Since 2002 Full Professor of Geomatics at Bologna University. Responsible of the Surveying-Geomatics Area of the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM).
The main research interests are related to topographic and photogrammetric surveying with modern Geomatics techniques, geomatic applications related to Cultural Heritage (survey, representation, monitoring, data management), Earth Observation for environmental monitoring, for urban areas and for risk management, deformation control for structures (e.g. buildings in historical urban centers) and territory (e.g. planning, testing and processing of large surveying networks for subsidence monitoring), three dimensional modeling (DTM and DSM data generation by terrestrial, aerial and satellite systems, data quality assessment), applications of Geomatic sciences for disaster mitigation and for environmental change detection, processing and applications for thermal imagery, digital approaches for historical cartography, forensic geomatics, Geographic Information Systems.
- National Coordinator (2012-2013 and 2014-2015) of AUTeC, Italian National Association of Professors in Surveying and Mapping.
- He has been Coordinator of the "Building and Urban Systems Engineering" second cycle degree/two year Master, Engineering and Architecture School, University of Bologna, in Ravenna.
- He has been Coordinator of the Ph.D. Course in "Geomatics and Transportation Engineering", held by University of Bologna in connection with Universities of Pisa and IUAV Venezia.
- Member of the Board of the Ph.D. course in "Cultural and Environmental Heritage", University of Bologna.
- Member of the Board of the National Ph.D. course in "Heritage Science".
- Member of the Board of the Specialization School in Archaeological Heritage of the University of Bologna.
- Member of the Inter-Department Research Center CIRI Building and Construction, Unit "New technologies applied to restoration, recovery and requalification of existing buildings".
- Member of the Board of the Inter-Department Research Center CIRI - Aerospace.
- Member of the Scientific Board of the II level Master course "Space Missions Science, Design and Applications", University of Bologna.
- Reference person in the membership of the "Copernicus Academy" network developed by the European Commission and member of the board of the Consorzio Italiano per la Copernicus Academy (CICA).
- Reference person in the membership of the network "FAB Space 2.0 - The Open-Innovation Network for Geodata-Driven Innovation" (EU H2020).
- Co-chairman of the Working Group “Aerospace Downstream” of Clust-ER Innovate, Emilia-Romagna Region.
- Member of the Working Group “Earth Observation” of NEREUS - Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies.
- Member, since its establishment (2005), of the ICA (International Cartographic Association) Commission on "Cartographic Heritage into the Digital”, and inserted in Working Groups of ISPRS (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing).
- Member of the Scientific Board of the International Center Dipast (Centro Internazionale Didattica Storia Patrimonio).
- Member of the Board of "Alma HeritageScience", Integrated Research Team of Bologna University dedicated to Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage.
- Member of CODE3 (Center for International COoperation and Development on Engineering, Environment and Emergency) of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM).
DIDACTIC ACTIVITY
He is currently teaching (Academic Year 2023-2024):
- "Remote Sensing and GIS" (Civil Engineering, MSc degree);
- "Geomatics for Urban and Regional Analysis" (MSc degree in Building Engineering-Architecture, in English);
- "Geomatic Engineering for Cultural Heritage" (Engineering of Building Processes and Systems, MSc degree, in English);
- "Geomatics" (Environmental Engineering, MSc degree);
- "Geomatics for Archaeology" (Specialisation School in Beni Archeologici);
- "Earth Observation systems, data and applications" (II level Master in Space Missions Science, Design and Applications - SPICES, in English)".
- "Cultural Heritage surveying by advanced Geomatics techniques: design, realization and processing" (PhD National Porgramme in Heritage Science).
Supervisor for more than 250 Master degree theses, he has successfully supervised 20 PhD students, who now work in professional sectors including academic, private and government.
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY
INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECTS
He has been Scientific Responsible in the projects:
- "SubCoast - A collaborative project aimed at developing a GMES-service for monitoring and forecasting subsidence hazards in coastal lowland areas around Europe " (FP7-SPACE-2009-1, 2010-2013)
- "EnergyCity - Reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions in cities across Central Europe" (EU Central Europe, 2010-2013), WP leader
and actively involved in the projects:
- "EU-CHIC - European Cultural Heritage Identity Card" (FP7-ENV-2008-1, 2009-2012)
- "Ebla Chora - The early state and its chora. Towns, villages and landscape at Ebla in Syria during the 3rd Millennium BC. Royal archives, visual and material culture, remote sensing and artificial neural networks" (FP7-IDEAS-ERC-2009-AdG, 2010-2014)
- “ARCHAIA: Training Seminars on Research Planning, Conservation, Characterisation and Management in Archaeological Sites” (FP6-2005-SSP-5-A, ID: 44365, 2007-2008)
- "SPARTACUS - Satellite Based Asset Tracking for Supporting Emergency Management in Crisis Operations" (FP7-SEC-2012.4.2-1, 2013-2016)
- "HeAT - Heritage and Threat" (JPI Heritage Plus Joint Call, 2015-2018)
- "EDUU - Education and Cultural Heritage Enhancement for Social Cohesion in Iraq" (EuropeAid, 2017-2020)
- "AGROWETLANDS II - Smart Water and Soil Salinity Management in Agro-Wetlands" (LIFE15 ENV/IT/000423, 2016-2020)
- "SUSHI-DROP - SUstainable fiSHeries wIth DROnes data Processing" (Interreg V-A Italy-Croatia CBC Programme 2014-2020)
- "SHELTER - Sustainable Historic Environments hoListic reconstruction through Technological Enhancement and community based Resilience" (H2020, 2019-2023)
- "EngageSDGs - Developing university capacity in SADC towards participatory approaches in pursuing the SDGs" (ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE)
NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECTS
Principal Investigator of the National Research Project:
"GAMHer – Geomatics Data Acquisition and Management for Landscape and Built Heritage in a European Perspective" (PRIN 2015, 2017-2020), website: https://site.unibo.it/gamher/it
Scientific Responsible of Research Unit or active participant for the National research projects:
- "SMAL-SAT - Analisi di missione per il nano-satellite SMAL-SAT" (CIRI Aerospace, call POR-FESR Laboratori 2023)
- "IDEHA - Innovation for Data Elaboration in Heritage Areas" (PON 2018-2021)
- "eBIM: existing Building Information Modeling per la gestione dell’intervento sul costruito esistente" (CIRI Edilizia&Costruzioni, POR-FESR 2014-2020)
- PRIN2017 "Big-DEA" - Big Data and Early Archives (Big-DEA). Measuring Settlement Dynamics and Environmental Exploitation in the Ebla Region during the 3rd Millennium BC: Archaeological Record, Cuneiform Texts, and Remote Sensing" (PRIN2017, fund. MIUR, 2019-2021)
- PRIN2008 "MAPPER - Procedure di acquisizione ed elaborazione di dati multi sorgente per il supporto alle emergenze" (PRIN2008, fund. MIUR, 2010-2012)
- "Ritratti di citta’ in un interno. Consolidare la memoria collettiva della citta' attraverso l'informatizzazione e la divulgazione della cartografia storica" (fund. Fondazione Cariplo, 2008-2014)
- Project “Malta: La Fabbrica delle Mura”, Cooperation agreement between Fondazione Alma Mater (Bologna) and Ministry of Environment of Malta Repubblic, 1998-2003.
and in the previous national projects: PRIN2005, PRIN2003, PRIN2002, COFIN2001, COFIN2000.
Principal Investigator of Research Unit for the Geodetic activities of the Italian National Program in Antarctica (P.N.R.A.), participating in two campaigns in Antarctica.
He has been furthermore Scientific Responsible of Research Unit in a large number of local projects.
He is reviewer of national and international research projects and industrial research projects.
He is currently associated to:
- Italian Photogrammetric and Topographic Society (SIFET) since 1992;
- Italian Remote Sensing Association (AIT) since 1999;
- Italian National Association of Professors in Surveying and Mapping (AUTeC) since 1999;
- IEEE & Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society;
- ACM Association for Computing Machinery.
He has coordinated and participated numerous expeditions related to archaeological surveys in Italy (Pompeii, Herculaneum, Suasa, Kainua, etc.), Egypt (Bakchias, Soknopaiou Nesos, Aswan), Turkey (Tasli Gecit, Tilmen Hoyuk, Karkemish), Syria (Ebla), Albania (Phoinike), Peru (Cahuachi, Paredonas, Pachacamac), Bolivia (Tiwanaku).
He has furthermore implemented applications for three-dimensional survey and monitoring with integrated methodologies of Cultural Heritage in major case studies, and for Italian and foreign museums.
He has been co-organizer of several exhibitions, mainly in the fields of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cartography.
He has been Principal Investigator and Scientific Responsible in a number of contracts with public administrations, private institutions and firms (Regione Emilia-Romagna, Provincia di Bologna, Comune di Bologna, Comune di Medicina, Comune di Ravenna, Comune di Riccione, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, ARPA Emilia-Romagna, ENI SpA, Ducati Holding, Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici dell'Emilia Romagna, Autorita' di Bacino del Fiume Reno, Fondazione Ravennantica, Unione Montana Alto Astico, Lievitalia, etc.).
Editorial Board Member of "Remote Sensing" journal, MDPI, Urban Remote Sensing section, and of "Geomatics" journal, MDPI.
Guest Editor for Special Issues:
- "Data Acquisition and Processing in Cultural Heritage", for the Journal: ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, MDPI (2020);
- "2nd Edition Instrumenting Smart City Applications with Big Sensing and Earth Observatory Data: Tools, Methods and Techniques", for the Journal: Remote Sensing, MDPI (2021);
- "Measurement Systems, Models, Tools, and Innovative Techniques for Sustainable Urban Planning and Regeneration" for the journal: Sustainability, MDPI (2024).
He has been component of the Scientific Committee for several National and International Workshops.
He is member of the Technical-Scientific Committee of DIGITAL&BIM.
Reviewer for scientific journals: Annals of Geophysics - Applied Geomatics - Archaeological Research in Asia - Archaeometry - ASCE Journal of Surveying Engineering - Automation in Construction - Construction & Building Materials - Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage - Engineering Geology - Engineering Structures - Environmental Challenges - European Journal of Remote Sensing - GEAM-GeoEngineering Environment and Mining - Geosciences - GIS Science & Remote Sensing - Heliyon - Heritage Science - Int. Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation - Int. Journal of Cultural Heritage - Int. Journal of Communication Systems - Int. Journal of Digital Earth - Int. Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction - Int. Journal of Geophysics - Int. Journal of Pavement Engineering - ISPRS Annals - ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information - ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing - Journal of Archaeological Science Reports - Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage - Mersin Photogrammetry Journal - Natural Hazards - NDT&E International - Open Archaeology - Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing - Remote Sensing - Remote Sensing of Environment - Sensors - Spatial Information Research - The Photogrammetric Record - Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata - Bollettino SIFET.
Author of 371 scientific publications (January 2024):
International Journals: 77
National Journals: 43
International Proceedings: 113
National Proceedings: 87
Books/chapters of books: 41
Other: 10
H-Index Scopus: 24 (2159 citations)
