Biography

I am a petrologist and volcanologist working on igneous systems, quantitative petrology, volcanic hazard assessment, and the application of machine-learning methods to Earth science. I obtained my PhD in 2006. After several years in academia, which I greatly enjoyed, family circumstances led me to step away from academic work in 2009 to care for my three young daughters, then aged 1, 1, and 3. During this period, I gained professional experience in e-marketing, web development, and e-commerce, where I was exposed to the early broad adoption of machine learning in these fields. When I returned to academia in 2014, this experience helped me shape a research line focused on applying machine learning to high-dimensional petrological and geochemical datasets. Since 2002 (with a pause from 2009 to 2014), I have also developed and managed a LA-ICP-MS laboratory that supports research in tephrochronology, magma dynamics, and crustal evolution. I devote significant effort to teaching and training through university courses, international short courses, and two books on Python and machine learning for Earth scientists. Over the past decade, I have published more than 100 articles in leading international scientific journals, as well as two books, and over the last five years, I have secured approximately €6 million in competitive research funding from European and local sources. I conceived and proudly coordinate the MSCA REALISE Doctoral Network and REALI3SE Staff exchange projects, two major collaborative initiatives in igneous petrology. These projects are designed to connect igneous petrologists and volcanologists with data scientists and leading machine learning experts worldwide to address timely and challenging scientific problems related to hazard assessment, risk mitigation, and the emplacement of fertile critical raw material deposits. I have also been invited to speak at international conferences and leading academic institutions on topics such as Machine Learning in petrology and volcanology. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, looking after my dog, and reading about the philosophy of science.

Recent Funding Achievements

Over the past few years, I have secured approximately € 6 M in funding. I am always eager to build new connections that broaden my skills and enrich my perspective. I strongly believe that collaboration is essential to advancing research and generating new knowledge.

• Project title: "BRIDGING IGNEOUS PETROLOGY AND MACHINE LEARNING FOR SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Deriving New Skills in Volcanic Hazard Assessment and the Economy of Critical Raw Materials" - Funding Scheme: MSCA Doctoral Network - Project Duration: 2026/2030 - Role: PI and Coordinator – Budget: 4.356.827,64 € - DOI: 10.3030/101226206 - REALISE Website

• Project title: "Bridging Igneous Petrology and Machine Learning through Intersectoral, Interdisciplinary, and Intercontinental Staff Exchanges" - Funding Scheme: MSCA Staff Exchange - Project Duration: 2026/2030 - Role: PI and Coordinator – Budget: 1.172.340,00 € - Grant Agreement stage

• Project title: "VOLC-LAPSE: Exploring uncharted realms of volcanic eruptions using experimental petrology and ground deformation data" - Funding Scheme: MUR – PNRR – Return (Multi-risk science for resilient communities under a changing climate) extended partnership – Spoke 3 – Earthquake and volcanoes – Cascade Funding - Project Duration: 2024/2025 - Role: Co-Principal Investigator – Budget: 350.000 €

• Project title: "AI-VISIO-LAB: Prototyping an Immersive Platform for Scientific Big Data Processing and Visualization in Astrophysics and Planetary Geology" - Funding Scheme: MUR – PNRR – ICSC (National Research Center for High-Performance Computing, Big Data, and Quantum Computing) – Spoke 3 – Astrophysics and Cosmos Observation – Cascade Funding - Project Duration: 2024/2025  - Role: Principal Investigator – Budget: ~200.000 €

• Project title: "Civil Safety and Security for Society" - Funding Scheme: University of Perugia, base research funding - Project Duration: 2024/2026 - Role: WP leader – Total Budget: 450.000 € - WP Budget: 120.000 €

• Project title: "COMET - Consolidating the radiocarbon calibration over the 12-40 ka interval using paired 14C and 40Ar/39Ar dating of Mediterranean tephra" - Funding Scheme: MUR-PRIN - Project Duration: 2024/2025 - Role: Research Unit Leader – Total Budget: 229.824 € – Unit Budget:~100.000 €

• Project title: "Volcanoes for Cryosphere and Atmosphere (VolCA) - Volcano plumbing systems and eruptions in northern Victoria Land: implications for ice cover and atmospheric circulation" - Funding Scheme: MUR-PNRA - Project Duration: 2024/2026 - Role: Research Unit Leader – Total Budget:~300.000 € – Unit Budget:~100.000 €

• Project title: "Study of Multi-Hazard Scenarios for Natural Disasters in Central-Southern Italy and Sicily: Understanding the Past and Present to Protect the Future" - Funding Scheme: University of Perugia, base research funding - Project Duration: 2023/2024 - Role: Principal Investigator – Budget: ~95.000 €

Community Involvement

• 2022 – Now: Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences, Associate Editor

• 2020 – Now: American Mineralogist, Associate Editor

• Feb 2026: Invited workshops on the Application of Machine Learning in Igneous Petrology at the China University of Geosciences (Prof. K.Qiu), Zhejiang University (Prof. ZhangZhou), and Hong Kong University (Prof. Weiran Li).

• Dec 2025: Organizer of a thematic session at the AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans (USA): "Advances in Machine Learning for Solid Earth Geoscience."

• July 2024: Invited Speaker at the 2024 Goldschmidt conference in Chicago. Title of the contribution: "Modern Igneous Petrology Needs More, High-Quality, Data: A Tribute to GEOROC and PetDB", session "25 years of GEOROC and PetDB: the past, present and future of research with global geochemical databases."

• Jan 2024: Invited Speaker at the 2024 Machine Learning in Solid Earth Geoscience workshop in Santa Fe (USA), organized by  Center for NonLinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory and by the Department of Energy Office of Basic Science, Geoscience Program. Title of the contribution: "Machine Learning in Petrology and Volcanology: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives."

• July 2023: Organizer of a thematic session at the Goldschmidt 2023 in Lyon: "Dynamics and timescales in magmatic reservoirs, conduits and dikes."

• Jun 2023: Invited Seminars on the Application of Machine Learning in Igneous Petrology at the China University of Geosciences (Prof. K.Qiu), Zhejiang University (Prof. ZhangZhou).

• July 2022: Organizer of a thematic session at the  Goldschmidt 2022 in Honolulu: "From source to surface: Characterizing magma generation and ascent processes from the rock record."

• 2015 – 2019: American Mineralogist, Guest Associate Editor for the special collection entitled “Dynamics of Magmatic Processes.”

• Jun 2020: Organizer of a thematic session at the Goldschmidt 2020 in Virtual mode: "Constraining Petrological and Geochemical Variations in Magmas to Capture the Evolution of Volcanoes over Space and Time."

• May 2020: Organizer of a thematic session at the EGU General Assembly in Virtual mode: "The Dynamics of Magmatic Plumbing System."

• Sept 2019: Keynote Speaker at the 2019  Joint SIMP, SGI, and SOGEI Congress (Parma, Italy). Session: “New Developments and Challenges in Volcanology: Insights from Experimental, Analytical and Field Studies”. Talk title: “Volcanic plumbing system dynamics: unraveling rates and timescales of magma transfer, storage, and eruption”

• Apr 2019:  Organizer of a thematic session at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna (Austria): "Rates, timescales and mechanisms of magmatic and volcanic processes: from mantle source to emplacement or eruption."

• Dec 2018: Organizer of a thematic session at the AGU Fall Meeting in Washington DC (USA): "Origin and Timescales of Magmatic Systems: Discussing Ages, Rates, Transport, and Storage Processes of Magmas from the Source to Emplacement or Eruption."

• Dec 2017: Organizer of a thematic session at the AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans (USA): "Processes of Magma Crystallization from Depth to Surface."

• Nov 2016: Organizer of a thematic session at the Cities on Volcanoes 9 in Puerto Varas (Chile): "Mind the Gap! Techniques to overcome multi-scale issues in geological and geomorphic processes."

• Jun 2016 - now: Organizer of the international workshop entitled “Application of Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to Earth Sciences" in Perugia.

• Apr 2016: Organizer of a thematic session at the 2016 European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna (Austria): " Mind the Gap! Techniques to overcome multi-scale issues in geological and geomorphic processes."

• Aug 2015: Organizer of a thematic session at the 2015 Goldschmidt conference in Prague (Czech Republic): "Dynamics of Magmatic Processes: From Magma Mixing to Crystal Residence Time."

Relevant Scientific Talks

• 2024 – Invited Talk at Goldschmidt2024 (On-site, Chicago). Session: “25 years of GEOROC and PetDB: the past, present and future of research with global geochemical databases”. Talk title: “Modern Igneous Petrology Needs More, High-Quality, Data: A Tribute to GEOROC and PetDB”

• 2024 – Scientific Talk at EGU2024 (On-site, Wien). Session: “Old and new methods in solid Earth sciences, from geochronology to machine learning, from Archean to present”. Talk title: “Machine Learning in Igneous Petrology and Volcanology: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives”

• 2024 – Invited Talk at the Machine Learning in Solid Earth Geoscience Conference organized by the Center for NonLinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory (On-site, Santa Fe). Talk title: “Machine Learning in Petrology and Volcanology”

• 2023 – Invited Scientific Seminars and Lectures at the China University of Geosciences and Zhejiang University (On-site, Beijing and Hangzhou). Seminar title: “Machine Learning Applications in Petrology and Volcanology: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives”

• 2019 – Keynote Scientific Talk at Joint SIMP, SGI, and SOGEI Congress (On-site, Parma). Session: “New Developments and Challenges in Volcanology: Insights from Experimental, Analytical and Field Studies”. Talk title: “Volcanic plumbing system dynamics: unraveling rates and timescales of magma transfer, storage, and eruption”