I am a PhD student in Earth Observation, focusing on soil monitoring and analyzing desertification processes driven by climate change. For my research, I use GIS and WebGIS, advanced tools that enable me to analyze and visualize complex geographic data.
My academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in GIS, a master’s degree in Geography, and a second-level master’s in GIScience, which have provided me with interdisciplinary skills to address the challenges of soil and environmental analysis.
In my free time, I enjoy caving and speleology, an activity I combine with scientific research by participating in the “Underground Climate Change” project, studying the impact of climate change on cave atmospheres.
Sanna is a Ground Segment Engineer for cloud and AI solutions within the Directorate of Connectivity and Secure Communication (CSC) at ESA ESTEC. Focused on advancing the level of virtualisation and digitalisation in the satellite telecommunications ground segment. She teaches machine learning at ESA and is a frequent speaker and panellist on AI for communications technology.
Within in the framework of the Junior Professional Program, Sanna performs her rotation at the Φ-lab, supporting research into the early application of machine learning and AI in onboard SAR signal processing.
Before joining ESA, she worked in Swedish defence industry as a systems engineer and machine learning researcher for an airborne radar platform. Amon other things holding the role as system verification responsible towards customer and leading the development and introduction of autonomous verification methods. Furthermore, using data-driven processes for validating machine learning methods in safety-critical systems.
She holds a Master’s degree in Automation and Mechatronics from Chalmers University of Technology.
I am Noemi Mannucci, P.h.D. student in the National Doctoral Program in Earth Observation, coordinated by Sapienza University with the University of Florence.
My research focuses on the application of satellite data and Artificial Intelligence for assessing water-related ecosystem services. Primarily, I have worked on identifying and mapping Small Agricultural Reservoirs (SmARs) through the analysis of optical and SAR data, contributing to the creation of a national database designed to improve sustainable water resource management in agricultural contexts.
My name is Riccardo, and I am currently pursuing a PhD in Earth Observation, with a particular focus on change detection methodologies.
In my research, I explore techniques for monitoring and analysing environmental and urban changes using satellite-based data.
One of the key areas of my work is centred around the Iride mission, a project that leverages Earth observation technology to provide high-resolution imagery and precise data for tracking land surface changes over time.
Giorgia Guerrisi received the PhD degree in Computer Science, Control, and Geoinformation and Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, with honors, from the Tor Vergata University of Rome. She is currently a Postdoctoral researcher at the same university, where she is involved in several projects. Her research includes the application of Artificial Intelligence to Earth Observation data, with a particular focus on on-board processing. In particular. she studies efficient Artificial Intelligence-based algorithms for on-board image compression applied to multispectral and SAR data. Her research interests also include the utilization of Earth Observation data for environmental monitoring.
Carlos is a MSc student in Computational Science and Engineering at EPFL. He holds a BSc from University Carlos III of Madrid, during which he spent two years on study abroad scholarships. At Georgia Tech, Carlos engaged in research and sustainable technologies, and completed an internship in green hydrogen. His time at UC Berkeley introduced him to AI and product development, skills he later applied during an internship in electricity forecast in Silicon Valley.
During his master’s, Carlos has focused on AI-related projects. These include multi-agent Bayesian modeling for temperature control, a multi-modal DL model for hate speech detection in videos, and the application of recurrent CNNs to identify solar jets in videos of the Sun’s corona, in collaboration with a research fellow at ESA.
Carlos has a lifelong passion for geography, and as such, has always been fascinated by Earth Observation tools. He is excited to bring this enthusiasm to his professional work.
I am Adèle Shi, a recent graduate with an engineering degree, specializing in Earth Observation, from ISAE-SUPAERO, and a Master’s in Management with a major in Strategic Management from HEC Paris. My journey in Earth Observation began as a space consultant intern at Euroconsult (now Novaspace), where I contributed to several studies for the Earth Observation Data and Services Report and mapped commercial actors in the sector. I later joined ESA ESTEC (EOP-F) as an intern, where I worked on a pilot project laying the groundwork for a future Earth Observation Reference System Architecture.
I am Hannah Min and I work as an R&D Engineer at the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR). In my work I apply AI-methods to earth observation data. My projects are mainly in the security domain.
I have a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Amsterdam. Previously, I have worked as a data science consultant at Bit in Amsterdam.
I am enthusiastic about joining the Φ -lab as a visiting researcher. My research focuses on change detection and object detection with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery.
Sharon Gallo Carpentieri is a communication and partnership specialist with a robust background in international relations and global politics. She holds a second level master’s degree in International Public Affairs and has several years of experience with the United Nations, serving in diverse roles across Asia, Africa, and the United States.
Sharon began her journey with the European Space Agency (ESA) in November 2022 as a Communication and Coordination Officer in the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes. Following a six-month tenure as Communication Team Lead with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, she rejoined ESA, where she currently works as Communication and Event Coordinator for the Φ-lab. With a commitment to fostering effective communication and collaboration, Sharon is dedicated to advancing impactful initiatives within the global community.
Lorenzo Papa received a Bachelor’s degree in Computer and Automation Engineering and a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, in 2019 and 2021, respectively. In 2024, he pursued a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science Engineering (cum laude) at the same institution.
His research topics mainly focus on artificial intelligence and computer vision techniques. He has been a Visiting Researcher at the University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, and at the Φ-lab, European Space Agency (ESA) / European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), Frascati, Italy.
Currently, he works as a Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence for Earth Observation at the Φ-lab, ESA.
