Luca Vittuari

Full Professor of AREA 08 - CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, Scientific Disciplinary Group 08/CEAR-04 Geomatics, Scientific Disciplinary Sector: CEAR-04/A Geomatics, affiliated with the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM) of Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna.

Scientific Activity: responsibility in funded competitive projects

European Projects - Scientific responsible of Research Unit and WP:

• Beyond EPICA - Oldest Ice (BE-OI), SC5-05-2016 - A 1.5 million years look into the past for improving climate predictions. H2020-SC5-2016-OneStageB, CSA - Coordination and support action, Project ID: 730258, 2016-2019.
• SPARTACUS – A collaborative project focused on Satellite Based Asset Tracking for Supporting Emergency Management in Crisis Operations. FP7-SEC-2012-1 (Grant Agreement Number 313002, 2013-2016).

European Projects - Member of Research Unit:

• SUSHIDROP: SUstainable fiSHeries wIth DROnes data Processing, Coordinator Luca De Marchi, DIN University of Bologna. Italy-Croatia Project S.O. 3.3 Biodiversity (2019-2021).
• ARCHAIA: Training Seminars on Research Planning, Conservation, Characterisation and Management in Archaeological Sites, Coordinator Prof. Nicolò Marchetti, University of Bologna (FP6-2005-SSP-5-A ID: 44365, 2007-2008).
• EU-CHIC European Cultural Heritage Identity Card, Coordinator R. Zarnic, University of Ljubljana (FP7-ENV-2008-1 ID: 226995, 2009-2012).
• 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).
• 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).

Competitive projects MUR, PNRA, ASI - National or Research Unit Scientific Responsible:

• National responsible for the PNRA 2022/B line project, ICEGIANT - Integrated geodetic, geophysic and remote sensing observations for the study of David Glacier Cauldron icefall and the floating Drygalski ice-tongue.
• National responsible for the biennial project (2014-2015) of PNRA 2013/AC2.01: Integrated Geodetic and Geophysical analysis for site modeling and deep ice core interpretation (IGG@Dome).
• Responsible for the Geodesy Research Unit within the biennial project (2012-2013) PNRA 2009/A2.21 PRIDE - Paleoclimate records from the analysis of data from ice cores.
• Responsible for the Geodesy Research Unit – (2008-2009-2010) within the 2004/5.1 Glaciology and Paleoclimate Project of PNRA, National Coordinator Dr. Massimo Frezzotti.
• PRIN 2007 - Local responsible for a PRIN 2007 research unit titled: “Use of co-located geodetic observatories VLBI-GPS for homogenization and comparison of historical series derived from PS INSAR and geometric leveling, in the study of ground movements at a regional scale.”
• PRIN 2004 - Local responsible for a research unit co-financed by MIUR titled: Integration of terrestrial, photogrammetric, and satellite detection techniques for the monitoring of structures and areas of architectural and archaeological interest, within the relevant national interest scientific research programs (PRIN 2004).
• PI of the Category 1 project: (project ID 5410) activated in 2007 by DICAM of the University of Bologna with the European Space Agency (ESA): “Integration of GPS surveys and SAR interferometry for the study of the kinematic of a fault system in Victoria Land, Antarctica.”
• PI of the project: "COSMO-SkyMed Announcement of Opportunity" (project ID 2283) activated in 2008 by DICAM of the University of Bologna with the Italian Space Agency (ASI): “Integration of classical and space geodetic techniques for the study of ground movements.”

• PI of the project: "COSMO-SkyMed/RADARSAT-2 Joint Announcement of Opportunity" (project id 2873/5247) activated in 2014 by DICAM of the University of Bologna with the Italian and Canadian Space Agencies (ASI and CSA, respectively): "Integrated InSAR-GPS analysis for ice bodies monitoring at Dome C and David Glacier sites (East Antarctica)."

LV is also responsible for numerous research and technology transfer activities related to institutional agreements and research contracts with public entities (such as municipalities and regions) and private entities. He is also the scientific responsible for third-party activities and the execution of special tests at the Laboratory of Surveying and Geomatics (LARIG) of the DICAM Department.

Scientific Activity: Positions and participation in working groups

• Scientific responsible of the Geomatics Laboratory of the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM) - University of Bologna.
• From March 2016 to January 2022, Coordinator of PhD@DICAM (PhD in Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering) consisting of four Curricula. Scientific reference for Curriculum 1 (Infrastructure, Resources and Territory Engineering).
• Coordinator of the Professional-oriented Degree Course, class L-P01: Techniques for Building and Territory, since December 2021.
• 2004-2014 Member of the Working Group of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) on Site Survey and Co-locations (IERS WG 2) IAG Sub-Commission 1.2.
• Associate editor of the ISI journal Applied Geomatics ISSN: 1866-9298 Springer.
• Italian delegate of MIUR to the Management Committee of COST Action ES0701: Improved Constraints on Models of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment. In this context, in addition to participating in the Management Committee, he dealt with the control measures of deformations at the site within Working Group 1, Geodetic observation-level modeling and systematic biases.
• From 2012 to 2015, he was a member of the MIUR-SIFET-CNGeGL Commission for the evaluation of projects submitted for the competition for Secondary Technical Institutes in topography and photogrammetry.
• Participant in Working Group 1 of the European Construction Technology Platforms: Assessment, Monitoring and Diagnosis, Integration of Technologies for Building Diagnostics and Monitoring in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage.
• Member of the Alma Heritage Science Integrated Research Team (IRT) – a group of experts from the University of Bologna focusing on technologies applied to cultural heritage covering various areas of technical-scientific investigation, such as diagnostics and monitoring of properties, study of materials and restoration methods, and considerations regarding territorial, structural, energy, and environmental aspects.
• Member for two terms in the Scientific Committee of the Italian Society of Photogrammetry and Topography (SIFET) and a member of the editorial board of the SIFET Bulletin during the same period.

Scientific Activity: Responsibility in international and national projects

• LV has been involved in polar research since his first scientific expedition in Antarctica conducted within the National Antarctic Research Program in 1990. To date, he has participated in 10 scientific expeditions in Antarctica and one in the Arctic (Svalbard Islands) in 2002. He has contributed from the earliest international Antarctic geodetic campaigns, participating with GNSS measurements for studying the crustal dynamics of the Antarctic continent, particularly adhering to various projects (GIG-91, GPS Pilot Project, SCAR Epoch, etc.).
  He was responsible for the establishment and analysis of a GNSS geodetic network for studying the surface ice velocity field within a radius of 25 km around the deep drilling site of the Antarctic ice cap at Dome Concordia (European Project for Ice Core in Antarctica, EPICA).
  The entire EPICA project, which involved researchers from ten European countries, was initially coordinated for the Italian scientific part by Prof. Giuseppe Orombelli of the University of Milan and later for deep drilling by Prof. Walter Maggi (University of Milan) and Dr. Massimo Frezzotti (ENEA). The project enabled the extraction of an ice core of about 3270 m depth, which revealed the paleo-climatic history of the last eight climatic cycles of the planet over the past 820,000 years. The scientific excellence of the entire EPICA project was awarded by the European Science Foundation Commission in 2007 with the prestigious Cartesio Prize - Descartes Prize for Transnational Collaborative Research.
• LV was also involved in GNSS measurements in kinematic mode over long distances in support of the activities of the international project International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE), which aimed at the precise navigation of caravans of vehicles on the Antarctic plateau for the collection of glaciological, geodetic, and geophysical data. In particular, he handled the integration of sensors (GPR/GNSS) on board helicopters and tracked vehicles, also experimenting with kinematic positioning techniques using differentiated modes such as multi-Kin PPK, RTK, NRTK, and undifferentiated Precise Point Positioning (PPP).
  In Antarctica, he also contributed to the installation of tide gauges, particularly important instruments for the geodetic observatory at the Italian Station Mario Zucchelli, where he was also the Coordinator of the scientific expedition activities for the Observatory Research Sector during the XVI Antarctic campaign of the PNRA.
• LV is actively involved in the design and implementation of the set of procedures necessary for measuring and statistically estimating the eccentricity between reference points (RP) of different co-located geodetic techniques, with particular attention to VLBI and GNSS techniques placed at close distances (<500 m). This involves an in-depth definition of the reference points for each technique (tracking points, geodetic markers, and conventional points). There is also a focus on the stability of the local network and the local ties themselves. He studies the deformations induced by the self-weight of the structures of VLBI antennas installed at the observatories in Noto (SR) and Medicina (BO) through photogrammetric measurements using large format terrestrial cameras and laser scanning surveys.
  These research efforts, which began in Italy in 2000, led to the establishment of a Working Group within the IERS (IERS WG 2) IAG Sub-Commission 1.2 on Site Survey and Co-locations in 2003.
• LV is an expert in the integration of various survey methodologies in the field of Cultural Heritage. A wide range of surveying problems at different scales (regional-site-single building-single object) has been addressed through participation in numerous archaeological expeditions organized by the University of Bologna, in Italy, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Albania. He implemented systems for photogrammetric captures from low-altitude systems. The usage of photogrammetry for the production of orthophotos of archaeological sites was also employed. From 2004 to 2009, he oversaw the topographic survey activities of some archaeological structures associated with the passage of nomadic populations along the Silk Road in the Samarkand area, as part of a project coordinated by Prof. Maurizio Tosi and Prof. Timur Shirinov, Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, for the realization of the “Archaeological Map of the Middle Zeravshan Valley.”
• LV works on joint experiments with SAR Interferometry techniques (PS-InSAR), geometric leveling, and permanent GNSS station networks for analyzing vertical movements induced by natural and anthropogenic subsidence throughout the Po Plain territory. He studies methodologies for controlling the stability of reference points in relative surveying techniques (geometric leveling and InSAR). GIS applications have been developed for the detection of outliers within the sets of Permanent and Distributed Scatterers extracted from multi-temporal series of radar satellite images, processed using the PS-InSAR technique patented by the Polytechnic University of Milan. In this area, GIS applications have also been configured to allow comparisons between datasets with non-coincident planimetric distributions (e.g., leveling benchmarks and SAR Permanent Scatterers). The use of GNSS in altimetry as a surveying technique for monitoring anthropogenic subsidence and the creation of informative systems for managing repeated geodetic surveys are also key activities.

LV is the author or co-author of over 200 national and international scientific publications, and as of 01/03/2025, he has an H-Index of 17 (Scopus).

Teaching Activity

A.Y. 2000/01 and 2001/02

• Topography (6 CFU – 60 hours of lectures) for the University Diploma in Environmental and Resources Engineering.

A.Y. 2002/03

• Topography (6 CFU – 60 hours of lectures) for the University Diploma in Environmental and Resources Engineering.
• Topography A L. (4 CFU – 40 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.

A.Y. 2003/04, 2004/05

• Topography L. (9 CFU – 90 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering (A-K, L-Z, over 200 students).
• Geomatics Laboratory (3 CFU – 30 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.

A.Y. 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09

• Topography L. (9 CFU – 90 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering (A-K, L-Z, over 200 students).
• Geomatics Laboratory (3 CFU – 30 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Thematic and Automated Cartography L (5 CFU – 50 hours of lectures) – Building Engineering, Ravenna.

In the academic years 2005/06 and 2006/07, he was also a lecturer for the course: Remote Sensing Techniques (8 CFU- 80 hours of lectures) at the first-level Master's program in "Remote Sensing and Information Systems for Environmental Analysis and Management" at the University of Bologna, Ravenna campus.

A.Y. 2009/10

• Numerical Cartography and Territorial Information Systems L (6 CFU-60 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Geomatics Laboratory L (3 CFU-30 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Geomatics Laboratory M-A (3 CFU-30 hours of lectures), Master's in Civil Engineering.
• Thematic and Automated Cartography L (5 CFU-50 hours of lectures) – Building Engineering, Ravenna.

A.Y. 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13

• Topography T (12 CFU-120 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Applied Geomatics (6 CFU-60 hours of lectures), International Master's in Civil Engineering.

A.Y. 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/2016

• Topography T (12 CFU-120 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Applied Geomatics – Module 2 (2 CFU-16 hours of lectures), International Master's in Civil Engineering.

A.Y. 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/2019

• Topography T (12 CFU-120 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Monitoring and Positioning in Offshore Engineering – Module 2 (2 CFU-18 hours of lectures), Master's in Offshore Engineering (Ravenna campus).

A.Y. 2019/20, 2020/21

• Topography T (12 CFU-120 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Monitoring and Positioning in Offshore Engineering – Module 2 (3 CFU-24 hours of lectures), Master's in Offshore Engineering (Ravenna campus).
• Applied Geomatics for Offshore Engineering – Module 1 (3 CFU-24 hours of lectures), Master's in Offshore Engineering (Ravenna campus).

A.Y. 2021/2022

• Topography T (12 CFU-120 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Monitoring and Positioning in Offshore Engineering – Module 2 (3 CFU-24 hours of lectures), Master's in Offshore Engineering (Ravenna campus).
• Applied Geomatics for Offshore Engineering – Module 1 (3 CFU-24 hours of lectures), Master's in Offshore Engineering (Ravenna campus).
• Computer Laboratory, for Bachelor's L-P01 in Techniques for Building and Territory.

A.Y. 2022/2023

• Topography T (12 CFU-120 hours of lectures), Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.
• Monitoring and Positioning in Offshore Engineering – Module 2 (3 CFU-24 hours of lectures), Master's in Offshore Engineering (Ravenna campus).
• Applied Geomatics for Offshore Engineering – Module 1 (3 CFU-24 hours of lectures), Master's in Offshore Engineering (Ravenna campus).
• Module 2 (6 CFU-60 hours) Topography and Survey Course P, for Bachelor's L-P01 in Techniques for Building and Territory.

A.Y. 2023/2024

Bologna Campus:

• Topography T Course, Module 1 (6 CFU, 60 hours of lectures) for the Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering.
• Topography and Survey Course P, Module 2 (7 CFU, 70 hours of lectures) for the Bachelor's Degree L-P01 in Techniques for Building and Territory.
• Control and Testing of Structures and Territory M Course, Module 2 (3 CFU, 24 hours of lectures) for the Master's Degree in Civil Engineering.

Ravenna Campus:

• Monitoring and Positioning in Offshore Engineering Course – Module 1 and Module 3 (4 CFU, 36 hours of lectures) for the Master's Degree in Offshore Engineering.

LV has been the supervisor of over 200 theses, including Bachelor's and Master's theses.