PhD in Future Earth, Climate Change and Societal Challenges

Academic Year 2021/2022 PON Scholarships Call
Subject area Mathematical Physical, Chemical and Astronomical Sciences
Cycle 37
Coordinator Prof. Nadia Pinardi
Language English, Italian
Duration 3 years
Positions 18 positions. More information in the PhD Programme Table.
Application deadline Oct 20, 2021 at 11:59 PM (Expired)
Enrolment period From Nov 05, 2021 to Nov 12, 2021
Doctoral programme start date Jan 01, 2022
Operating centre
Bologna
Main Department
Department of Physics and Astronomy "Augusto Righi" - DIFA
Associated Departments
Department of Architecture - DA
Department of Cultural Heritage - DBC
Department of Chemistry "Giacomo Ciamician" - CHIM
Department of Industrial Chemistry "Toso Montanari" - CHIMIND
Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology - FaBiT
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering - DICAM
Department of Industrial Engineering - DIN
Department of Management - DiSA
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences - DISTAL
Department of Economics - DSE
Department of Political and Social Sciences - SPS
Department of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati" - STAT
Department of Sociology and Business Law - SDE
Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences - BiGeA
Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine - DIMES
Department for Life Quality Studies - QUVI
Research topics

Curriculum 1. One Health

  • Biodiversity loss and environmental impacts on health
  • Environmental health risk factors
  • Nutrition and health/disease determinants
  • Antimicrobial resistance at human/animal/environmental interfaces
  • Environmental health risks and law
  • Climate change and emerging infectious diseases
  • Microbiome at human/animal/environmental interfaces
  • Food and water safety, sustainable food production, waste management
  • Urban environment and human-animal relationships
  • Diseases impact and management strategies at socio-economic and environmental levels
  • Artificial intelligence applied to epidemiological and environmental data.

 

Curriculum 2. The earth system

  • Solid earth physics
  • Observations of the atmosphere, oceans and ecosystems
  • Climate variations and modeling
  • Atmospheric and ocean predictions
  • Water and hydrology
  • Carbon cycle and biogeochemical cycles
  • Paleoclimate
  • Hazard mapping and extreme events
  • Machine Learning applied to earth system data.

 

Curriculum 3. Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability

  • Food production and security
  • Water resources and security
  • Biodiversity, environment and nature conservation
  • Economics of adaptation
  • Resilient agriculture
  • Cultural heritage conservation
  • Recovery and reuse of materials

 

Curriculum 4. Technological innovations for a decarbonized society

  • Energy and environmental efficient systems
  • Renewable energy systems and products
  • Green/blue/hybrid architecture
  • Smart grids and positive energy districts
  • Transport innovation
  • Low carbon technologies
  • Sustainable chemistry and engineering
  • Industrial and Urban Symbiosis.

 

Curriculum 5. Socio-economic and legal studies for mitigation of climate change

  • Social, Economic, and Ethical Concepts and Methods
  • Sustainable Development and Equity
  • International Cooperation
  • Regional Development and Cooperation
  • Cross-cutting Investment and Finance issues
  • Environmental law
  • Circular economy
  • Communicating Climate Change.
Job opportunities and potential areas of employment
Holders of the PhD may find work opportunities in the public administration at the international, national, regional and local level, in all sectors of the economy, from environmental protection agencies to energy, transport and service industries and the national health system. Furthermore the programme will train engineers and scientists in earth system sciences, advanced solutions to mitigate climate change and manage environmental emergencies, human health management in the context of animal and environmental health, communication strategies and economic effects of climate change, thus defining the experts who could work in the fields of civil protection, public health, in industrial sectors and in the world of finance and economics in general. academia, research, government, industry and international organizations. PhD recipients will also be trained in big data analysis and algorithms and will be educated in the High Performance Computing and artificial intelligence and will be experts on information and communications technology.
Admission Board

Surname Name University Role email
Pinardi Nadia Università di Bologna Member
Bianconcini  Silvia  Università di Bologna Member
Nascimbene  Juri  Università di Bologna Member
Mule’  Rosa  Università di Bologna Member
Muccioli  Luca Università di Bologna Member
Hrelia  Silvana  Università di Bologna Member
Mura  Matteo  Università di Bologna Member
Patuelli  Roberto  Università di Bologna Member
Tarozzi  Andrea  Università di Bologna Substitute
Di Sabatino Silvana   Università di Bologna Substitute
Mantovani  Debora  Università di Bologna Substitute
Padovani  Emanuele  Università di Bologna Substitute
 Montini Anna  Università di Bologna Substitute
Romagnoli Claudia  Università di Bologna Substitute
Vassura Ivano  Università di Bologna Substitute
Mentaschi  Lorenzo  Università di Bologna Expert
Di Sabatino  Silvana  Università di Bologna Expert
Castellaro  Silvia Università di Bologna Expert
Mantovani  Debora  Università di Bologna Expert
Patuelli  Roberto Università di Bologna Expert
Montini  Anna Università di Bologna Expert
Casari  Marco Università di Bologna Expert
Campiglio  Emanuele  Università di Bologna Expert
Padovani  Emanuele Università di Bologna Expert
Torluccio  Giuseppe Università di Bologna Expert
Russo  Marcello  Università di Bologna Expert
Visentin  Marco Università di Bologna Expert
Learning outcomes
The PhD focuses on earth sciences, climate change, mitigation/adaptation strategies, national and international policies and measures, one health, fostering multidisciplinary training. The learning outcomes align with the Sustainable Development Goals. PhD candidates will actively contribute to designing and implementing solutions, strategies and policies for sustainable development in the 21st century, researching ways to protect human, animal and environmental health, based on an advanced understanding of the risks deriving from climate change. The programme will train professionals in the fields of earth and climate sciences, food production, economics, human health in the environmental context and social sciences in the context of climate change for careers in academia, research, government, industry and international organizations.
Activities to be carried out by Doctoral candidates
During the first six months of the PhD, the candidate will have to follow both cross-disciplinary and specialization courses. In the second six months of the first year the candidate will be introduced in the different research groups of the curricula and every six months, meetings among candidates will be organized by the coordinator with all the candidates to check the progress. At the end of each year an event of 1-2 days will be organized between the Academic Board and the PhD candidates to check the development of the research. The first year will coincide with the presentation of the PhD research Plan and initial results. The PhD candidate will have to stay abroad at least for 3 months at a laboratory decided in agreement with the supervisor. The PhD candidate will have to follow at least 10 seminars per year on the main theme of his/her research. Furthermore, the candidate's research could be carried out at other Institutions of high education and/or research over the national territory under specific agreements approved by the Academic Board.
Research training activities compliant with the Doctoral programme's learning outcomes
The doctoral programme is organized around 5 curricula: one health; the earth system; impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; technological innovations for a decarbonised society; socio-economic and legal studies for mitigation of climate change. Candidates will have to choose one of these curricula as the main one and interdisciplinary training will be ensured by compulsorily attending at least three of the transversal courses of the five curricula.

Period 1: Transversal thematic courses
November 8, 2021- January 31, 2022
3 courses, each lasting 24 hours, chosen from the 5 curricula
Final tests in January 2022

Period 2: Specialized courses
February 1, 2022 - March 30, 2022 3
24-hour courses offered in the curricula
March 2022 final tests
The transversal and specialized courses are visible on the PhD programme website.
Internationalization features
The language of the PhD programme will be English. We have an active co-supervision with the University of Barcelona in the Agriculture and Veterinary sector. The programme, through its One Health curriculum, is also linked to the UNA Europa action where the One Health Focus Area (UNAOH) is being organized for co-supervised doctorates on the subject.
Expected research results and products
The candidates are expected to produce articles in peer reviewed Journals, to participate to national and international Conferences presenting their work and to interface with the international community contributing to the research projects of the Departments. The candidates might be able to develop industrial prototypes and, whenever possible, patented products for commercial exploitation. The PhD programme is the first of this kind in Italy: due to the large number of Departments and the broad expertise brought together it has the potential to be a leading doctoral programme also in Europe.
Doctoral programme Academic Board
Name Surname University/Institution Qualification
Elettra Agliardi Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Renata Archetti Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Beatrice Bertarini Università di Bologna Ricercatore a tempo determinato
Silvia Bianconcini Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Andrea Boeri Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Silvia Castellaro Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Fabrizio Cavani Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Cristina Chiavari Università di Bologna Ricercatore a tempo determinato
Luca Corelli Grappadelli Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Silvana Di Sabatino Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Annalisa Furia Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Jacopo Gaspari Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Paolo Gasperini Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Silvana Hrelia Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Luca Lambertini Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Francesco Melino Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Alberto Montanari Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Matteo Mura Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Juri Nascimbene Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Francesco Orsini Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Francesco Paolucci Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Nadia Pinardi Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Riccardo Prandini Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Claudia Romagnoli Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Ernesto Salzano Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Alessandra Scagliarini Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Sahra Talamo Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Andrea Tarozzi Università di Bologna Professore Ordinario
Alessandro Tavoni Università di Bologna Ricercatore a tempo determinato
Massimiliano Trentin Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Ivano Vassura Università di Bologna Professore Associato
Piera Versura Università di Bologna Professore Associato

Notices

Final Ranking List

37th cycle PON Final Ranking List - Future Earth, Climate Change and Societal Challenges

Evaluation sub-criteria

Evaluation sub-criteria - PON, 37th cycle - Future Earth, Climate Change and Societal Challenges