Sustainability for Engineering and Science : A Multidisciplinary approach

Sustainability for Engineering and Science provides a comprehensive overview of sustainability issues related to the built environment and in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Silvia Serranti is Full Professor of Raw Materials Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials and Environment (DICMA). She is a member of the University Technical-Scientific Committee on Sustainability and serves as Sapienza's representative in the "Resources and Waste" working group within the Italian Universities Network for Sustainable Development (RUS). She is President of the Civil and Industrial Engineering Teaching Area Council (CAD-ICI) at the Latina campus, coordinating the BSc in Environmental Engineering for Sustainable Development and the MSc in Green Industrial Engineering for Sustainable Development. Her research activity focuses on circular economy, sustainable resource management, and urban mining, with particular expertise in the application of advanced spectroscopic and imaging techniques for the characterization and valorization of waste and secondary raw materials. She coordinates the RawMaLab (Raw Materials Laboratory) and has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers indexed in Scopus and has been involved as coordinator and participant in numerous national and European research projects. Her work aims to foster a materials-for-sustainability approach, bridging research, education and industrial implementation to support the transition toward a circular and resource-efficient future.

Francesco Cioffi is a former Associate Professor of Hydraulics at the Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering of Sapienza University of Rome, where he served until his retirement on 1 November 2025. His research interests include experimental hydraulics, with particular focus on laboratory and field measurements of velocity and turbulence; environmental hydraulics, including hydraulic and water-quality modelling and solid transport processes; and applied hydrology, with emphasis on the relationships between floods, droughts, and climate change. His current research activity focuses on changes in rainfall patterns over the last century, statistical downscaling methodologies for the projection of rainfall, temperature, and sea level in coastal areas under global warming scenarios, forecasting models for tropical cyclone rainfall and flood events, and the development of early-warning systems for floods and droughts. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated on more than a dozen research projects funded by Italian public institutions. These projects addressed a wide range of topics, including the control and management of coastal erosion processes, the design and environmental assessment of inshore and offshore aquaculture systems, the recovery and management of water quality in lagoons, rivers and lakes, the control of tidal dynamics in the Venice Lagoon, the management of solid transport in rivers and reservoirs, the development of flooding early warning systems and the assessment of climate vulnerability of crops in developing countries. He has taught courses in fluid mechanics, environmental fluid mechanics, hydroclimatology, and sustainability science.

Livio De Santoli is member of the Board of Italian Authority for Energy, Environment and Waste 2026-2033. He is Full Professor (ING-IND/11) in Sapienza University of Rome, with chair in Energy Management (Faculty of Engineering, Master of Science in Energy Engineering) and Chair of Technical Systems (Faculty of Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture). He has been from 2018 - to 2020 Pro-Rector for Energy Policies and for Sustainability from 2021 to 2025. From 2008 - to 2017 he has been Energy Manager for Sapienza, University of Rome. Other activities include: Responsible RUS (Rete delle Università Sostenibili) for Sapienza University, Responsible of Network of Sustainable Universities, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture Valle Giulia, Director of the CITERA Research Centre, Director of the Master "Strategy Energy Management Systems, and "Strategy Energy Management Systems", Member of the Scientific Committee of the National Energy Cluster, President of the Steering Committee of the "FREE Coordination", President of AiCARR, Italian Association of Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration AiCARR, Italian Association of Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration, Member of the International Advisory Board of the international journal Building Services Engineering Research & Technology (UK). He has been President of the ASN Commission macroarea C2, National scientific qualification. His activities regarding Energy Strategies include the Energy Plan for Rome, the Energy Plan for Molise Region, the Energy Plan fro Sapienza University of Rome, the masterplan of Castel Del Giudice and Civitavecchia. He is author of more than 250 papers in the field of Energy Management, RES, Energy planning, 15 university books and 5 essay writings.

Angelo Lalli is a distinguished academic and professional in the field of administrative law, with a career spanning academia, public institutions and scholarly activity. He is a tenured Associate Professor at Sapienza University of Rome and a lawyer qualified to appear before the higher courts. He has also obtained the national qualification for full professorship. He carries out extensive academic work, teaching administrative law, environmental and sustainability law, and the public regulation of the economy. He is a member of Sapienza's Technical-Scientific Committee for Sustainability. His institutional experience is significant: he has worked at the Italian Competition Authority, where he held senior positions, and at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers during the Monti Government, dealing with legislative and regulatory activities. He has also taken part in ministerial commissions and national working groups on environmental, economic and bioeconomy issues. He currently serves as a consultant to the Technical Mission Structure at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, where he is involved in strategic guidance, planning, analysis, research, design and specialised advisory activities concerning the country's key infrastructures (motorways, railways, ports, airports and social housing). He is also an adviser to the Minister of Health. He is the author of numerous academic publications, monographs and edited volumes on administrative law, competition, the environment and digital technologies. He regularly participates as a speaker at national and international conferences. His profile reflects a strong integration of academic research, institutional activity and professional engagement.

Fausto Manes is Full Professor of Ecology Department of Environmental Biology, "Sapienza" University of Rome". Retired since November 1, 2021. Professor Emeritus of Ecology, by Decree of the Minister of University and Research dated January 19, 2023. Holder of the Ecology and Applied Ecology courses. Has also held the following Courses: Botany, Agricultural Chemistry, Plant Ecology, Complements of Applied Ecology, Urban and Environmental Ecology, Ecology and Sustainable Development. Response of natural and crop Mediterranean plant species to environmental stress factors (atmospheric pollutants and climate change); ▪ Analysis of vegetation and environmental quality in urban areas and in natural areas, and quantification of Regulating Ecosystem Services provided by vegetation; ▪ Development of models for ecosystems analysis, simulation and mapping of structural features, functional processes and Ecosystem Services; ▪ Enhancement of Green Infrastructures and more generally of Natural Capital through the design of "Nature-based Solutions" for the improvement of the quality of life; ▪ Urban and peri-urban forests to improve air quality and regulate local climate for the well-being of citizens; ▪ Estimation, also through the analysis of satellite remote sensing data, of the removal of atmospheric pollutants and temperature mitigation by vegetation and monetary evaluation of the relative Ecosystem Service. He has authored more than 200 scientific papers on international journals, book chapters and monographies; 149 SCOPUS database, h-index: 31.

Luca Persia is a Professor of Transport Policies, Sustainability Science, and Road Safety at the Research Centre for Transport and Logistics (CTL) of Sapienza University of Rome, where he also serves as Director. He is also Chairman of CTLup, a university spin-off startup aimed at fostering innovation, technology transfer, and the market uptake of research results in the fields of transport, logistics, and sustainable mobility. With a career spanning over twenty-five years, he has developed extensive expertise in urban transport systems, road safety, sustainable mobility, and innovative approaches to transport planning. His work integrates research and strategic applications across international initiatives supported by the European Commission, the World Bank, OECD, and UNECA, often in coordination or scientific leadership roles. His research focuses on road accident analysis, safety countermeasures, sustainable transport policies, cycling mobility systems, and intelligent transport systems, supported by a multidisciplinary team within the CTL. He is actively involved in major international research and policy networks, serving as President of FERSI (Forum of European Road Safety Research Institutes) and contributing to organizations such as IRTAD, ETSC, and ECTRI in several coordination and advisory roles. He holds a master's degree in civil and transport engineering and a PhD in transport engineering from Sapienza University of Rome.

Davide Shingo Usami is a University Researcher at the Research Centre for Transport and Logistics at Sapienza University of Rome, with over two decades of scholarly activity in road safety and sustainable mobility. He is one of the founder of CTLup, a university spin-off startup, focused on the valorisation and transfer of research results into innovative solutions for transport, logistics, and sustainable mobility. His research focuses on road accident analysis, safety performance assessment, and transport systems planning, with a strong emphasis on quantitative and data-driven methodologies. His work contributes to applied research activities supporting evidence-based decision-making in transport and road safety. He holds an MSc in Environmental Engineering and a PhD in Transport Engineering from Sapienza University of Rome.

Davide Astiaso Garcia is Full Professor of Energy Systems at the Department of Electrical and Energy Engineering of Sapienza University of Rome. He is the Secretary General of the Italian Wind Energy Association (ANEV). He is the Rector's Delegate for Sustainability at Sapienza University of Rome, as well as Sapienza's representative within the Universities Network for Sustainable Development (RUS) Agreement. His full operating skills include, among others: Wind Energy, other renewable energies, smart energy systems, energy efficiency in buildings. Astiaso Garcia has an extensive publication record, including more than 190 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals indexed in Scopus database. Astiaso Garcia's publications have received over 6.500 citations in Scopus, where he has an H-index of 48. He has a body of funded research comprising over 2.5M in European research projects on competitive funds and he works as expert of the European Commission for the evaluation of Horizon Europe project proposals. In particular, he has participated in more than 15 European and national research projects in the field of renewable energies and smart energy systems (in many cases as Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator). Since 2019, he is included in the World's Top 2% Scientists List in the Energy field both for the whole carrier and for the last year publications according to the "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators" Elsevier and SciTech Strategies (Stanford University). His research activities on the energy transition of the smaller islands were selected among the 100 Italian Renewable Energy Stories of the report promoted by Symbola - Fondazione per le qualità italiane and ENEL, in collaboration with KEY - The Energy Transition Expo, dedicated to technologies developed in the world of renewables. He is currently among the Top Italian Scientists. National census of the scientists and scholars with the greatest impact, measured with the h-index value. Research area: Engineering - Energy.