PhD program in Security, Risk and Vulnerability
Curriculum Risk and Resilience Engineering for the Natural, Industrialized and Built environments

This curriculum aims to educate highly qualified researchers and professionals in the engineering fields related to the resilience of the natural, industrialized and built environments in where we live, in order to assess and tackle risks arising from natural hazards and anthropic activities and their impact on society, in terms of direct and indirect losses and their economic, social and environmental consequences.

The curriculum is strongly characterized by a multi-disciplinary and systemic approach favouring a cross-fertilization among different research areas.

The main research themes and topics in the curriculum are:

• Studies to assess and tackle risks arising from:
• natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, extreme weather and climate events
• anthropic activities such as pluvial floodings, deep excavations, explosions, landfills and waste management, vehicle and human collision, multimodal transportation of hazardous materials, oil and HNS spills
• industrial activities with chemical and process hazards

• Studies to assess the impacts (i.e. economic, social and environmental consequences) on:
• the natural environment such as atmosphere, soil and subsoil, fluvial and coastal environment
• industrial and civil buildings (including the monumental ones)
• the infrastructure and equipment related to transportation of people, goods and energy

• Tools to plan and support mitigation policies
• Loss assessment
• Emergency, recovery and safety management

The coordinator of the Curriculum is Professor Serena Cattari

Relevant publications:

Risk and resilience studies related to Anthropic activities

• SAUVAGEON D., BERARDI R. (2021). Modellazione della risposta di infrastrutture portuali soggette a dragaggio ed erosione localizzata del terreno di fondazione. Proceedings of XXVII National Geotechnical “La Geotecnica per lo sviluppo sostenibile del territorio e per la tutela dell’ambiente” (2020 – postponed 2021), Reggio Calabria, AG (In italian)
• Pirlone F., Spadaro I., Candia S. (2020). More Resilient Cities to Face Higher Risks. The Case of Genoa. Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 4825; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124825
• Pirlone, F., & Spadaro, I. (2020). The resilient city and adapting to the health emergency. TeMA - Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, 305-314. https://doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/6856
• Candia S., Pirlone F, Spadaro I., A. C. Taramasso (2020). Urban resilience and anthropic risks. The case of the Polcevera valley in Genoa. In Proceedings of the XXIV International Conference on Living and Walking in Cities, Tira, M. (Ed.), Pezzagno, M. (Ed.), Richiedei, A. (Ed.). Pedestrians, Urban Spaces and Health. London: CRC Press, https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003027379
• Candia S., Pirlone F., Spadaro I. (2019) “Sustainable urban mobility and urban safety and security. Case study: the city centre of Genoa”, in “Urban Transport”,WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 182, Ortega Riejos F.A. (eds), WIT Press, UK, ISBN 978-1-78466-299-8, pp. 187-198
• Ricci A., Burlando M., Repetto M.P., Blocken B. (2019) Simulation of urban boundary and canopy layer flows in port areas induced by different marine boundary layer inflow conditions Science of the Total Environment, 670, pp. 876–892, available on line 16 March 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.230
• Pirlone F., Spadaro I. (2018) “*The places and times in risk management. The case of the school system”, in “Environmental and territorial modelling for planning and design”, Leone A., Gargiulo C. (eds), FedOApress, ISBN 978-88-6887-048-5, Napoli, pp. 159-168
• Palla A., Colli, M., Candela, A., Aronica, G.T., Lanza, L.G. (2018) Pluvial flooding in urban areas: the role of surface drainage efficiency. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 11, S663-S676. doi: 10.1111/jfr3.12246
• Palla A., Gnecco I., La Barbera P. (2018) Assessing the hydrologic performance of a green roof retrofitting scenario for a small urban catchment. Water (Switzerland)10(8),1052. doi: 10.3390/w10081052
• Zhang S., Solari, G., Yang Q., Repetto M.P. (2018) Extreme wind speed distribution in a mixed wind climate Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 176, pp. 239-253. Elsevier B.V. - ISSN: 01676105 - DOI: 10.1016/j.jweia.2018.03.019
• Marzocchi R., Leotta M., Federici B., Delzanno G. (2017) The NARVALO project: real time collision avoidance system in a GIS environment based on precise GNSS positioning. GEAM Geoingegneria Ambientale e Mineraria, Anno LIV, n. 2, pp. 33-38.
• Candia S., Pirlone F. (2016) “*MSW: from pollution/degradation source to resource”, Tema Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, vol. 9, n.2, ISSN 1970-9889 - on line ISSN 1970-9870, /pp. 305-322/
• Pagnini C., M. Burlando, and M. P. Repetto (2015) Experimental power curve of small-size wind turbines in turbulent urban environment. Applied Energy 154, 112-121. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.04.117 – ISSN 0306-2619
• Passalacqua R (2012) “Aspetti giudiziari penali in un caso di dissesto indotto su edifici da uno scavo limitrofo”, in Atti del II° Convegno di Ingegneria Forense e del V° su Crolli, Affidabilità Strutturale, Consolidamento (IF CRASC ’12), Pisa 15-17 novembre 2012, Ed. Associazione Italiana di Ingegneria Forense (AIF), ISBN 978-88-89972-34-2, pp. 657-6

Risk and resilience studies related to Natural hazard

• Lagomarsino S., Cattari S., Ottonelli D. (2021) The heuristic vulnerability model:fragility curves for masonry buildings, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-021-01063-7
• Berardi R., Cambiaggi L. (2020). Prediction of slope movement effects on churches for the development of a fragility curve approach. In Geotechnical Research for Land Protection and Development. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, (Calvetti F., Cotecchia F. et al. eds), vol 40. Springer, Cham, First Online 23 June 2019, Print ISBN978-3-030-21358-9, Online ISBN978-3-030-21359-6, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21359-6_9, pp. 82-91.
• Boni, G., De Angeli, S., Taramasso, A.C. and G. Roth, Remote Sensing-Based Methodology for the Quick Update of the Assessment of the Population Exposed to Natural Hazards. Remote Sensing, Special Issue Remote Sensing for Disaster Risk Management, 12.23 (2020): 3943.
• Bovolenta, R., Iacopino, A., Passalacqua, R., Federici, B. (2020). Field measurements of soil water content at shallow depths for landslide monitoring. Geosciences (Switzerland) Open Access. Volume 10, Issue 10, October 2020, Article number 409, Pages 1-26.
• Ferrero, C., Cambiaggi, L., Vecchiattini, R., Calderini, C. (2020). “Damage assessment of historic masonry churches exposed to slow-moving landslides”, International Journal of Architectural Heritage (accepted for publication).
• Lagasio, M., Meroni, A., Boni, G., Pulvirenti, L., Monti-Guarnieri, A., Haagmans, R., Hobbs, S. and A. Parodi, Meteorological OSSEs for new Zenith Total Delay observations: impact assessment for the Hydroterra geosynchronous satellite on the October 2019 Genoa event, Remote Sensing 12.22 (2020): 3787
• Ottonelli D., Cattari S., Lagomarsino S (2020) Displacement-Based Seismic Loss Assessment of Masonry Buildings, Journal of Earthquake Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1080/13632469.2020.1755747
• Pagnini, L.C., Piccardo, G., Solari, G. (2020) VIV regimes and simplified solutions by the spectral model description Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics Volume 198, Article number 104100 DOI: 10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104100
• Sabbadin, P., Massabó, R., Berggreen, C., An improved analysis of a STB specimen for fracture characterization of laminates and foam-cored sandwich composites under mode III loads (2020) Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 236, art. no. 107198, DOI: 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2020.107198
• Solari G., M. Burlando, and M. P. Repetto (2020) Detection, simulation, modelling and loading of thunderstorm outflows to design wind-safer and cost-efficient structures. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 200, 104142, pp. 18
• Bovolenta R., Passalacqua, R., Federici B., Sguerso D. (2019) Monitoring of rain-induced landslides for the territory protection: the AD-VITAM project. In Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, ISSN:2366-2557, vol. 40, pp. 138-147, DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-21359-6_1
• Cambiaggi L., Berardi R. (2019) Identification and modelling of displacement fields due to slope movements for the vulnerability analysis of historic buildings. Proceedings of the XVII ECSMGE-2019 Geotechnical Engineering foundation of the future, ISBN 978-9935-9436-1-3, doi: 10.32075/17ECSMGE-2019-0357.
• Cambiaggi L., Berardi R. (2019) Investigation on the damages induced by slope movements on historic buildings: the case of San Nicolò di Capodimonte church in Liguria. Proceedings of the XVII ECSMGE-2019 Geotechnical Engineering foundation of the future, ISBN 978-9935-9436-1-3, doi: 10.32075/17ECSMGE-2019-0180.
• De Leo F., Besio G., Zolezzi G., Bezzi M. Coastal vulnerability assessment: Through regional to local downscaling of wave characteristics along the Bay of Lalzit (Albania) (2019) Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 19 (1), pp. 287-298
• Lagasio M., Pulvirenti L., Parodi A., Boni G., Pierdicca N., Venuti, G., Realini E., Tagliaferro G., Barindelli S. and Rommen B. (2019) Effect of the ingestion in the WRF model of different Sentinel-derived and GNSS-derived products: analysis of the forecasts of a high impact weather event. European Journal of Remote Sensing. 1-18, DOI: 10.1080/22797254.2019.1642799
• Lagomarsino S., Cattari S., Ottonelli D., Giovinazzi S (2019) Earthquake damage assessment of masonry churches: proposal for rapid and detailed forms and derivation of empirical vulnerability curves, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 17(6), 3327-3364.
• Massabò R., Darban H., (2019) Application of cohesive zone zig-zag theory to the modelling of mode II dominant delaminations in laminated composites, Structural Integrity Procedia, 18, 2019, 484-489, 10.1016/j.prostr.2019.08.190.
• Mucerino L., Albarella M., Carpi, L., Besio G., Benedetti A., Corradi N., Firpo M., Ferrari M. Coastal exposure assessment on Bonassola bay (2019) Ocean and Coastal Management, 167, pp. 20-31.
• Penna A., Calderini C., Sorrentino L., Carocci C., Cescatti E., Sisti R., Borri A., Modena C., Prota, A. (2019) Damage to churches in the 2016 central Italy earthquakes, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, S.I.: The 2016 Central Italy earthquakes, (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-019-00594-4)
• Silva V., Akkar S., Baker J., Bazzurro P., Castro J.M., Crowley H., Dolsek M., Galasso C., Lagomarsino S., Monteiro R., Perrone D., Pitilakis K., Vamvatsikos (2019) Current challenges and future trends in analytical fragility and vulnerability models, Earthquake Spectra, 35(4), 1927-1952 (open access)
• Simoes A., Bento R., Lagomarsino S., Cattari S., Lourenco (2019) Seismic assessment of nineteenth and twentieth centuries URM buildings in Lisbon: structural features and derivation of fragility curves, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 18(2), 645-672.
• Barbieri L, Massabò R, Berggreen C. (2018) The effects of shear and near tip deformations on interface fracture of symmetric sandwich beams. Eng Fract Mech 2018;201:298–321. doi:10.1016/j.engfracmech.2018.06
• Ferrando I., Federici B.& Sguerso D., (2018) 2D PWV monitoring of a wide and orographically complex area with a low dense GNSS network. Earth, Planets and Space, pp. 1-21, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-018-0824-6 Open Access: http://rdcu.be/KAge
• Repetto M.P., M. Burlando, G. Solari, P. De Gaetano, M. Pizzo, and M. Tizzi (2018) A web-based GIS platform for the safe management and risk assessment of complex structural and infrastructural systems exposed to wind. Advances in Engineering Software 117, 29–45. DOI: 10.1016/j.advengsoft.2017.03.002 – ISSN 0965-9978
• Bovolenta R.; Federici B.; Berardi R.; Passalacqua R.; Marzocchi, R.; Sguerso, D. (2017). Geomatics in support of geotechnics in landslide forecasting, analysis and slope stabilization. Geoingegneria Ambientale e Mineraria 151(2):57-62
• Pagnini, L.C., Freda, A., Piccardo, G. (2017) Uncertainties in the evaluation of one degree-of-freedom galloping onset European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering Volume 21(7-8), pages 1043-1063 DOI: 10.1080/19648189.2016.1150900
• Pulvirenti L., N. Pierdicca, G. Squicciarino, G.Boni, M. Chini, (2017) Mapping flooded vegetation using COSMO-SkyMed: comparison with polarimetric and optical data over rice fields, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 10(6), 2650-2662, DOI: 10.1109/JSTARS.2017.2711960
• Federici B., Bovolenta R, Passalacqua R.(2015) From rainfall to slope instability: an automatic GIS procedure for susceptibility analyses over wide areas. GEOMATICS, NATURAL HAZARDS & RISK Volume 6- Issue 5-7: The Role of Geomatics in Hydrogeological Risk Pages 454-472
• Thi Minh Hue Le, Domenico Gallipoli, Marcelo Sánchez,Simon Wheeler (2015) Stability and failure mass of unsaturated heterogeneous slopes, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 2015, 52(11): 1747-1761, https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2014-0190
• Lagomarsino, S., Cattari S. (2014) Fragility functions of masonry buildings (Chapter 5), pp.111-156. In SYNER-G: Typology Definition and Fragility Functions for Physical Elements at Seismic Risk: Elements at Seismic Risk, Geotechnical, Geological and Earthquake Engineering 27 (Eds: K. Pitilakis, H. Crowley, A.M. Kaynia), pp. 420. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7872-6_5
• D. G. Toll, J. Mendes, D. Gallipoli, S. Glendinning and P. N. Hughes (2012) Investigating the impacts of climate change on slopes: field measurements, Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications, 26, 151-161, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1144/EGSP26.17
• Toll D.G., S.D.N. Lourenço, J. Mendes, D. Gallipoli, F.D. Evans, C.E. Augarde, Y.J. Cui, A.M. Tang, J.C. Rojas, L. Pagano, C. Mancuso, C. Zingariello, A. Tarantino (2011) Soil suction monitoring for landslides and slopes. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 44: 23–33 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/1470-9236/09-010
• Passalacqua R (2002) “Vulnerabilità territoriale da frane e crolli in roccia”, Prog. UE INTERREG II – Cooperazione transfrontaliera Italia-Francia: Progetto GE.RI.A., Dossier Tematico n° 8, Collana Territorio e Ambiente, Edizioni del Delfino Moro, Albenga (SV), Dicembre 2002, ISBN 88-88397-05-1, pp. 1-37

Risk and resilience studies related to Industrial activities

• Fabiano, B., Reverberi, A.P., Varbanov, P.S. (2019) Safety opportunities for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles and short-cut approach to workplace risk evaluation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 209, pp. 297-308. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.161
• Fabiano, B., Vianello, C., Reverberi, A.P., Lunghi, E., Maschio, G. (2017) A perspective on Seveso accident based on cause-consequences analysis by three different methods. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 49, pp. 18-35. DOI: 10.1016/j.jlp.2017.01.021
• Palazzi, E., Currò, F., Fabiano, B. (2015) A critical approach to safety equipment and emergency time evaluation based on actual information from the Bhopal gas tragedy. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 97, pp. 37-48. DOI: 10.1016/j.psep.2015.06.009

Tools for surveying and mapping risk and resilience assessments

• Gagliolo S., Fagandini R., Passoni D., Federici B., Ferrando I., Pagliari D., Pinto L., Sguerso D. (2018) Parameter optimization for creating reliable photogrammetric models in emergency scenarios. Applied Geomatics, 10(4), pp. 501-514, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, ISSN 1866-9298.
• Gagliolo, S., Fagandini, R., Federici, B., Ferrando, I., Passoni, D., Pagliari, D., Pinto, L., and Sguerso, D. (2017) Use of UAS for the conservation of historical buildings in case of emergencies, Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-5/W1, pp. 81-88, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-5-W1-81-2017.
• Marzocchi R., Federici B., Cannata M., Cosso T., Syriou A. (2014) Comparison of one-dimensional and two-dimensional GRASS GIS models for flood mapping, Applied Geomatics, Volume 6, Issue 4, pp 245-254, DOI: 10.1007/s12518-014-0140-1,ed. Springer Verlag, ISSN: 1866-9298