STAFF

Andrea Contin, Full Professor of Physics and Renewable Energies - Group Leader

From 1998 to 2004, Prof. Contin has been the Chairman of the Professors Board in the Undergraduate Course in Environmental Sciences. From 2001 to 2007, Prof. Contin has been the President of the Ravenna Campus, with responsibilities for fund raising, for the establishment of collaborations with local and national authorities and for the overall management of the Campus. From 2009 to 2021, Prof. Contin has been the Director of the Interdepartmental Centre for Research in Environmental Sciences with responsibilities for the overall management of the Centre’s research activities. Within CIRSA, Prof. Contin is the leader of the Environmental Management Research Group, dealing with Environmental Certification, Energy System Analysis and the Bioeconomy. At the international level, Prof. Contin worked for about 20 years at the European Centre for Nuclear Research in Geneva on Particle Physics, and he participates in an experiment (AMS-02) on the measurement of cosmic rays installed in the International Space Station.

Diego Marazza, PhD in Environmental Sciences,  Adjunct Professor of Environmental Management- Responsible for Research & Innovation

Prof. Marazza works on models and system analysis applied to the soil carbon cycle, biomass treatment, regeneration, reuse and recycling of production waste for the development of new products, renewable energy and innovation. Recent activities include: carbon sequestration capacity through the use of vegetable chars (biochar), second generation carbons, study of methods for the mapping of residual biomass, industrial emissions and waste, long-term experiments for the agronomic application of biochar, soil quality indicators. He also act the responsible for R&I for the “Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for Waste Valorisation and Future Energy Supply at University of Bologna (FIP-WE@UNIBO)".

Responsible for the Research Line SOIL MODELING STUDIES (SMS)

Enrico Balugani, PhD on Soil Physics and Hydrogeology

PhD on Soil Physics and Hydrogeology, on the theme "modelling and measuring water vapour transport in soils under semi-arid conditions" at the Twente and Wageningen University, The Netherland.

Environmental scientist, soil physicist, hydrogeologist, Environmental modeller. Dr Balugani focus on development, modification and proper use of mathematical models applied to environmental problems, also working on meta-modeling and data analysis problems (especially to identify patters in space and time):
- mass and energy fluxes in the soil system;
- biogeochemical cycles (especially carbon) in soils and the environment;
- the soil microbial community dynamics.

Responsibles for the Research Line SECOND GENERATION CARBONS (2G-C)

Stefano Macrelli, PhD Chemical Engineering - Responsible for the R&I Unit: Organics

PhD in Chemical Engineering at the Lund University, Sweden.

His research activity includes techno-economic analysis of thermochemical processes for waste reduction and residues novel use; business model evaluation of circular economy opportunities for local and national industries; laboratory experiments on Biochar characterization.

Antonio Primante, MSc Environmental Sciences - Responsible for the R&I Unit: Nutrients & Energy

He worked for about 15 years in the industrial sector: water purification, sludge dehydration and biogas.

He founded and has been a member for 14 years of the RES Cooperative, to develop innovative anaerobic digestion systems, participating in the technical, administrative and commercial management, and in the design and construction of experimental equipment for anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis.
He has experience in the design, construction and assembly of mechanical, electrical and pneumatic components. He is also active in the production of composite materials containing carbon for water purification and for the capture of CO2 from gaseous flows.

Responsible for the Research Line ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT (ESA)

Serena Righi, PhD in Nuclear Engineering

Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna in Physics Applied to the Environment since 2002 and Associate Professor since 2021, she carries out her research activities in the field of environmental impact assessment. Particular attention is paid to the study and application of the Life Cycle Thinking approach and to the evaluation methods related to it. Engaged in national and international research projects, she collaborates with several European Institutes.