How can we make STEM education engaging, meaningful, and socially impactful? The EUthMappers project, supported by the Erasmus+ programme, brings collaborative mapping into European secondary schools, turning classrooms into hubs for environmental and civic action. Now in its fourth phase, launched on April 1st, 2025, students are participating in a real humanitarian mapping project in collaboration with UN Mappers. Their task? To map building footprints in Kandahar, Afghanistan, using the OpenStreetMap platform. The data will contribute to building a 3D digital replica of the city—a vital tool that allows UN peacekeepers to remotely explore inaccessible areas, simulate field scenarios, and perform operational planning within a shared sandbox environment. A hands-on way to apply skills with a real-world impact. Students are also engaged in training activities, interactive quizzes, and geospatial challenges using tools specifically developed for the project, such as iDSandbox4ALL, iD4ALL, and 3D visualization platforms. All materials and tutorials are available on the EUthMappers YouTube channel. Last year, five schools designed and implemented their own local mapping projects, showcasing the potential of open mapping in education—summarized in this student-led video. Building on that success, this year’s webinar “How to Work Together – The Value of Collaborative Work” brought students together across Europe to explore teamwork, group roles, collaborative planning, and the role of digital tools in addressing urban and environmental challenges. In a world facing complex global issues, teaching students to collaborate and use innovative digital tools for territorial data collection and analysis is an invaluable opportunity. EUthMappers shows how education can be a driver of international change—powered by students.EUthMappers è la dimostrazione che la scuola può diventare motore di cambiamento, anche a livello internazionale. L'articolo Students as agents of change: mapping the world with EUthMappers to create social impact proviene da DICA - Polimi.

The article “Towards a Fracture Mechanics-Based Assessment for Fatigue Life Prediction of Ni–Ti Stents”, authored by Alma Brambilla, PhD candidate at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA) of Politecnico di Milano, together with Professor Lorenza Petrini, faculty member at DICA, has been awarded the “Best Paper 2024” by the scientific journal Shape Memory and Superelasticity. The work, carried out in collaboration with Dr. Francesca Berti and Professor Luca Patriarca—both affiliated with Politecnico di Milano—proposes an innovative approach for predicting the fatigue life of biomedical stents made of nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) alloy. The methodology combines analytical and numerical models and is validated through experimental testing. L'articolo “Best Paper 2024” from the journal Shape Memory and Superelasticity awarded to Alma Brambilla proviene da DICA - Polimi.

Politecnico di Milano is launching the 8th edition of the MSCA MASTERCLASS for potential applicants to the MSCA European Postdoctoral Fellowships call 2025. The aim of the Masterclass is to attract and train young and talented researchers to successfully apply to the European call appointing Politecnico di Milano as Host Institution. Promising candidates will be invited to attend a full on-line course on the proposal writing (10 and 13 June 2025) and to make use of full support in the application writing process by POLIMI advisors. Candidate fellows and supervisors will be guided throughout the whole application process with deadline on 10 September 2025. Only those who get funding through the European Commission’s MSCA PF program will be admitted to Politecnico di Milano. Applications are open for the published Supervisors’ project proposals. APPLICATION DEADLINE: 20/05/2025 For more information and to apply, click here. L'articolo Call MSCA Masterclass 2025@POLIMI proviene da DICA - Polimi.

That Professor Monica Riva has been elected as a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (Class IV: Natural Sciences) during the Award Ceremony held in Salzburg on March 8, 2025. The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (https://euro-acad.eu/) is committed to promoting scientific and societal progress. Founded in 1990, members are leading scientists, artists, and practitioners of governance, who are dedicated to innovative research, interdisciplinary and transnational collaboration as well as the exchange and dissemination of knowledge. L'articolo Monica Riva elected Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts proviene da DICA - Polimi.

Nikolas Galli e Gabriele Beretta have been selected by Politecnico di Milano to participate in the prestigious ETA – European Talent Academy program. This year’s call offers early-career researchers at TUM, Imperial College London, and PoliMi working in the fields of water and food for healthy, resilient societies the chance to connect and collaborate across disciplines. L'articolo Nikolas Galli e Gabriele Beretta have been selected by Politecnico di Milano to participate in the prestigious ETA – European Talent Academy. proviene da DICA - Polimi.

Professor Fabio Biondini, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is the inaugural recipient of the ASCE Dan M. Frangopol Medal for Life-Cycle Engineering of Civil Structures. Officially established by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2023 to honor Professor Dan Frangopol, this medal is a recognition for those who have made outstanding contributions in life-cycle engineering, in aspects such as design, assessment, inspection, maintenance, and cost optimization of civil structures and infrastructure systems. The award is made biennially and is given for the first time in 2025 to Professor Fabio Biondini with the following motivation: “For distinguished achievements in the broad area of life-cycle engineering of civil structures and infrastructure systems and outstanding contributions to life-cycle of bridges and bridge networks“ The ASCE Frangopol Medal will be presented to Professor Fabio Biondini at the Award Ceremony of the ASCE/SEI Structures Congress in Phoenix, Arizona, April 11, 2025. For more information: > > ASCE: > > > > https://www.asce.org/career-growth/awards-and-honors/dan-m-frangopol-medal-for-life-cycle-engineering-in-civil-structures > > > > Lehigh University: > > > > https://engineering.lehigh.edu/news/article/asce-establishes-dan-m-frangopol-medal-life-cycle-engineering-civil-structures L'articolo Inaugural ASCE Dan M. Frangopol Medal for Life-Cycle Engineering of Civil Structures proviene da DICA - Polimi.

Chiara Recalcati has been awarded the Prix de la Faculté des Geosciences et de l’Environnement (Université de Lausanne, Switzerland) for outstanding PhD Thesis (PhD Thesis: Stochastic characterization of reactive processes in porous media). Chiara has just completed her Double PhD path obtaining a PhD in Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering (Politecnico di Milano) and a PhD in Earth Sciences (Université de Lausanne, Switzerland). Laudatio: In recognition of her seminal and synergistic experimental and theoretical studies leading to quantitative understanding of nano-scale patterns of heterogeneous geochemical reactions taking place at mineral-fluid interfaces and driving chemical weathering of the Earth interior. The prize has been awarded during the official ceremony in Lausanne on December 06, 2024. L'articolo Chiara Recalcati has been awarded the Prix de la Faculté des Geosciences et de l’Environnement proviene da DICA - Polimi.

On November 8, at the United Nations, the team composed of Maria Cristina Rulli (Politecnico di Milano, Italy) and Paolo D’Odorico (University of California, Berkeley, USA) was awarded the prestigious Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW). The award was granted with the following motivation: “They spearheaded novel analyzes of the water-energy-food nexus, describing how numerous, complex factors interact, providing managers and policymakers better ways to be stewards of freshwater in a changing, globalized world.” This award celebrates the researchers’ innovative contribution to the analysis of the water-energy-food nexus, providing valuable tools for sustainable water resource management in a transforming world. L'articolo Maria Cristina Rulli receives the ‘Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water’ proviene da DICA - Polimi.

Luca Iorio has been selected to participate in the upcoming ‘Global Young Scientists Summit 2025‘, organized by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and taking place from January 6–10 in Singapore. The GYSS gathers outstanding young researchers and leading scientific minds from around the world for a week to discuss scientific and technological trends, future developments, and how research can address major global challenges. Participants will have the opportunity to attend seminars led by highly esteemed scientists, including Nobel laureates and similar distinguished figures. L'articolo Luca Iorio selected to participate in the upcoming ‘Global Young Scientists Summit 2025’ proviene da DICA - Website.