Agricultural engineering

The division focuses on hydraulic, hydrological, mechanical, technological, structural and territorial aspects related to agricultural and livestock systems, agro-industry, precision agriculture, as well as to rural areas and landscape, sustainable use of natural resources and environment protection.

Keywords: Buildings, CFD, Erosion, Food quality, GIS, Hydro-morphology, Irrigation, Landscape, Planning, PLF, Safety, Sensors, Tillage, Tractors, Water.

Main research fields

  • Agricultural hydraulics and watershed protection

Sustainable agricultural water management, irrigation and drainage systems, precision irrigation, digital solutions for water management in agriculture, modelling of irrigation systems, nature-based solutions (NBS) for water treatment and retention, natural systems (constructed wetlands) for wastewater treatment and irrigational reuse, agricultural drainage water treatment, erosion and soil protection, hydrology of small catchments, rivers hydro-morphology, soil hydrology, bioengineering techniques.

  • Agricultural mechanics

Experimental and numerical characterization of agricultural machineries, agro-industrial and food processes, biological and non-conventional materials. Development of testing procedures for agricultural machines safety and performance. Methods for reducing the impact of chemicals and physico-mechanical agents on workers. Multivariate statistics and soft-computing methods applied to complex data. Innovative physical techniques for food processes. Sensors and control systems to support agricultural and food processes.

  • Rural buildings and agro-forest land planning

Sustainable design of farm and agro-industrial buildings, innovative and bio-based building materials, thermal/CFD analysis/simulations, environmental control, energy and water efficiency, renewable sources, nZEB, emission reduction. Precision Livestock Farming, structures and systems for animal welfare, productivity and monitoring. GIS, precision agriculture, multicriteria land suitability and landscape analysis, planning, design. Green systems/infrastructures, green/health/safety nexus.

People

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Guido Baldoni

Associate Professor

keywords: CO2 Sequestration, Waste recycling, Long-term experiments, Crop rotation, cropping techniques, N use efficiency, Crop
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Alberto Barbaresi

Associate Professor

keywords: Energy efficiency, building modelling, rural and food processing building, green systems, monitoring and data analysis
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Gabriele Baroni

Associate Professor

keywords: soil hydrology, agricultural water management, precision agriculture, geophysical method, soil-plant atmosphere
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Stefano Benni

Associate Professor

keywords: FARM BUILDING, PRECISION LIVESTOCK FARMING, AGROINDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS, LANDSCAPE PLANNING, SEISMIC DESIGN, LAND-USE
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Marco Bovo

Associate Professor

keywords: rural buildings, FEM analysis, renewable energy
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Chiara Cevoli

Associate Professor

keywords: numerical simulation, multivariate statistics, artificial neural network, physical properties of agri-food products,
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Angelo Fabbri

Associate Professor

keywords: CFD, food engineering, food processing simulation, numerical simulation, neural networks, physical properties of food
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Stevo Lavrnic

Senior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: wastewater treatment, wastewater reuse, constructed wetlands
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Paolo Liberati

Associate Professor

keywords: climatization, computer science and electronics, animal welfare, automation, simulation models, animal housing,
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Giuseppe Mancuso

Junior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: Wastewater treatment, Water reclamation
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Mirko Maraldi

Associate Professor

keywords: Biomass valorisation, Bamboo, Modelling
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Michele Mattetti

Associate Professor

keywords: Tractors, Agricultural machines, Machine durability, Optimization techniques, Data analysis, Accelerated testing, Field
keywords: water management - soil moisture - irrigation scheduling - precision agriculture and viticulture - sustainability -
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Giovanni Molari

Full Professor

keywords: accelerated field tests, biomass, agricultural machinery, tractor, mission profile
keywords: Geographic Information System, Energy Efficiency, Smart Control
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Fabio Pezzi

Associate Professor

keywords: sprayers, mechanisation, vineyard, biological control, fertilizer distribution, enological plants

Luigi Ragni

Associate Professor

keywords: NIR, Vibrations, Noise, Tractor-implement system, Gas-plasma, Dielectric properties, Pulsed electric fields
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Valda Rondelli

Full Professor

keywords: Safety of agricultural machines, Tractor rollover, Sprayers, Agricultural and forestry tractor, Filtered and
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Enrica Santolini

Junior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: Ventilation systems, Indoor Climate, CFD, LCA, Greenhouses and protected cropa, Wine cellar, Livestock farming, Animal
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Patrizia Tassinari

Full Professor

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Daniele Torreggiani

Full Professor

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Attilio Toscano

Full Professor

keywords: Agricultural water management, Wastewater reuse, Constructed wetlands, Irrigation and drainage
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Francesca Valenti

Associate Professor

keywords: renewable energy, agro-industrial byproducts, anaerobic digestion, biogas, sustainability;, GIS and remote sensing,
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Massimiliano Varani

Senior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: tractor, suspensions, field tests
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Elena Vidili

Research fellow

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Giuliano Vitali

Assistant professor

keywords: sustainability, hydrology, theoretical ecology