National Research Council (CNR)

The researchers involved in BIO_SOS come from four Institutes of CNR with different expertise and role:

• Istituto Studi sui Sistemi Intelligenti per l’Automazione (CNR-ISSIA),
• Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica (CNR-IRPI),
• Istituto di Genetica Vegetale, (CNR-IGV)
• Istituto di Applicazioni del Calcolo, (CNR-IAC).

Instituto di studi sui Sistemi Intelligenti per l’Automazione (CNR-ISSIA)

Researchers have developed competences in multi-source EO data analysis with neural networks, fuzzy logic, soft computing for: image segmentation and classification; change detection; interferometric SAR data processing applied to subsidence and landslide monitoring; microwave SAR data interpretation for the extraction of bio-geophysics parameters; polarimetric calibration; radar polarimetry. They have participated as coordinator or partner to many projects, supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), ESA and European Community (LEWIS-EVG1-CT-2001-00055), FIRESENSE. Main tasks: Role in the Project: Coordinator. (WP 1). EO data processing for land use and change maps.

Palma Blonda

(BIO_SOS COORDINATOR) Researcher at CNR since 1984, she is a specialist in digital image processing with soft computing techniques applied to segmentation, classification, change detection, data fusion. She has participated to several national and international projects supported by ASI, ESA and she was the scientific responsible of CNR_ISSIA activity in LEWIS-EVG1-CT-2001-00055 and FP7-FIRESENSE project starting in December. She is member of IEEE society. Within IEEE Transc.and Geosc. Society she was co-chair of the IEEE Data Fusion Technical Committee (2002-2003). She is member of the ESA-EUSC image information-mining group.

Guido Pasquariello

He has been project leader of projects related to the classification of satellite remote sensing images, applications of Artificial Intelligence tools and Neural Network to digital image processing for Italian Space Agency. He participated to LEWIS-EVG1-CT-2001-00055 project for change detection.

Benedetto Biagi

Since 1982 he is a researcher at the National Research Council (CNR) and he works on mathematical models for hydrology and hydraulics, on Geographic Information Systems and on the development of applications in land modeling. He has been the scientific manager in several projects that involved CNR and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Ministero dei Lavori Pubblici and the European Economic Community.

Francesco P. Lovergine

He originally worked in the area of approximation methods for artificial vision and robotics. Since 1995 he joined CNR as a researcher. He gradually moved his interests in the context of distributed computing applied to remote sensing applications and more recently in the context of GIS applications and methods. Since 2004 he is the project manager of DebianGis, the main GIS oriented Linux worldwide distribution, and cooperates with some mainstream free software GIS projects such as GDAL/OGR and GRASS. 

Cristina Tarantino

Received the Laurea Degree in Physics from the University of Bari, Italy, in 1998. She has worked, as fellow in “High Training” at the Institute for Studies on Intelligent System for Automation (ISSIA) of the National Research Council (CNR). Since 2002 she is working as a contract researcher at ISSIA – CNR. Her main research activity is in the area of remote sensing image processing and pattern recognition methodologies. In particular, her interests include neural networks and statistical algorithms for classification purposes, both unsupervised and supervised methodologies, with pixel-based or object-based approaches. Main applications are in the production of land cover maps, in the change detection, etc. In these fields, she has conducted researches within several national and European projects.

Research Institute for GeoHydrological Protection (CNR-IRPI)

IRPI works on floods, droughts, mass movements, soil erosion, soil science, soil degradation and desertification with its six research centres distributed along Italy. The partecipants represent well the specialization in soil erosion, soil science and desertification. IRPI directed many national project, among which the activity of a National Group for Hydrogeological Disasters which lasted for about 20 years and supported the construction of the present Protezione Civile (civil protection service) in Italy, of which it remained one of the main scientific and technical support. Soil science, soil erosion, desertification and soil plant interaction are topics which have been mainly funded through EC funded projects and projects supported by local administrations.

Dino Torri

Physicist, research director, specialist in algorithm and model development, soil erosion, hillslope and catchment hydrology, desertification, soil-plant interactions. Researcher at CNR since 1982, he has worked as partner in several EC funded programmes such as EUROSEM, TERON, MWISED (as coordinator) on soil erosion model development, MEA-Scope (in a economic agrarian context), RECONDES and DESIRE (the latter ongoing) on desertification and FIRESENSE on wildfires (just started) . He was local scientific responsible of units working within a few national projects. He autored more than 100 scientific papers. 

Lorenzo Borselli

Geologist, expert in soil erosion, slope stability, flux connectivity, modelling. PhD in Soil Science (Florence University), initially worked at the Agronomy Insitute for Overseas in Florence then join the Florence IRPI group, With experience in Belgium, Spain, Zimbabwe and Mexico, he cooperated to some EU projects ALPMON, MWISED, TERON, RECONDES and is presently local responsible of the Italian partnership in the ongoing project DESIRE.

Istituto di Genetica Vegetale, (CNR-IGV)

The activities of the Istituto di Genetica Vegetale (IGV) in Bari, Italy, are focused on the safeguard and the preservation of the plant genetic resources. These objectives have been reached during the years through the activities of exploration, collection, multiplication, characterization and documentation, studies on genetic variation and on plant species.evolution.

Valeria Tomaselli

Graduated in Biology in 1993, obtained a PhD in 1998 in “Environmental Science – Phytogeography of Mediterranean territories” at the Botanic Department of the University of Catania, where she was involved in phytogeographycal research and in assessment of environmental quality in several sites of central-southern Italy. From 2001 she is researcher of CNR- Institute of Plant Genetics of Bari and takes part in national and European projects dealing in the monitoring of protected areas. She cooperated in the drawing up of landscape plans of Sicilia Region. She is Scientific partner of the INTERREG project “Integrated software development for monitoring and management in NATURA 2000 protected areas in Greece and Italy – Pilot implementation in common ecosystems in Greece and in Italy”. Coordination, University of Ioannina.

Istituto di Applicazioni del Calcolo, (CNR-IAC)

CNR-IAC researchers have developed competences in: numerical analysis, mathematical modeling, statistics, inverse problems, signal and image processing, mathematical physics, computational linear algebra, fluid mechanics, complex systems, dynamical systems, data analysis, optimization, control theory.

Carmela Marangi

PhD in Physics, researcher at CNR-IAC since 2001. Research activities on mathematical modeling, neural networks and chaotic maps, stochastic algorithms, clustering, numerical methods for optimal control. Application to remote sensing, and biomedical data. Reviewer for Optical Engineering, SPIE and EURASIP Journal on Applied Signal Processing.

Fasma Diele

Researcher at CNR-IAC since 1998. Her research interests concern numerical methods in linear algebra and differential equations in applied mathematics. Reviewer for SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis (SINUM) and Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics (JCAM). Reviewer for Chilean Research Fund Council (FONDECYT) for proposals competing for funds, 2006.