Zoccarato L, Celussi M, Pallavicini A, Fonda Umani S. Aurelia aurita ephyrae reshape a coastal microbial community. c 7:749. 

(2015) Caruso G, La Ferla R, Leonardi M, Zaccone R, Azzaro F, Azzaro M, Decembrini F, Maimone G, Monticelli L, Caroppo C, Cavallo RA, Acquaviva MI, Narracci M, Stabili L, Marino G, Petochi T, De Angelis R, Zoppini A, Fonda Umani S, Del Negro P, Todorova NH, Karamfilov VK, Corinaldesi C, Rastelli E, Cappello S, Latini M, Danovaro R. Microbial assemblages for environmental quality assessment: knowledge, gaps and usefulness in the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Critical Reviews in Microbiology

(2013) Di Poi E, Blason C, Corinaldesi, Danovaro R, Malisana E, Fonda Umani S. Structure and interactions within the pelagic microbial food web (from viruses to microplankton) across environmental gradients in the Mediterranean Sea. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 27: 1034-1045. 

(2012) Giani M, Djakovac T, Degobbis D, Cozzi S, Solidoro C, Fonda Umani S. Recent changes in the marine ecosystems of the northern Adriatic Sea. Estuarines, Coastal and Shelf Sciences, 115:1-13. 

(2012) Fonda Umani S, Malfatti F, Del Negro P. Carbon fluxes in the pelagic ecosystem of the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea). Estuarines, Coastal and Shelf Sciences, 115:170-186.

(2010) Fonda Umani S, Malisana E, Focaracci F, Magagnini M, Corinaldesi C, Danovaro R. Disentangling the impact of viruses and nanoflagellates on prokaryotes in bathypelagic waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 418:73-85. 

(2010) Mozetič P, Solidoro C, Cossarini G, Socal G, Precali R, Francé J, Bianchi F, Smodlaka N, De Vittor C, Fonda Umani S. Recent trends towards oligotrophication of the northern Adriatic: evidence from chlorophyll a time series. Estuaries and Coasts, 33:362-375.

(2009) Danovaro R, Fonda Umani S, Pusceddu A. Climate Change and the potential spreading of marine mucilage and microbial pathogens in the Mediterranean Sea. PLoS ONE, 4(9):e7006. 

(2007) Fonda Umani S, Del Negro P, Larato C, De Vittor C, Cabrini M, Celio M, Falconi C, Tamberlich F, Azam F. Major inter-annual variations in microbial dynamics in the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea) and their ecosystem implications. Aquatic Microbial Ecology Journal, 46:163-175. 

(2005) Fonda Umani S, Milani L, Borme D, de Olazabal A, Parlato S, Precali R, Kraus R, Lucic D, Njire J, Totti C, Romagnoli T, Pompei M, Cangini M. Inter-annual variations of planktonic food webs in the northern Adriatic Sea. Science of the Total Environment, 353(1-3):218-231.

Awards and prizes

Serena Fonda Umani is a member of numerous scientific societies and committees, including the Scientific Committee of the Sea Park (since 2005) and the Italian Society of Ecology (SItE), of which she was elected President in 2012.

Position/Role

Associate researcher at the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) in Trieste

Professional career

After graduating in Biological Sciences from the University of Siena in 1977, from 1977-1979 she carried out an internship as a graduate student at the Institute of Comparative Anatomy (Laboratory of Hydrobiology) of the University of Siena. From 1980 to 1982 she was a member of the Marine Biology, Hydrobiology and Aquaculture Cooperative, "Coipa" (Rome). The following year she was a researcher at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, at the Benthos Ecology Laboratory based at Villa Dohrn, Ischia. In 1986 she was a post-doctoral fellow at the School of Oceanography of the University of Washington and at Friday Harbor Laboratories. Since 1992 she is first researcher at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn. In 2014 she was awarded the national scientific qualification for Ecology (full professor) and Zoology (associate professor). Since February 2021 she has been a research associate at the Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS) in Trieste.

Scientific results

The research of Maria Cristina Gambi aims to study the diversity and evolutionary biology and ecology of marine benthic invertebrates with special focus on polychaetes (one of the most abundant and diverse groups of benthic assemblages) and their role as bioindicators and in the functioning of coastal benthic habitats. As part of her main results, Maria Cristina Gambi described 16 species of polychaetes new to science and a new and peculiar group of detritivores (debris consumers) in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica system of the Mediterranean and the Thalassia testudinum system in the Caribbean. She identified key species of polychaetes and other invertebrates resistant to various stress factors related to climate change, in particular to ocean acidification, that can be used as models to study acclimatization and adaptation to local conditions of this stressor and other forcing environmental factors. Actually, experimental research on climate change effects on polychaetes and zoobenthic communities are carried out both in the laboratory and in situ, utilizing submerged systems characterized by of emissions of CO₂ of volcanic origin from the bottom (gas vents) which cause a natural acidification of the marine water and represent natural laboratories to study future scenario of climate change and ocean acidification. The studies conducted in these systems by M.C. Gambi pionereed the world international research on the effects of ocean acidification in the benthic biota. 

Editorial work and publications

From2005 to 2013 Editor, and from 2014 to present Associate Editor of the International Journal Marine Ecology (Wiley-Blackwell). 

She is author of numerous scientific publications, including some books, and has edited various special issues of Marine Ecology; the most recent and relevant publications are listed below: 

(2018) Teixido N, Gambi MC, Parravicini V, Kroeker K, Micheli F, Villeger S, Ballesteros E. Functional biodiversity loss along natural CO₂ gradients. Nature Communications, 9(1). DOI.10.1038/s41467-018-07592-1.

(2018) Foo SA, ByrneM, RicevutoE, Gambi MC. The carbon dioxide vents of Ischia, Italy, a natural laboratory to assess impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems: an overview of research and comparisons with other vent systems. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 56, 237-310

(2017) Vizzini S, Martínez-Crego B, Andolina C, Massa-Gallucci A, Connell SD, Gambi MC. Ocean acidification as a driver of community simplification via the collapse of higher-order and rise of lower-order consumers. Scientific Report 7, 4018. 

(2013) Kroeker K, Micheli F, Gambi MC. Ocean acidification causes ecosystem shifts via altered competitive interactions. Nature Climate Change, 3, 156-159. 

(2013) Kroeker KJ, Gambi MC, Micheli F. Altered recovery dynamics result in homogenous assemblages in an acidified ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA (PNAS), 110 (31): 12721-12726. 

(2011) Kroeker KJ, Micheli F, Gambi MC, Martz TR. Divergent ecosystem responses within a benthic marine community to ocean acidification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), 108 (35), 14515-14520. 

Awards and prizes

She is member of the Italian Society of Marine Biology (S.I.B.M.) since 1977, where she participated in the Steering Committee of the Society from 2009 to 2012 and was for various times coordinator of the Benthos Committee. She also member of the Italian Zoological Association (U.Z.I.), and the Italian Association of Oceanology and Limnology (A.I.O.L.). She has been also a member of the GOSSOE group (Group of Specialists of Southern Ocean Ecology) of the S.C.A.R.-S.C.O.R.

From 1992 to 2001 she was the national representative of the Steering Committee of the International Polychaete Association (I.P.A.) (1992-2001) and from 2001 to 2004 she has been its President.

Position/Role

Research Associate at INGV- National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Rome, Seismology and Tectonophysics Section. Formerly research manager at INGV, Bologna. Coordinator of the multidisciplinary activities of the Euro-Mediterranean Documentation Center for Extreme Events and Disasters.

Professional career

Trained as a medieval historian (University of Bologna) and historical seismologist, for over thirty years she has been developing historical research on earthquakes, tidal waves and volcanic eruptions in Italy and the Mediterranean area, focusing on Earth Sciences (seismology, volcanology and climatology) and engineering history.  

She has carried out and continues to carry out her research activities as manager of national projects and as a scholar. She was scientific director of the research company SGA, Storia Geofisica Ambiente in Bologna (1983-2006), then a tenured research manager at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) until 2011.  Since 2012 she has coordinated the multidisciplinary activities of EEDIs (Extreme Events and Disasters, Euro-Mediterranean Documentation Centre), aimed at both scientific dissemination and new research. 

Consultant of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency - UN) for the seismicity of North Africa and Armenia, she has contributed to improving knowledge on the seismic hazard of these areas with specific research and related publications. 

Committed to the crucial issue of risk from extreme natural events and the study of their long-term impacts, she has written several popular science books that have entered the national debate.

Scientific results

Emanuela Guidoboni has designed and directed all the historical research for the Catalogo dei Forti Terremoti in Italia e nell'area mediterranea (CFTI), from the ancient world to the 20th century, editions 1995, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2018.  The presentation of the architecture and contents of this Web-GIS, basic for seismic hazard assessments, was published in 2019 in Nature.

The method applied to historical research aimed at seismology has defined a neo-discipline of international interest, Historical Seismology, of which Emanuela Guidoboni published in 2009 the first manual, together with John Ebel: "Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Past. A Guide to Techniques in Historical Seismology" (Cambridge University Press, 2009). 

She has deepened our knowledge of ancient and medieval earthquakes and tsunamis in Italy and the Mediterranean area, shedding light on the impact of such events on the inhabited world, highlighting many previously unknown events, and developing new seismic parameters.  The results are published in "Catalogue of Ancient Earthquakes in the Mediterranean area up to 10th century", with A. Comastri and G. Traina (1994); and in "Catalogue of Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Mediterranean area from the 11th to the 15th century", with A. Comastri (2005). 

Editorial work and publications

Emanuela Guidoboni is the author of over 200 scientific publications.

Among the articles in international journals and contributions in national works, the following works from the last ten years are worth mentioning.

(2021) Valensise G., Guidoboni E., Iervolino I. What is an exceptional earthquake? Seismological Reseaerch Letters.

(2019) Guidoboni E. Azzardo sismico, vulnerabilità e ricostruzioni nei centri storici italiani, in “Dopo la catastrofe”, editet by C. Belmonte, E. Scirocco, G. Wolf, G. Wolf, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz - Max-Planck-Institut, Roma, pp. 30-44.

(2018) Guidoboni E. Florence: the effects of earthquakes on the artistic heritage. Method and historical sources (15^th-20^thcenturies), pp. 267-277; Florence: a first concise dossier of seismic effect on artistic heritage (15^th-20^th centuries), pp. 279-300, in  "3^rd International Conference, AISI", a cura di S. D'Agostino,  vol I, 2018, Napoli.

(2017) Guidoboni E. Disastri sismici e ricostruzioni nella storia d’Italia: l'azzardo sismico in un nodo non risolto in “Building Back Better: idee per ricostruire meglio. Individui e comunità, manufatti e paesaggio”- Sendai 2015-2030 (Nazioni Unite,) a cura di F. Esposito, M. Russo, Carrocci, Roma. 

(2016) Guidoboni E. Erdbeben und Seebeben im antiken Mittelmeerraum. Gründe für einen Dialog zwischen Seismologie und Geschichte, in “Erdbeben in der Antike”, Deutungen – Folgen – Repräsentationen, herausgegeben von  J. Borsch und L.Carrara, Mohr Siebec, Tubingen Univ.

(2015) Guidoboni E. When Towns Collapse: Images of Earthquakes, Floods, and Eruptions in Italy. Fifteenth – Nineteenth Centuries, in “Wounded Cities: The Representation of Urban Disasters in European Art (14th–20th Centuries)”, edited by M. Folin and M. Preti, chapter 2, Koninklijke Brill, NY– Leiden, pp. 33-56.

(2015) Guidoboni E., Valensise G. On the complexity of earthquake sequences: a historical seismology perspective based onthe L'Aquila seismicity (Abruzzo, Central Italy), 1315-1915. Earthquakes and Structures, 8(1): 153-184.    

Books and monographs

(2019) Guidoboni E. and Poirier  J.-P.  Storia culturale del terremoto dal mondo antico a oggi, Rubettino.                                    

(2015)  Guidoboni E., Mulargia F., Teti V. Prevedibile / Imprevedibile. Eventi estremi nel prossimo                                  futuro, Rubbettino.

(2014) Guidoboni E. and Valensise G. (eds) L’Italia dei disastri. Dati e riflessioni sugli impatti degli eventi naturali (1861-2013), Bononia University Press.

(2011) Guidoboni E., Valensise G. Il peso economico e sociale dei disastri sismici in Italia negli ultimi 150 anni (1861-2011), Bononia University Press, Bologna.

(2011) Guidoboni E., Navarra A., Boschi E. The Spiral of Climate. Civilizations of the Mediterranean and Climate Change in History, Bononia University Press, Bologna. 

Awards and prizes

In 2004 she was appointed member of the Academia Europaea for the multidisciplinary approach to seismic and volcanic hazards.

In 2016 she won the first Maiella Prize for Environmental Essays with the book Prevedibile / Imprevedibile. Eventi estremi nel prossimo futuro, Rubbettino.

In 2017 she is appointed research associate of INGV, Roa.

In 2020 she is appointed as a member of the Scientific and Steering Committees of the International Engineering History Association. 

Position/Role

Senior researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, INGV), National Earthquake Centre; Responsible for data analysis for seismic surveillance and monitoring

Professional career

After graduating in Geology at the University of Rome La Sapienza in 1991, she continued her studies through a specialization scholarship (1992-1993) in Seismology at the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA, USA. In 1994 she continued her specialization at the University of L'Aquila, Department of Physics and then at the National Institute of Geophysics (ING) of Rome, which in 2000 became the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). She developed her skill as researcher at INGV first on a temporary position, and then on a permanent position. In 2003 she became senior researcher and started coordinating projects and researchers’ groups.

Since 1998 she participated to the seismic surveillance, first as a seismologist in charge of the ipocentral locations, with the target of alerting the Civil Protection, a service interrupted during the maternity periods in 2000 and 2002; then, in 2015, she qualified also as a tsunami alert operator and finally, today, she works in the shifts as responsible of the communication to the Civil Protection Department (DPC).

From 2007 to 2014 she coordinated a research group consisting of 25 researchers studying geodynamics and the structure of the interior of the Earth. Between 2009 and 2013 she was the coordinator of the mobile seismic network of the National Earthquake Center and she was involved in the organization of earthquake emergency response activities. Since 2014 she is responsible for a group (about 25 persons) of technicians and researchers working on data analysis for surveillance and seismic monitoring.

She coordinated important national and international projects involving Italian, European and US institutions and universities such as the RETREAT project (2002-2007), the Messina 1908-2008 project (2007-2009), the INGV-DPC Test project sites for detailed multidisciplinary monitoring (2007-2009), the AlpArray project (2015-2018). She is responsible for some of the activities that INGV carries out for the DPC and of the agreement between INGV and the Civil Protection Agency of the Lazio Region. She always participated in the INGV outreach activities with the schools, the public and the media.

Scientific results

Her scientific interests have focused in recent years, on the analysis of seismic sequences for the characterization of active fault systems and for understanding the possible variation of the earth's Crust physical parameters during the occurrence of the sequences themselves. For 15 years, she has been dealing with the analysis of shear wave splitting to define the seismic anisotropy and the state of deformation of the Crust and of the Earth's Mantle. This analysis allows to characterize the crustal fracture field and to define its relations with the active stress field and with the presence of fluids. The characterization of the seismic anisotropy, when done on waves that travel in the Earth's Mantle, allows us instead to formulate geodynamic models on a regional scale: the subduction zone of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, where the Ionic plate deeps below the Calabrian arc, was the first region of the Earth's mantle where was observed a toroidal flow of the mantle at the edges of the subducting plate (Civello and Margheriti 2004).

During the years of her training she studied site effects: how the seismic waves are amplified and modified by the surface geology especially when there are incoherent deposits, irregular topographical conformation of the area interested by seismic shaking. In 1993, she was among the pioneers in using the recordings of environmental vibrations (seismic noise) to characterize the response of sites that had recorded the 1989 San Francisco earthquake.

Editorial work and publications

She is the author of about 70 international scientific publications, including:

(2016) Baccheschi P, Pastori M, Margheriti L, Piccinini D. Shear wave splitting of the 2009 L'Aquila seismic sequence: fluid saturated microcracks and crustal fractures in the Abruzzi region (Central Apennines, Italy). Geophysical Journal International, 204 (3): 1531-1549.doi: 10.1093/gji/ggv536

(2014) Margheriti L, Lucente FP, Park J, Pondrelli S, Levin V, Steckler MS, Baccheschi P, Salimbeni S. Large-scale coherent anisotropy of upper mantle beneath the Italian peninsula comparing quasi-Love waves and SKS splitting. Journal of Geodynamics, DOI: 10.1016/j.jog.2014.07.007

(2014) Govoni A, Marchetti A, De Gori P, Di Bona M, Pio Lucente F, Improta L, Chiarabba C, Nardi A, Margheriti L, Piana Agostinetti N, Di Giovambattista R, Latorre D, Anselmi M, Ciaccio MG, Moretti M, Castellano C, Piccinini D. The 2012 Emilia seismic sequence (Northern Italy): Imaging the thrust fault system by accurate aftershocks location Tectonophysics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2014.02.013

(2013) Salimbeni S, Pondrelli S, Margheriti L. (2013). Hints on the deformation penetration induced by subductions and collision processes: Seismic anisotropy beneath the Adria region (Central Mediterranean).Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, DOI: 10.1002/2013JB010253

(2011) Baccheschi P, Margheriti L, Steckler M S & Boschi E. Anisotropy patterns in the subducting lithosphere and in the mantle wedge: A case study—The southern Italy subduction system. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116, B08306.

(2010) Lucente FP, Gori PD, Margheriti L, Piccinini D, Bona MD, Chiarabba C, Agostinetti NP. Temporal variation of seismic velocity and anisotropy before the 2009 MW 6.3 L'Aquila earthquake. Italy: Geology, 38:1015–1018, doi: 10.1130/G31463.1.

(2004) Civello S and Margheriti L. Toroidal mantle flow around the Calabrian slab (Italy) from SKS splitting, Geophysical Reserach Letters, 31, L10601, doi:10.1029/2004GL019607.

(2000) Margheriti L, Azzara MR, Cocco M, Delladio A and Nardi A. Analysis of borehole broad-band recordings: Test sute in the Po basin, Northern Italy. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 90, 6:1454-1463.

(1996) Margheriti L, Nostro C, Cocco M and Amato A. Seismic anisotropy beneath the northern Apennines (Italy) and its tectonic implications. Geophysical Reserach Letters, 23; 20:2721-2724.

(1994) Margheriti L, Boatwright J, Wennerberg L. A comparison of Coda and S-wave spectral ratios as estimates of site response in the Southern San Francisco Bay area. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 84, 6:1815-1830.

Position/Role

Full Professor of Geodesy and Geomatics in the degree courses in Civil Engineering, Safety and Civil Protection and Aerospace at the University of Rome La Sapienza. CEO of SurveyLAb srl.

Professional career

After graduating in Physics in 1987 with a thesis on the LAGEOS satellite mission for the study of Earth’s crust movements in the Mediterranean Area, she continued her education with a PhD in Geodetic and Topographical Sciences at the University of Bologna, discussing a thesis on Spatial Geodesy Techniques (SLR and GPS) applied to the Study of Deformations. In 1992 she became a researcher at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. From 2003 to 2005 she was Visiting Scientist at the USGS in Reston (Virginia), where she worked on projects for the integration of GPS/INS data for the georeferencing of data acquired through aerial surveys. Since 2001, she has been an associate professor at the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering at the University of Rome La Sapienza and, since 2020, a full professor at the Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering at the same university.

In 2008 she founded the spin-off of Sapienza Survey Lab dedicated to the development of innovative systems for the control of the territory and civil infrastructures using in situ sensors and satellite observations (GNSS and DInSAR). He is currently CEO of Survey Lab.

Scientific results

Maria Marsella's main activity is research on geodetic and geomatic techniques for land monitoring and civil infrastructure protection. She is an expert in the acquisition and processing of earth observation data with optical and SAR sensors and spatial geodesy data.She carried out studies and research for the development of interpretative and forecasting models in areas subject to hydrogeological risk and in active volcanic areas, basing on the integration of aerial and satellite remote sensing data with in situ measurements.She coordinated numerous research projects funded by national bodies such as the MIUR, the Italian Space Agency, the Civil Protection Department of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, and European projects under the EU programs FP7 and H2020.

Editorial work and publications

She is author of more than one hundred publications, including:

(2016) Scifoni S, Bonano M, Marsella M, Sonnessa A, Tagliafierro V, Manunta M. On the joint exploitation of long-term DInSAR time series and geological information for the investigation of ground settlements in the town of Roma (Italy). Remote Sensing of Environment, 182:113-127 3.

(2015) Palenzuela JA, Marsella M, Nardinocchi C, Pérez JL, Fernández T. Landslide detection and inventory by integrating LiDAR data in a GIS environment. Landslides, 12(6):1035-1050,9.

(2015) Marsella M, D’Aranno PJV, Scifoni S, Sonnessa A, Corsetti M. Terrestrial laser scanning survey in support of unstable slopes analysis: the case of Vulcano Island (Italy). Natural Hazards, 78(1):443-459,5.

(2012) Marsella M, Baldi P, Coltelli M, Fabris M.The morphological evolution of the Sciara del Fuoco since 1868: reconstructing the effusive activity at Stromboli volcano. Bulletin of Volcanology, 74,1:231-248.

(2009) Proietti C, Coltelli M, Marsella M, Fujita E. A quantitative approach for evaluating lava flow simulation reliability: LavaSIM code applied to the 2001 Etna eruption. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems,10,9.

(2008) Manunta M, Marsella M, Zeni G, Sciotti M, Atzori S, Lanari R. Two-scale surface deformation analysis using the SBAS-DInSAR technique: a case study of the city of Rome Italy.International Journal of Remote Sensing, 29,6:1665-1684.

(2008) Baldi P, Coltelli M, Fabris M, Marsella M, Tommasi P. High precision photogrammetry for monitoring the evolution of the NW flank of Stromboli volcano during and after the 2002-2003 eruption. Bulletin of Volcanology, 70,6:703-715.

(2007) Vicari A, Herault A, Del Negro C, Coltelli M, Marsella M, Proietti C. Modeling of the 2001 lava flow at Etna volcano by a cellular automata approach. Environmental Modelling & Software, 22,10:1465-1471.

(2005) Baldi P, Fabris M, Marsella M, Monticelli R. Monitoring the morphological evolution of the Sciara del Fuoco during the 2002 - 2003 Stromboli eruption using multi-temporal photogrammetry. ISPRS, Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 59,4:199-211.

(2002) Baldi P, Bonvalot S, Briole P, Coltelli M, Gwinner K, Marsella M, Puglisi G, Remy D. Validation and comparison of different techniques for the derivation of digital elevation models and volcanic monitoring (Vulcano Island Italy). International Journal of Remote Sensing, 23,22:4783-4800.

Awards and prizes

In 2017 she was called to join the Scientific Technical Committee for the Government Commissioner for the rebuilding in the territories affected by the 24 August 2016 earthquake at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In March 2016 Survey Lab, of which she was CEO, won the H2020 SME Instrument-Phase II-Space Call with the IMODI project (Monitoring by using satellites the stability of buildings and infrastructure). From 2011 to 2014 she was an expert for the Research Quality Assessment (VQR-ANVUR). Between 2002 and 2013 she was an expert evaluator of projects for the Aeronautics and Space Call of the European Commission's FP6 and FP7 framework programmes for technological development. In 2002 and 2003 and again in 2017 she collaborated with the National Civil Protection Department for the management of the Stromboli Emergencies 2002-03 and 2017. She is a member of the Management Board of the Aerospace Research Center of Sapienza (CRAS).

Position/Role

Research Director at the Earthquake Department of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Rome headquarters

Professional career

After graduating in Geology from the University of Rome La Sapienza in 1985, she qualified as a geologist in 1986. She then worked at the Geological Survey of Italy; since 1987 she has been a researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome, and in 2000 she became Director of Research. In 1991-1992 and 1997-1998 she was a visiting scientist at the United States Geological Service in Menlo Park, California. Since 2013 she has decided to reduce her research activities in order to serve INGV, covering roles of responsibility and internal management. From 2013 to 2016 she is director of the Rome1 Section, Seismology and Tectonophysics. She currently directs the Earthquake Structure with tasks of planning, development and verification of research activities.

Scientific results

Daniela Pantosti's main area of research is Earthquake Geology and Paleoseismology (the study of geological records of past earthquakes), research activities that provide an important contribution to seismic hazard estimates. These disciplines, which are concerned with characterising the seismicity of a region on the basis of the 'footprints' left by past earthquakes on the landscape and in the geology, were entirely new in Italy in the late 1980s. Thanks to the support of INGV, Daniela Pantosti was able to introduce them to Italy, using them for the first time to study the Irpinia fault responsible for the 1980 earthquake. By observing the development of fault segmentation and recurrence models, the characterisation of seismogenic sources and their seismic behaviour, the estimation of seismic hazard is much more reliable. Given the excellent results, these studies have developed enormously and have become an integral part of the scientific process. As a result of these successes, Pantosti has participated and been responsible for national and international projects concerning seismic and tsunami hazard definition in Italy, the Mediterranean, California, Central and South America and New Zealand.

Editorial work and publications

Daniela Pantosti is associated editor for several scienific jurnals as for example Tectonophysics, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Journal of Earthquake Engineering, Italian Journal of Geosciences. 

She co-authored numerous scientific publications, including:

(2018) Villani, F., Pucci, S., Civico, R., De Martini,P. M., Cinti, F. R., & Pantosti, D.  Surface Faulting of the 30 October 2016 Mw 6.5 Central Italy Earthquake: Detailed Analysis of a Complex Coseismic Rupture, Tectonics, 37(10): 3378-3410.

(2018) Cinti, F. R., Civico, R., Blumetti, A. M.,Chiarini, E., La Posta, E., Pantosti, D., et al. Evidence for surface faulting earthquakes on the Montereale fault system (Abruzzi Apennines, central Italy). Tectonics, 37(9): 2758–2776. 

(2017) Villani, F., L. Improta, S. Pucci, R. Civico, P.P.G. Bruno and D. Pantosti. Investigating the architecture of the Paganica Fault (2009 Mw 6.1earthquake, central Italy) by integrating high-resolution multiscale refraction tomography and detailed geological mapping, Geophysical Journal International, 208(1): 403–423.

(2016) Emergeo W.G.: Pucci S. , De Martini P.M. , Civico R. , Nappi R. , Ricci T. , Villani F. , Brunori C.A. , Caciagli M. , Sapia V. , Cinti F. R. , Moro M. , Di Naccio D. , Gori S. , Falcucci E. , Vallone R. , Mazzarini F. , Tarquini S. , Del Carlo P. , Kastelic V. , Carafa M. , De Ritis R. , Gaudiosi G. , Nave R. , Alessio G. , Burrato P. , Smedile A. , Alfonsi L. , Vannoli P. , Pignone M. , Pinzi S. , Fracassi U. , Pizzimenti L. , Mariucci M.T. , Pagliuca N. , Sciarra A. , Carluccio R. , Nicolosi I. , Chiappini M. , D’ajello Caracciolo F., Pezzo G. , Patera A. , Azzaro R. , Pantosti D., Montone P. , Saroli M. , Lo Sardo L.  , Lancia M., Coseismic effects of the 2016 Amatrice seismic sequence: first geological results. Annals of Geophysics, 59, Fast Track 5.

(2016) Pucci S. , R. Civico, F. Villani, T. Ricci, E. Delcher, A. Finizola, V. Sapia, P. M. De Martini, D. Pantosti, S. Barde-Cabusson, E. Brothelande, R. Gusset, C. Mezon, S. Orefice, A. Peltier, M. Poret, L. Torres and B. Suski (2016). Deep electrical resistivity tomography along the tectonically active Middle Aterno Valley (2009 L’Aquila earthquake area, central Italy), Geophysical Journal International 207(2): 967–982.

(2015) R. Civico, C. A. Brunori, P. M. De Martini, S. Pucci, F. R. Cinti, and D. Pantosti Liquefaction susceptibility assessment in fluvial plains using airborne lidar: the case of the 2012 Emilia earthquake sequence area (Italy), Natural Hazards ad Earth System Science, 15(11): 2473–2483.

(2015) Civico R., S. Pucci, P.M. De Martini, D. Pantosti (2015). Morphotectonic analysis of the long-term surface expression of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake fault (Central Italy) using airborne LiDAR data. Tectonophysics 644–645:108-121.

(2015) Civico R., D. Pantosti, S. Pucci, P.M. De Martini (2014). The Contribution of Airborne LiDAR Data to the Assessment of Surface Faulting Hazard for Lifelines Crossing Active Faults: An Example from the Central Apennines, Italy, in G. Lollino et al. (eds.), Engineering Geology for Society and Territory. Volume 5.

(2014) Papadopoulos G.A., E. Gràcia, R. Urgeles, V. Sallares, P. M. De Martini, D. Pantosti, M. González, A. C. Yalciner, J. Mascle, D. Sakellariou, A. Salamon, S. Tinti, V. Karastathis, A. Fokaefs, A. Camerlenghi, T. Novikova, A. Papageorgiou. Historical and pre-historical tsunamis in the Mediterranean and its connected seas: Geological signatures, generation mechanisms and coastal impacts. Marine Geology, 354: 81–109.

(2013) Clark KJ, Cochran UA, Berryman KR, Biasi G, Langridge R, Villamor P, Bartholomew T, Litchfield N, Pantosti D, Marco S, Van Dissen R, Turner G, Hemphill-Haley M. Deriving a long paleoseismic record from a shallow water Holocene basin next to the Alpine fault, New Zealand. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 125(5-6): 811-832. 

Awards and prizes

In 1995 she receives the ILP Edward Flinn award for "her contribution to the study of the Paleoseismology and Holocene Tectonics several parts of the World”

Position/Role

Researcher at the INGV (Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) and General secretary of the International Association for Promoting Geoethics

Professional career

After getting the degree in Geological Sciences and the PhD in Earth Sciences at the University of Rome La Sapienza, in 1999 she begins her scientific activity in the field of geological hazards and natural risks, collaborating with the National Group from Defence from Earthquakes (National Research Council), the University of Roma Tre, the University of Genoa and the Polytechnic of Milan. From 2008 to 2011 she is Professor of Geology, Applied Geology and Geotechnics at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Rome La Sapienza and at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Viterbo Tuscia. Since 2012 she teaches in the PhD Course on Landscape and Environment at the University of Rome La Sapienza, and in 2016 at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) in the online course "Disaster Risk Reduction" on the theme of resilience and geoethics. In 2012 she founds the International Association for Promoting Geoethics, a scientific network, with more than 2000 members in 124 countries, which aims to analyse and enhance the ethical, social and cultural aspects of Earth Sciences. She has been recently elected Councillor of the IUGS (International Union of Geological Sciences) for the four-year period 2018-2022. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Italian Geological Society since 2013, member of the Executive Committee of IAEG Italy (International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment) since 2015 and coordinator of the "Geological and Geological Culture" section of the Italian Geological Society since 2012. From 2017 is a member of the Ethical Advisory Board of ICOS ERIC (Integrated Carbon Observation System), a pan-European research infrastructure dedicated to scientific data on the carbon cycle and greenhouse gases. From 2014 to 2016 she was Senior Editor of the Oxford University Press for the series "Natural Hazard Science". Since 2017 she is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal "Scienze e Ricerche".

Scientific results

Since 1999 she participates in national and international research projects on geological hazards, natural risks and seismic microzonation, with particular reference to historical centers and monumental sites. In 2007 she begins to deal with the communication and dissemination of geosciences, an activity that led her to publish two books with the publisher "Il Mulino" (Bologna). Since 2012 she has been constantly dedicated to the development of geoethics, namely the study of the ethical, social, philosophical and cultural implications of the research and practice of geosciences, of which she is among the world's leading experts. The activity on geoethics commits her in organizing scientific sessions in the major international conferences of geosciences, in publishing monographic volumes with international scientific publishers, in participating  as invited speaker to numerous scientific events. Currently within the European project ENVRI-Plus she is the leader of a work-package dedicated to the development of an ethical framework for European research infrastructures in the environmental and solid Earth sectors. She collaborates with newspapers and magazines (including Corriere della Sera) with articles on the topics of geological hazard, risk prevention, and scientific dissemination.

Editorial work and publications

Silvia Peppoloni is author of two due popular books: (with Doglioni), Pianeta Terra: una storia non finita(Il Mulino, 2016) e Convivere con i rischi naturali(Il Mulino, 2014).

She has authored numerous scientific publications. Among the latest:

[2018] Arattano M., Peppoloni S., Gatti A. The ethical duty to divulge geosciences and the improvement of communication skills to fulfill it. Episodes, 41(2): 97-103. 

[2017] Peppoloni S., Di Capua G., Bobrowsky P., Cronin V. (eds). Geoethics at the heart of all geoscience. Annals of Geophysics, 60, Fast track 7.

[2017] Bobrowsky P., Cronin V., Di Capua G., Kieffer S., Peppoloni S. "The emerging field of geoethics". In Scientific Integrity and Ethics: With Applications to the Geosciences, edited by L. Gundersen, Special Publication American Geophysical Union. New York, John Wiley.

[2016] Peppoloni S., Di Capua G. "Geoethics: Ethical, social, and cultural values in geosciences research, practice, and education". In Geoscience for the Public Good and Global Development: Toward a Sustainable Future, edited by Wessel G., Greenberg J., Geological Society of America, Special Paper, 520:17-21.

[2016] Di Capua G, Peppoloni S, Amanti M, Cipolloni C and Conte G. "Site classification map of Italy based on surface geology". In Developments in Engineering Geology, edited by Eggers M.J., Griffiths J.S., Parry S., Culshaw M.G. Geological Society, London. Engineering Geology Special Publication, 27: 147–158.

[2015] Peppoloni S., Di Capua G (eds.). Geoethics: the Role and Responsibility of Geoscientists. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 419.

[2015] Peppoloni S, Bobrowsky P, Di Capua G. "Geoethics: A Challenge for Research Integrity in Geosciences".  In Integrity in the Global Research Arena, edited by Steneck N, Anderson M, Kleinert S, Mayer T., World Scientific, pp. 287-294

[2014] Wyss M., Peppoloni S. (eds.). Geoethics, Ethical Challenges and Case Studies, in Earth Sciences, Elsevier.

[2014] Matteucci R., Gosso G., Peppoloni S., Piacente S., Wasowski J. The “Geoethical Promise”: A Proposal. Episodes, 37, 3:190-191.

[2014] Peppoloni S., Di Capua G. "Geoethical aspects in the natural hazards management". In Engineering Geology for Society and Territory, Vol. 17, edited by Lollino G, Arattano M, Giardino M, Oliveira R, Peppoloni S. Education, Professional Ethics and Public Recognition of Engineering Geology. Springer.

Awards and prizes

In 2017 she receives the Special Jury Prize at the XX Edition of the "Parco Majella" Literary Prize for the book, written in collaboration with C. Doglioni, "Planet Earth: an unfinished story", book that in 2016 also won the third place at the National Award for Scientific Dissemination, in the category Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences. For the same award, she was a finalist in the 2014 edition, with the book "Living with natural risks".

Position/Role

Professor Emerita of Agricultural Microbiology, University of Milan.

Professional career

Graduated in Biological Sciences at the University of Milan, Claudia Sorlini  developed   her career up to full professor of Agriculture, Food and Environment Microbiology.  Besides her tenure at the University of Milan, she taught at the University of Molise (1990-1993) and Politecnico di  Milano (1975-1988) . She has held several assignments in the university governance: Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture  ( 2014-2010), member of the  Equal Opportunity Committee of the University of Milan, coordinator of the session Gender & Equality in Research and Science (2006 - 2013). During her tenure as dean, she has been coordinator of the  scientific committeee founding the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Makeni, Sierra Leone. Among the several external posts she has been member of the Steering Committee of the EU Scientific Programme for Expo(2014-15),vice-president of Italian Touring Club and president of the association Casa dell'Agricoltura that promotes the sustainable agriculture and the role of women farmers and researchers  in agriculture.

Scientific results

She is expert in  the field of microbial biotechnologies applied to the bioremediation of polluted sites,  bio-energy production (methane, hydrogen and fertilizers) and biofertilizers. Along with her team she set up a viable bacterial cells-based system to recover ancient stone statues and frescoes; an image of these investigations gained the cover of the American Society for Microbiology Journal. She got a specific experience in the xenobiotic pollutants biodegradation such as plastics, pesticides, solvents etc. and has been involved in the promotion of  women scientists by welcoming young female students in her scientific European  projects, and participating, as a scientific referent, to the projects, such as Stages (Structural Transformation to Achieve Gender Equality in Science, 2012-2013), which support equal gender opportunity in science.

Editorial work and publications

Claudia Sorlini is author and co-author of more than 300 publications on international and national journals and  books chapters. Among the more recents: 

(2018) Vigani G., Rolli E., Dell'Orto M, Michoud G, Soussi A., Raffafu N., Borin S., Sorlini C., Zocchi G., Daffonchio D. Root bacterial endophytes confer drought resistance and enhance expression and activity of a vacuolar H⁺ -pumping pyrophosphatase in pepper plants. Environmental Microbiology.

(2018) Sorlini C. Agricoltura e alimentazione: quale futuro? Notiziario della Banca Popolare di Sondrio, 137: 14-17.

(2016) Sorlini C. "Cambiamento climatico, una sfida da vincere". In Clima, il pianeta che cambia. Touring Club Italiano Milano,  7-9.

(2015) Expo 2015 EU Scientific Steering Committee. Fischler F., Wilkinson D., Benton T., Daniel H., Darcy-Vrillon B. Hefferman P., Kok E., Saarela M., Jakubczyc E., Sorlini C., Swinnen J., von Brown J. New ways of providing knowledge to tackle food and nutrition security: what should the EU do? European Union.

(2015) Sorlini C., Dendena B., Grassi S. "The mutifaceted nature of the agrifood world". In The many faces of sustainability, edited by Veca S., Feltrinelli, Milano, 3-29.

Awards and prizes

In 2015 she received the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic from the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella, to "reward merits acquired for the nation in the fields of literature, the arts, economics and in the performance of public duties and activities carried out for social, philanthropic and humanitarian purposes, as well as for long and distinguished service in civil and military careers".

In the same year, she was awarded the Ambrogino D'Oro, a civic merit of the Municipality of Milan. She has also received the Beijing "Women who have made it" Award, 20 - Making women world congress for her commitment to art, science, culture and social issues and the Technovisionary Award: women who see the future of EXPO Women Global Forum - Women & Tech for having made a significant academic contribution and coordinated European and national projects on environmental, agricultural and bioenergy issues. For her commitment also to international cooperation, with a master's degree and a research project on agriculture in arid areas and the supervision of the Faculty of Agriculture in Makeni (Sierra Leone), which she helped set up.