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The next appointment in the PhDTalks seminar series will take place on Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, in Grandori Room (Building 4), from 12:00 to 13:00 CET.

PhDTalks is a series of seminars and discussions among PhD candidates. The events aim to provide a space for networking among doctoral students and for engaging with the many projects developed within our department.

The speaker Sara Donzelli will deliver a seminar entitled “Beneath the Frescoes of Pompeii: the Use of GPR to Identify and Image Roman Masonry Arrangements”

At the end of the event, a light refreshment will be offered, sponsored by the department.

The seminar will also be accessible online at the following link.

Abstract
The structural evaluation of walls in Pompeii requires accurate knowledge of construction techniques hidden by plaster and frescoes, which prevent direct observation and preclude invasive investigation. To address this challenge, a non-destructive methodology based on high-frequency Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is proposed. A dedicated experimental setup enables surveys directly on decorated surfaces, improving signal quality while ensuring full compatibility with conservation requirements. A 2D approach supports the identification and mapping of masonry typologies, while 3D acquisition allows the imaging of surface masonry arrangements. The integration of these techniques provides a robust framework to support structural assessment and conservation management at Pompeii.

Speaker’s Bio
Sara holds an MSc in Structural Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, obtained in 2023. She is currently a PhD candidate in Structural, Seismic and Geotechnical Engineering (39th cycle).
She is developing a joint experimental and numerical approach for the assessment of buildings in the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. Currently, her research focuses on the use of Ground Penetrating Radar as a non-invasive methodology to characterise Roman masonry arrangements hidden by decorated surfaces.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to all genres of music and theatre.

Nikolas Galli e Gabriele Beretta, sono risultati vincitori dell’ultima call dell’Horizon Europe Connect Fund promosso dall’Imperial College di Londra.

Il programma finanzia, con un contributo fino a 10.000 sterline, attività di collaborazione internazionale finalizzate alla costruzione di proposte progettuali e consorzi per future opportunità nell’ambito di Horizon Europe, attraverso workshop, missioni presso università partner e partecipazione a conferenze.

Nel dettaglio, Gabriele Beretta partecipa al progetto Unsealing Europe’s Cities: An Atlas and Decision Tool for Soil, Water, Heat and Biodiversity Resilience, mentre Nikolas Galli è coinvolto nel progetto Harnessing AI to understand the hydrological and ecological impacts of agricultural shifts on global health.

Entrambe le iniziative si inseriscono in continuità con il lavoro sviluppato nell’ambito della European Talent Academy 2025, rafforzando ulteriormente le collaborazioni internazionali e le attività di ricerca del nostro dipartimento.

La professoressa Maria Cristina Rulli è stata premiata con la medaglia Volker 2026 “per la sua ricerca pionieristica e leadership globale nell’applicazione dell’idrologia alla sicurezza alimentare, idrica, e alla salute umana, con beneficio per la società e informando le policy in tutto il mondo”. La medaglia Volker è assegnata annualmente da IAHS, con UNESCO e WMO, ad una persona che abbia contribuito in modo eccezionale alle scienze idrologiche.

La cerimonia di consegna si terrà durante la 29esima Assemblea Generale dell’IUGG, prevista dal 16 al 22 Luglio 2027 al centro congressi Songdo Convensia, Incheon, Corea del Sud.

On Monday, March 16, a seminar titled “Large-scale testing for resilient infrastructure” will be held in Grandori Room (Building 4) at 16:15.
The seminar will be given by Prof. Anastasios Sextos, University of Bristol, UK.
Speaker’s bio
Anastasios Sextos (www.asextos.net) is Professor of Earthquake Engineering at the University of Bristol and Director of the Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens where he serves on a dual appointment. He is the Founding Director of the new UKCRIC National Facility in Soil–Foundation–Structure Interaction (SoFSI) in Bristol, where he also acted as the Head of the Earthquake and Geotechnical Engineering Research Group, the Founding Director of the MSc in Earthquake Engineering and Infrastructure Resilience, and a member of the UKCRIC Management Board. Between 2011 and 2026, he coordinated 40 internationally funded research grants including the GCRF-funded project on Seismic Resilience of Schools in Nepal, which delivered the world’s first building on a low-cost PVC-based seismic isolation system, awarded by the Anti-Seismic Systems International Society (ASSiSi). He serves on the drafting committee of Structural Eurocodes and chairs Greece’s National Pre-Earthquake Assessment Committee of Public Buildings. He is an Associate Editor for the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering, Earthquake Spectra and Journal of Earthquake Engineering. He has been a Research Visitor at University California Berkeley (2007), a Fulbright Research Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2012) and a National High-end Foreign Expert in China (2016-2019). He is the recipient of 20 national and international awards for academic performance, teaching, and research excellence. Anastasios has authored or co-authored 115 journal papers (94% Q1)  in the areas of experimental and computational earthquake engineering, dynamic soil-structure interaction, seismic resilience of critical energy and transportation networks, seismic design and assessment of bridges, community resilience, multiple-support excitation of extended structures, hybrid testing, machine learning and structural health monitoring.