CV in brief

• 2022 – presente Head of the Structural and Geotechnical Department

• 2022 – presente Chairman of the Italian Geotechnical Society

• 2013 – 2019 Director of the Civil Engineering School at Sapienza University of Rome

• 2006 – present   Full Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome

• 2005 – 2012       Coordinator of the Doctorate Course in Geotechnical Engineering

• 2004                    Qualified to the position of Full Professor

• 2005 – 2006       Associate Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome

• 1998 – 2005       Associate Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at University of Messina

• 1992 – 1998       Scientific responsible of the Geotechnical Laboratory of the Department

• 1991 – 1998       Lecturer of Geotechnics at Sapienza University of Rome

• 1989                    Research Doctorate in Geotechnical Engineering

• 1984              Laurea cum laude in Civil Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome

Teaching Position and Institutional Duties

• Head of the Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering

• Professor of Foundations and earth retaining structures – Master of Science (Laurea Magistrale) in Civil Engineering

• Professor of Deep excavations and tunnelling in urban environment – Master of Science (Laurea Magistrale) in Civil Engineering

• Board member of the PhD in Geotechnical and Structural Engineering (University of Rome La Sapienza)

formerly

• Head of the Section “Engineering” of the Department of Geotechnical and Structural Engineering

• Director of the Civil Engineering School at the University of Rome La Sapienza

• Coordinator of the Doctorate Course in Geotechnical Engineering (2005-2012)

• Professor of Slope Stability – Master of Science (Laurea Magistrale) in Civil Engineering (1998-2009)

• Head of the Geotechnical Laboratory - Department of Geotechnical and Structural Engineering (1992 – 1998)

Recent assignments, memberships

• • Chairman of the Italian Geotechnical Society

  • Member of UNI U7307 and SC7 technical committees for Geotechnical Design

  • Member of Technical committee TC206 of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering – ISSMGE – for Observational method (delegate)

  • Member of Technical committee TC305 of ISSMGE for Megacities (corresponding member)

formerly

• Member of the Editorial board of “Rivista Italiana di Geotecnica” (Italian Journal of Geotechnics)

• Member of SC7/WG3/TG4-Retaining Structures for EN1997-1 systematic review

• Member of the Advisory board of the Italian Geotechnical Association (AGI)

• Member of the Advisory board of the Italian Committee for Large Dams (ITCOLD)

• Member of the Working groups and Technical committees for the maintenance of the Italian building code

• Member of SC7/WG3/TG1-Slopes for EN1997-1 systematic review

Main scientific interests and skills

The research activity, also carried out in the cooperation with Italian and foreign universities, concerned the main research topics in Geotechnical Engineering.

Earth retaining structures, deep open excavations and tunnels

• • Analysis of deep open excavations and prediction of the induced displacement field: comparison between observed and computed behaviour of instrumented full-scale deep open excavations and tunnels

  • Analysis of deep open excavations modelling the installation effects of diaphragm walls via two- and three-dimensional numerical analyses: influence of panel installation in the induced displacement field

  • Study of the interaction of tunnelling and deep excavations with massive historical buildings accounting for the weight and the stiffness of load-bearing masonry structures assimilated to embedded equivalent solids.

  • Reduction of ground movements induced by deep open excavations using: pre-installed piles at the dredge line; pre-installed soil improvement in front of the wall; pre-installed sacrificial cross-walls inside the excavation area; pre-installed buttress-walls inside the excavation area

  • Evaluation of compensation grouting efficiency through laboratory tests on large samples

  • Reduction of ground movements induced by tunnelling via pre-installed embedded barriers made by diaphragm walls or a line of adjacent piles

  • Seismic behaviour and performance-based design of reinforced-earth retaining structures

  • Capacity design of retaining structures and bridge abutments founded on piles

Earth structures and slopes

• • Seismic performance of zoned and homogeneous earth dams using de-coupled approaches, trough one- or two-dimensional ground response analysis

  • Seismic performance of zoned and homogeneous earth dams using fully coupled approaches, through two-dimensional FE or FD dynamic analyses performed in the time domain describing soil behaviour in terms of effective stresses

  • Seismic stability of natural slopes and excavation faces: evaluation of the equivalent seismic coefficient calibrated on given levels of seismic performance

  • Evaluation of amplification/de-amplification of ground motion in different schemes of infinite slope through two-dimensional ground response analyses

  • Slope stabilisation through gravity drainage systems made by draining trenches or sub-horizontal tubular drains

  • Slope stabilisation through infinite o finite barriers made by embedded adjacent piles

Foundations

• • Seismic behaviour and performance-based design of massive caisson foundations of bridge piers

  • Seismic behaviour and performance-based design of foundation systems of long span suspended bridges

  • Back-analysis of instrumented full-scale structures such as piled foundations and oil tanks founded on stabilised columns

  • Analysis of the behaviour of instrumented large-diameter bored piles: observed influence of negative friction on piles groups and comparison with computed behaviour

Mechanical behaviour of stiff clays

• Use of different constitutive laws to describe the progressive disruption of soil microstructure along compressive and deviator stress paths

• Influence of soil de-structuring of a stiff clay on the critical state condition and the bounding surface

• Influence of soil micro-structure on strength and compressibility parameters of stiff clays

• Dependence of shear stiffness on stress path direction and evaluation of anisotropy of a natural clay

• Evaluation of shear stiffness along stress paths experienced by the soil close to deep open excavations

• Measurement of small-strain shear modulus and evaluation of its dependence on stress state and history

• Comparison between static and dynamic measurements of shear modulus on undisturbed samples of stiff clays a small to medium strain levels

• Temporal evolution of the swelling processes of reconstituted clays at different values of the overconsolidation ratio;

• Capability of Terzaghi’s consolidation theory to predict the axial strain and the pore water pressure observed in one-dimensional consolidation processes

• Strain localisation observed in triaxial compression tests on undisturbed samples of stiff and overconsolidated clays

• Influence of soil dilatancy on the shear strength of reconstituded fine-grained soils and cemented coarse grained soils

• Effects of weathering and swelling on the shear strength and compressibility of a very stiff and overconsolidated clay

Mechanical characterisation and mechanical properties of foundation soils

• • Mechanical characterisation of the foundation soils of the Tower of Pisa in the framework of the critical state soil mechanics

  • Study of the subsidence phenomena observed on the silt-clayey soils of a mining landfill and comparison with experimental observations

  • Characterization of treated soil columns through on-site and laboratory tests and study of the geotechnical problems related to the construction on landfill sites.

  • Characterisation and engineering properties of natural fine-grained deposits and related geotechnical problems

Roles in main research projects

• Research project of major interest, PRIN n. 2017 YPMBWJ on Risk Assessment of Earth Dams and River Embankments to Earthquakes and Floods (REDREEF), funded by the Italian Ministry of Education University and Research (MIUR) – Coordinator of the Research unity of Rome La Sapienza.

• Research project funded by the University of Rome La Sapienza (Large projects 2016)) on Prevention of damage induced by tunnelling and deep excavation to historical buildings – Research coordinator.

• Department of Civil Protection (DPC) – Network of University Laboratories of Seismic Engineering (RELUIS) 2017-2020: Framework agreement on Vulnerability and Seismic Risk – National coordinator of Working Package 2 – Slope stability.

• Department of Civil Protection (DPC) – Network of University Laboratories of Seismic Engineering (RELUIS) 2014-2016: Framework agreement on Vulnerability and Seismic Risk – National coordinator of Working Package 2 – Earth Dams.

• DPC – RELUIS 2010-2013: Technological and normative innovations in seismic engineering – National coordinator of Macro-theme MT3 – Retaining Structures.

• DPC – RELUIS 2005-2008: Innovative procedures for seismic design of retaining structures and evaluation of slope stability – National coordinator of Research Line 6.3 – Slope Stability.

• Research projects of relevant national interest (15), research project funded by the European Community (1), research contracts of relevant economical support (12).

Affiliations

• • AGI (Italian Geotechnical Society)

  • ISSMGE (International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering)

  • AGI-IGS Italian Geotechnical Society - International Geosynthetics Society

Rome 09/10/2022