Pietro Mazzon has been awarded the “Giovanni Maria Zuppi” 2025 PhD Prize. The awarded thesis, entitled “Reactive transport modelling of a chlorinated solvent plume and uncertainty analysis: a case study”, was evaluated by the Italian Committee of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH-Italy) and the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the CNR (IGAG-CNR). The prize recognizes research works addressing hydrogeological topics, with particular focus on the application and development of hydrogeochemical and isotopic methodologies. L'articolo Pietro Mazzon has been awarded the “Giovanni Maria Zuppi” 2025 PhD Prize proviene da DICA - Polimi.

Professor Enrico Masoero from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Politecnico di Milano has received an important recognition from the Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology (JACT), which selected his article among the outstanding papers of the year 2025 (August 2024 – July 2025). JACT (Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology) is a gold open access international journal that publishes high-quality articles on concrete materials, concrete structures, and related subjects, contributing to the advancement of the concrete engineering field. The awarded article, entitled “Creep of Calcium Hydroxide from Stress-induced Dissolution: Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations”, was selected through the joint vote of the journal’s Advisory Board and Editorial Board. This recognition also leads to the recommendation of the paper for the JCI Award 2026. L'articolo Professor Enrico Masoero recognized by the Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology proviene da DICA - Polimi.

The European project SEED-FD is developing innovative tools to improve drought forecasting, with a special focus on sudden events (flash droughts) and seasonal droughts. The aim is to strengthen response capacity and resource management in regions vulnerable to water crises and extreme weather. Three key innovations are under development: · Flash drought forecasts up to 20 days in advance, supporting rapid interventions. · Seasonal drought forecasts based on river discharge anomalies, with a 6-month horizon. · A drought tracking algorithm to monitor the spatial and temporal evolution of drought events. The methodology integrates historical datasets and forecast models, tested in river basins such as the Paraná, Danube and Bhima, to design increasingly reliable indicators. In the coming months, prototypes will be finalized and applied in real-time, enabling more effective water resource management. Among the researchers contributing to the project is Carmelo Cammalleri, from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Politecnico di Milano (DICA), who is involved in developing these new solutions to strengthen resilience against drought. SEED-FD’s Enhanced Forecasting Capabilities L'articolo Predicting Droughts – SEED-FD Progress Insight proviene da DICA - Polimi.

The European project Mac4Me – Macrophage Targets for Metastatic Treatment, funded by Horizon Europe – MSCA Doctoral Network, has officially started with its kick-off meeting in Rotterdam on June 25–26, 2025. The four-year initiative aims to develop new strategies to better understand and treat cancer metastasis, with a particular focus on neuroblastoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. In the days leading up to the meeting, the first training session for doctoral candidates was held, addressing clinical, biological, and ethical aspects, with a strong emphasis on direct patient involvement. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA) at Politecnico di Milano is part of the network with researcher Alessandra Bonfanti, who will contribute to the development of research and training activities. Mac4Me is coordinated by the Erasmus University Medical Center and brings together 14 partners and 11 associated members, including universities, companies, and patient associations from across Europe, the United States, and Australia. L'articolo Mac4Me, a European project on metastasis, kicks off: Alessandra Bonfanti among the researchers involved proviene da DICA - Polimi.

The scientific collaboration between Italy and Vietnam within the LCZ-UHI-GEO project continues successfully. The initiative focuses on studying urban heat islands and local climate zones through geomatic technologies and Earth observation data. Coordinated by the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) and the Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), with the participation of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the project has recently reached the halfway point of its three-year timeline (2024–2026). It is funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). In recent weeks, important opportunities for exchange have taken place: a technical meeting at POLIMI on June 16, followed by the workshop “Geospatial Information, Earth Observation and Urban Heat Islands”, which gathered experts from around the world. During these events, significant results were shared, including the acquisition of PRISMA hyperspectral data over Milan, Rome, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi; the development of preliminary LCZ maps through advanced techniques; and the analysis of urban temperatures in both Italy and Vietnam. The project was also presented at the international level during the ESA Living Planet Symposium 2025 in Vienna, where Thy Pham Thi Mai from VNSC illustrated the results achieved, further strengthening the global visibility of the initiative. The next step will be the Italian team’s mission to Vietnam in the autumn, aimed at validating the products and engaging with local stakeholders—confirming the joint commitment towards sustainable solutions to address the challenges of urban climate change. L'articolo Italy and Vietnam Join Forces to Study Urban Climate: New Developments in the LCZ-UHI-GEO Project proviene da DICA - Polimi.

Federica Dei has been awarded first prize at the 8th edition of the ISWA (International Solid Waste Association) YPG (Young Professionals Group) Online Conference 2025 for her research titled: “Modeling Future Waste From the Energy Transition: A Forecast-Oriented Approach For Italy.” The ISWA YPG had invited young professionals under the age of 35 to submit abstracts for the conference, held under the theme “Towards a Wasteless Future or Wasteful Planet.” All submitted abstracts were reviewed by the Conference Scientific Committee. A total of 45 abstracts were received, of which 44% were rejected. Reflecting on the award, Federica commented: > “The ISWA YPG Online Conference has been an incredible opportunity to connect > with scientists and waste experts from around the world, leaving me with such > positive energy. > > I’m honoured to receive this recognition for my work on forecasting waste from > the energy transition. Assessing and quantifying these complex, > resource-intensive waste streams is essential to truly close the loop and turn > future challenges into opportunities — not only for the sector, but far > beyond. > > For me, it’s about realizing that despite our distances and differences, we > face similar issues and share a common commitment to finding solutions. It’s > powerful to see how science and technology can bring us together for a better > future on our planet.” L'articolo Federica Dei Wins First Prize at the 8th ISWA YPG Online Conference 2025 proviene da DICA - Polimi.

Our nationally funded project, CoFLy (Cognitive Operations of micro-Flying vehicles),which focuses on developing innovative operations for Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) systems, has been labelled as a “Successive Example” by the Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Committee. The main objective of the CoFly project was to insert pioneering functionalities in Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) systems, aiming at reducing the operational cost as well as to incorporate intelligent modules assisting non-expert users in proper manipulation. To this end and far beyond the simple remote control of MAVs, CoFly integrates advanced cognitive capabilities, enabling autonomous navigation, perception, decision-making, and adaptability to new data.   Picture 1. Field testing by the CoFly consortium team   The project has proven its impact on the precision agriculture domain. Field trials conducted over two crop seasons in cotton fields in the Larissa region validated the system’s ability to navigate through complex environments and support farmers with tasks such as plant health monitoring and weed detection. Efficient localization and mapping techniques, semantic representation and recognition abilities are integrated in the platform to improve the robot’s cognitive capabilities for precise robot-user and robot-environment interactions, resulting in an optimal decision-making tool for the end-user. M4D group is responsible for developing computer vision algorithms and AI models that served as the main backbone of the CoFly platform’s functionalities. Additionally, participated in project coordination together with CERTH’s fellow team, ConvCao. CoFly platform is available to public and to research community: https://github.com/CoFly-Project. You can find the full article here: https://kalespraktikes.antagonistikotita.gr/cofly-protoporiaka-systimata-mikron-enaerion-ochimaton/ Picture 2. Overview of the CoFly platform functionalities   Picture 3. UAV equipment configuration during field experiments

Dr. Marco Carlo Rampini was recently awarded the “Young Researcher Best Paper Award on Corroded Reinforced Concrete Structures” at the fibCACRCS 2025 – Capacity Assessment of Corroded Reinforced Concrete Structures conference, held at the Lecco Campus of Politecnico di Milano. The award was granted for the presentation of the scientific contribution entitled “Analytical Investigation of the Structural Impact of Artificially-Induced Corrosion in Reinforced Concrete Dapped-End Beams”, developed in collaboration with co-authors Katherina Flores Ferreira, Giulio Zani, and Marco di Prisco. L'articolo Marco Carlo Rampini awarded the “Young Researcher Best Paper Award on Corroded Reinforced Concrete Structures” at fibCACRCS 2025 proviene da DICA - Polimi.

ASCE Reads interviewed Professor Fabio Biondini on the occasion of the publication of the book Effects of Climate Change on Life-Cycle Performance of Structures and Infrastructure Systems: Safety, Reliability, and Risk, which he co-edited with Zoubir Lounis and Michel Ghosn. The volume, published by ASCE Press, is the result of a three-year interdisciplinary project funded by ASCE, involving over 40 researchers including structural engineers and climate scientists. The main goals of the project were: * To review available information on climate change * To outline methods for updating current design standards to account for climate change effects on structural performance over time * To identify methodologies and tools for addressing the impact of climate change on the safety, risk, and life-cycle performance of structures and infrastructure systems 👉 Read the full interview: asce.org/publications-and-news/… 📘 Explore the book: ascelibrary.org/doi/book/10.1061/9780784485804 L'articolo Professor Fabio Biondini interviewed by ASCE on the future of structures in a changing climate proviene da DICA - Polimi.