Riccardo D’Ercole is a Data Scientist and Economist with expertise in applying Artificial Intelligence techniques to natural language processing and remote sensing. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Padua and a master’s degree in economics with a specialization in Development from NOVA University Lisbon. In the early steps of his career, he conducted field-based research through internships in Latin America and Africa, including an impact evaluation of a community health worker program in Guinea-Bissau. Following these experiences, he worked for four years as a Data Scientist at a NATO agency, after which he obtained his PhD from the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC) as part of the inaugural cohort of the Italian National PhD in Artificial Intelligence. He now works as an Internal Research Fellow at the European Space Agency’s Φ-lab (Phi-lab). His research lies at the intersection of Development Economics and Remote Sensing, with deep expertise in Artificial Intelligence techniques. He focuses on using high temporal resolution Earth Observation data and machine learning to assess drought impacts, and the effectiveness of policy interventions on food security and economic outcomes in vulnerable regions.
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