Academic positions
[2023 - to date]
RTDa- University of Bologna
[2018 – 2023]
Post-doc Research Associate (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter), Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Manager of the Thermochronology (Fission Tracks) Laboratory
Research Assistant
Supervisor of PhD and MSc students
Lecturer for a total of 4 teaching units SWS (2 × 45 minutes/week) per semester
[2013 – 2018]
Research Assistant, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Geochronology laboratory fellow
[2017 – 2018]
Lecturer, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy
Lectures of geology for international students (in English)
Field trip course of the Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt, Sicily, Italy
[2014 – 2015]
Guest Researcher, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
Fission-Tracks laboratory fellow
Education
[2013 – 2018]
PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
[2009 – 2011]
MSc, Università di Pisa, Italy
[2005 – 2008]
BSc, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
[2000 – 2005]
Upper Secondary Education – Licei
Classical Lyceum, Liceo Parini, Milan, Italy
Awards and Fellowships
MiNeRAL – Erasmus+, EU Research Project, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy (12 months)
iTECC – Marie Sk. Curie Scolarship - European Research Council FP7/People/2012/Initial TRaining Network , Grant No. 316966 (36 months)
ERASMUS+ – Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University (Paris VI), Paris, France (6 months)
Third-Party Funding
[2020 – 2021]
Funding Agency: Horizon 2020 (EU) – RADIATE Transnational Access
Proposal No.: 19001937
Instrument: Accellerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) - ETH, Zurich
Project Title: Using cosmogenic nuclides to constrain the tectonic and erosional evolution of orogenic systems: A case study from the Dinaric-Hellenic transition
Role: Main PI
Decision: Approved
[2018 – 2023]
Funding Agency: DFG – Research Grant (350499904)
Funding Amount: €230,827.00
Project Title: From plate tectonic reconstructions to 4D geodynamic models of the Alpine Orogeny
Role: Co-PI
Main PI: Prof. Mark Handy (FU Berlin)
Decision: Approved
Other Grants
[2022-2023]
START Funding Line - Internal Funding FU Berlin (DEU)
Funding Amount: €10,680
Project Title: Understanding the effect of the Late Cenozoic global changes on the Alpine landscape
Role: Main Applicant
Decision: Approved on 18.07.2022
[2021 – 2022]
Funding Agency: Investitionsprogramms 2022 (FU Berlin, Germany)
Funding Amount: €11,758.09
Project Title: Full format Color Camera DS-Ri2 (Nikon)
Role: Main Applicant
Decision: Approved
Past Teaching Experience
Winter Semester (since 2018)
Geological Cartography, MSc and BSc
Freie Universität Berlin
Summer Semester (since 2018)
Geological Laboratory Methods, MSc and BSc
Freie Universität Berlin
Advanced Geological Mapping (since 2018), MSc and BSc
Freie Universität Berlin
PhD Thesis Supervision
Marc Grund, MSc- 2022
Tectonic evolution of the Skutari-Peja-Normal Fault (SPNF), Northern Dinarides
Co-supervised with Prof. Dr. Mark Handy
Ümitcan Erbil, MSc.
From shortening to extension in the upper plate of subduction zones: Western Anatolian case
Co-supervised with Prof. Dr. Eline LeBreton and Prof. Dr. Mark R. Handy
PhD Thesis Committees
Dr. Julian A. Hülscher
Tectonic Signal Propagation into the Oligocene to early Miocene Upper Austrian Foreland Basin – a Comparison of different Method
Year: 2022
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Role: Internal Reviewer
Coordinator: Prof. Timm John (FU Berlin)
Dr. Laura Nania
Kinematics, non-coaxial flow and rheological constraints of the STDS and the MCTz in central Himalaya
Cycle XXXIII (2017–2020)
Role: External Reviewer
Coordinator: Prof. L. Francalanci, University of Florence
Dr. Chiara Montemagni
Geochronology and kinematics of crustal scale shear zones in the Himalayan collisional belt
Cycle XXXII (2015–2017)
Role: External Reviewer
Coordinator: Prof. Maria Luce Frezzotti
MSc Thesis Supervision
Leonardo Caprioli
Structural analysis and geochronology of the SPNF at the transition with the Kosovo Basin, Kosovo
Co-supervised with Prof. Dr. Mark Handy
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Benedict V. Mittelbach
Erosion and accumulation rates of the Tropoja Basin (NE Albania)
Horizon 2020 – RADIATE
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany – ETH Zurich
Thomas van Gerve
Exhumation rates from the Eastern Alps detected from mica Ar-dating
Co-supervised with Prof. Dr. Jan R. Wijbrans
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Erasmus+ Traineeship Supervision
Mirko Stellato, BSc
University of Calabria, Italy
Duration: 6 months
Activity: Fission track analysis
Role: Erasmus+ Trainee supervisor and MSc thesis promotor
Memberships and Academic Services
Secretary "Sezione Geologia Himalayana" - SGI
Secretary General of IASGT (IUGS) since 2023
Secretary General of TecTask (IUGS) since 2018-2023
Member of:
American Geophysical Union (AGU) since 2015
European Geosciences Union (EGU) since 2014
Italian Geological Society (SGI) since 2011
Italian Group of Himalayan Geology (IGHG) since 2011
Congress Committees
Convener: SGI-SIMP 2024 (Bari, Italy); GeoBerlin 2023 (Berlin, Germany); EGU 2020; SGI – SIMP Conference, September 2022, Turin, Italy
Scientific Committee Member: Incontri Di Geologia SGI Bologna 2025, Italy;Yorsget-2020, Catania, Italy
Organisation Committee Member: HKT-2016, Aussois, France
Reviewer Activity
Reviewer: Actively peer-reviewing on average 2 to 7 papers per year since 2018
Co-Organized Fieldwork Expeditions
2023-2025 - Balkans area, Albania, Kosovo, Greece and North Macedonia
2021 – Western Alps, field mapping class (FU Berlin), 2 weeks
2019 – Kosovo and Albania, field mapping class (FU Berlin), 2 weeks
2017 – East Sicily, guide to fold-and-thrust belt geology (MiNeRAL project), 3 weeks
2015 – Yanmou Basin, Hunnan-Sichuan, China (iTECC project), 5 weeks
2014 – Western Nepal, Inside Himalayan lakes (iTECC project), 8 weeks
2013 – Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, India (iTECC project), 9 weeks
2013 – Eastern Alps (Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia), iTECC project, 1 week
2010 – Himalaya, Mustang, Nepal (PRIN 2010), 8 weeks
2008 – Western Alps, Val Saint Barthélemy, Aosta Valley, Italy, 5 weeks
Academic Self-Administration Activities
Regular participation in Institute Councils (Institutsrat) and Professorium at Freie Universität Berlin since 2018 and Consigli di Dipartimento (unibo) since 2023
Coordinator of outreach event Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften
Member of working group Image Film / Social Media at FU Berlin
Member of 4 PhD Commission at Freie Universität Berlin since 2018
Other Professional Activities
[2012 – 2013]
Consultant Geologist, Geofield srl., San Miniato (PI), Italy
Evaluation of diatomite and calcite deposits (Algeria)
Ore deposit evaluation, mine planning, technical reporting, due diligence
[2011 – 2013]
Junior Geophysicist, Geoenergy srl., Cascina (PI), Italy
Gravimetry planning and data acquisition
Low-frequency passive seismic spectroscopy data acquisition
Personal Skills and Expertise
Molecular and Atomic Spectroscopy
Noble-gas mass spectrometry (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar; U-Th/He)
Fission track analysis (zircon, apatite)
Electron microprobe analysis (EMP)
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
LA-ICP-MS
Fieldwork Geology and Geophysics
Structural and surface data collection
Rock fabric and kinematic indicator analysis
Geological mapping and sampling
Lake sediment coring
Exploration geophysics: passive low-frequency seismic networks
Gravimetric and topographic analysis
GIS
GPS and GNSS data acquisition and processing
Management Activities
Team organization and project leadership
Field expedition organization
High-altitude (>4,000 m a.s.l.) and remote area expeditions
Informatics
Linux and Windows OS
Microsoft Office, OpenOffice
Adobe Suite
GIS software: ArcGIS, QGIS
Programming and scripting: Matlab, R, Python, LaTeX
Online teaching and meetings: Webex, Zoom, Mentimeter, SketchTogether
Languages
Italian – Native
English – Advanced working proficiency
French – Advanced working proficiency
Dutch – Basic
