Marco Bittelli (born 16 February 1967, Bologna) – Email: marco.bittelli@unibo.it – Website: www.marcobittelli.it
Academic and Professional Experience
• 2016–present: Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna
• 2011–2018: Research Associate, Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC), National Research Council (CNR), Sesto Fiorentino
• 2006–2016: Researcher, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna
• 2009–2012: Adjunct Professor, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
• 2003–2006: Winner of the “Rientro dei Cervelli” (MIUR) competition
• 2002–2003: Post-doctoral researcher, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
• 2001–2002: Visiting Scientist, Department of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, Germany
• 1998–2001: PhD in Soil Physics, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
• 1996–1998: Master’s degree in Soil Physics, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
• 1989–1994: Laurea (undergraduate equivalent) in Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
Scientific publications (as of 24 February 2026)
Breakdown of peer-reviewed articles in various fields:
• Earth and Planetary Sciences: 31
• Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 27
• Environmental Science: 25
• Engineering: 8
• Physics and Astronomy: 6
• Mathematics: 5
• Energy: 4
• Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 2
• Multidisciplinary: 1
• Computer Science: 1
Books
• 2022. Bittelli M., R. Olmi and R. Rosa. Random Processes Analysis with R. Oxford University
Press.
• 2017. Huffaker R., M. Bittelli and R. Rosa. Non Linear Time Series Analysis with R. Oxford
University Press.
• 2015. Bittelli M., G. S. Campbell and F. Tomei. Soil Physics with Python, Transport in the
Soil-Plant-Atmosphere System. Oxford University Press.
Book chapters
• 2020. Layered Nature. Assessing and Monitoring the Environment for the Development of an
Archaeological Park Paola Rossi Pisa, Luca Berichillo, Marco Bittelli, Vincenzo Fortunati, Marco
Vignudelli. In: An “Integrated Approach for an Archaeological and Environmental Park in South Eastern Turkey”.
Ed.: N. Marchetti, G. Franco, S. F. Musso, and M.B. Spadolini. Springer Nature,
Switzerland.
• 2017. Ruairuen W., G. J. Fochesatto, M. Bittelli , E. B. Sparrow, M. Zhang and W. Schnabel.
Evapotranspiration in Northern Agro-Ecosystems: Numerical Simulation and Experimental
Comparison. In: “Current Perspective to Predict Actual Evapotranspiration“, Ed. Daniel Bucur,
Chapter 4, pp.65-84. ISBN 978-953-51-3174-8, doi: 10.5772/intechopen.68347 .
• 2016. Bordoni, M., C. Meisina, S. Chersich,, M. Persichillo, R. Valentino, and M. Bittelli.
Monitoring of hydrological parameters for the identification of shallow landslides triggering: A
case study from Northern Italy, DOI: 10.1201/b21520-49 In book: Landslides and Engineered
Slopes. Experience, Theory and Practice, pp.475-482
• 2015. Meisina, C. , M. Bordoni, M. Persichillo, A. Vercesi, G. Bischetti, E. Chiaradia, C. Bassanelli,
C. Vergani, R. Valentino, M. Bittelli and S. Chersich. Analisi del ruolo dei vigneti sulla stabilità di versante
in un’area soggetta a frane superficiali. In book: Recuperiamo Terreno, Chapter:
1, Publisher: Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), pp.232-239.
• 2014. Valentino, R., M. Bordoni, C. Meisina, D. Zizioli, M. Bittelli and S. Chersich. Monitoring
and Modelling of Soil–Atmosphere Interaction on a Slope Affected by Shallow Landslides
Chapter · DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-09057-3_277 In book: Engineering Geology for Society and
Territory, Chapter: Monitoring and Modelling of Soil–Atmosphere Interaction on a Slope
Affected by Shallow Landslides, Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Switzerland,
Editors: G. Lollino et al. (eds, pp.1563-1566).
• 2014 Bordoni M., D. Zizioli, C. Meisina, R. Valentino, M. Bittelli and S. Chersich. Rainfall-Induced
Landslides: Slope Stability Analysis Through Field Monitoring. In: Landslide Science for a Safer
Geoenvironment. Eds. K. Sassa, P. Canuti and Y. Yin, pp. 273-279, Springer. ISBN: 978-3-319-
04995-3 (Print), 978-3-319-04996-0 (Online).
• 2011 Bittelli, M., A. Pistocchi, F. Tomei, P. P. Roggero, R. Orsini, M. Toderi, G. Antolini and M.
Flury, CRITERIA-3D: A Mechanistic Model for Surface and Subsurface Hydrology for Small
Catchments, In: Land Use and Agriculture Measurement and Modelling. Ed. M. K. Shukla, CABI
Publishing. ISBN: 184593797X.
• 2010 Notarnicola, C., B. Ventura, L. Pasolli, F. Di Giuseppe, M. Petitta, G. Bonafe, L. Caporaso,
A. Spisni, M. Bittelli. Exploitation of C and X band SAR images for soil moisture change detection
estimation in agricultural areas (Po valley-Italy). Book Series: The International Society for
Optical Engineering, 7829, 78290G, 10.1117/12.87049
• 2009 Bittelli M., Georadar, In: Groma 2. In profondità senza scavare, Ed. E. Giorgi, Casa Editrice
BraDypUS, Bologna, pp. 251-272.
• 2008 Paola Rossi Pisa, G. Bitelli, M. Bittelli, M. Speranza, L. Ferroni, P. Catizone and M.
Vignudelli. Environmental Assessment of an Archaeological Site for the Development of an
Archaeological Park. ARCHAIA. Case studies on Research Planning, Characterisation,
Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites. Edited by N. Marchetti and I. Thuesen.
Archaeopress, Oxford, England.
Bibliometric Indicators (as of 24.02.2026)
Scopus (80 pubblicazioni, H-index= 34, 4373 citazioni)
Google Scholar (158 pubblicazioni, H-index= 34, 5914 citazioni)
Web of science (104 pubblicazioni, H-index= 32, 3178 citazioni)
Research projects
Participation in national and international projects:
• 2023-2026. Wish-roots, Making soil health a breeding target. Towards Healthy, Resilient and
Sustainable Agricultural Soils. EJP Soil (EU) (partner).
• 2017-2023. Progetti Nazionali di Ricerca in Antartide PNRA16_00212. Dielectric
Characterization of the Polar Cap, by perforations at Dome-C (partner).
• 2018-2021 Progetto SWAMP “Smart Water Management Platform” (EU H2020-EUB-02-2017)
(Project Role and responsability: Research collaboration).
• 2019-2021. Prediction of soil hydro-agricultural properties using Ground Penetrating Radar
for improving Agricultural practices (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research
Collaboration, India). Collaboration between Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India and
University of Bologna. (Project Role and responsability: International PI).
• 2016-2018. Monitoraggio intelligente per infrastrutture sicure (INFRASAFE). POR-FESR,
European Regional Development Fund, 2014-2020. (Project Role and responsability: partner).
• 2016-2018. Dielectric spectroscopy of soils (SOILSPECTRA). Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC),
National Research Council, Italy. (Project Role and responsability: partner).
• 2012-2015. Measurement of soil salinity: comparison of methods. Financing company:
Decagon Devices Inc., Pullman, WA, USA. (Project Role and responsability: PI).
• 2011-2015. An intelligent system to detect forest fires. European Commission. EUROSTAR
Projects, 5717 EFIRE EUROSTARS. (Project Role and responsability: partner)
• 2008-2014. Agroscenari: Scenari di Adattamento dell’agricoltura Italiana ai cambiamenti
climatici. (Mipaaf, Decreto Ministeriale n. 325/7303/2007 del 28 dicembre 2007). (Project
Role and responsability: partner)
• 2007-2010. Case Studies on Research Planning (ARCHAIA): , Characterisation, Conservation
and Management of Archaeological Sites. http://www.archaia.unibo.it/ European
Commission. (Project Role and responsability: partner)
• 2005-2008. Nuove Metodologie relative a progetti integrati di parchi archeologici dell’area
mediterranea. Elaborazione, sperimentazione, verifica di tecnolgie avanzate e trasferibilita’
dei risultati nella valorizzazione di aree a rilevante interesse culturale, ambientale e artistico.
Selezione di casi studio in Siria settentrionale e Turchia Orientale. Ministry of Education,
Universities and Research, (Rome,Italy). FIRB. (Project Role and responsability: partner).
• 2003-2006. Shallow Landslides Investigation Device (SLID): a tool to assess land susceptibility
to shallow landslides. European Commission. LIFE environment. (Project Role and
responsability: partner).
• 2003-2006. Water Quality Protection, Measuring Hydraulic Conductivity and Solute Diffusion
Coefficients to Assess Water Flow and Pollutants Transport in Soils and Rocks”. Ministry of
Education, Universities and Research, (Rome,Italy). Grant “Rientro dei Cervelli” (Brain Drain
Project)(Project Role and responsability: partner).
• 1999-2001. A low cost scanning thermodieletric analyzer to obtain freezing characteristics of
foods, soils, and other materials. Financing agency: Washington Technology Center, Seattle,
WA, USA. (Project Role and responsability: leader).
• 1997-1999. Effect of foliar application of Chitosan on water use in field crops. Financing
agency: Washington Technology Center, Seattle, WA, USA. (Project Role and responsability:
leader).
• 1995-1996. Linking Geographical Information Systems (ArcView) and Computer Models
(CropSyst), for the assessment of water and solutes transport on large scale. (Project Role
and responsability: leader).
Awards and Recognition
• 2021. Dalla base Concordia, nuove misure per monitorare i cambiamenti dei ghiacci in
Antartide. UniBo Magazine.
• 2008 Associate Fellow dell’Istituto di Studi Avanzati dell’Università di Bologna.
http://www.isa.unibo.it/ISAIT/default.htm
• 2007. Gli scavi di Tilmen Höyük in Turchia, tra archeologia e ambiente. UniBo Magazine.
•1999 Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). Editors Citation for Excellence in Manuscript
Review.
Book reviews
• 2016. Review of Soil Physics with Python: Transport in the Soil–Plant–Atmosphere
Philippe C. Baveye, Vadose Zone Journal,
https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2136/vzj2015.12.0162br
• 2021 Review of Soil Physics with Python: Transport in the Soil–Plant–Atmosphere
Teruhito Miyamoto, Japanese Soil Science Society, https://js-soilphysics.com/downloads/pdf/148051.pdf
Participation in national and international conferences and congresses
• 2022 Anello M., Riani M., Laurini F.,Bittelli M., Bordoni M., Meisina C., Valentino
R.,Robust statistical processing of long-time data series on soil-atmosphere interaction:
preliminary results. 14th International Conference on Geostatistics for Environmental
Applications, Parma, 2022.
• 2020 Martini, E., Wollschläger U., Bittelli M., Tomei F., Werban U., Zacharias S., and
Roth K. Process-based hydrological modeling: accounting for subsurface heterogeneity
by integrating pedology, geophysics and soil hydrology. European Geosciences Union,
2020-9894.
• 2016 Olmi R and M. Bittelli, Identification of hidden relaxations by even-order
derivative, Electromagnetic Wave Interaction with Water and Moist Substances (ISEMA
2016, Firenze).
• 2014 Bittelli M. Tecniche ed approcci per la ricerca agronomica sul suolo 29 Gennaio
•2014 – Bologna Workshop Tecniche di laboratorio per l’analisi della porosità del suolo.
Società Italiana di Agronomia.
• 2014 Meisina C., Bordoni M., Zizioli D., Chersich S., Valentino R., Bittelli M. (2014).
Soil atmosphere interaction in a slope affected by shallow landslides: an example in
Northern Italy. In: Khalili N., Russell A., Khoshgalb A. (Eds.), Unsaturated Soils: Research
& Applications, Vol. 2, 1409-1416.
• 2011 Antolini G., Tomei F. and Bittelli M. Testing of a coupled soil water and heat model
under a vegetated surface in Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Geophysical Research Abstracts
(EGU, Vienna).
• 2004 Bittelli M., M. Flury, Measuring liquid water content in frozen porous media, in
Proc. Soil Science Society of America, Seattle, WA, 2004, Seattle, USA.
•2003 Bittelli M., M. Flury and K. Roth , Determination of Ice Content in FrozenPorous
Media by Dielectric Spectrocopy, in Proc. European Geophysical Society, Nice, France.
• 2001 Bittelli M., M. Flury and G.S. Campbell , A Thermo-Dielectric Analyzer to Measure
the Moisture Characteristic in Porous Media, in Proc. European Society of Agronomy,
Simp. Modeling Cropping System, Florence, Italy.
• 2001 Bittelli M., M. Flury and G.S. Campbell , A Thermo-Dielectric Analyzer to Measure
the Moisture Characteristic in Porous Media, in Proc. European Geophysical Society, Nice,
France.
• 1999 Bittelli M., M. Flury and G.S. Campbell , Determination of Soil Moisture
Characteristic from Soil Freezing Experiments, in Proc. Soil Science Society of America,
Salt Lake City, UT, 92.
• 1999 Mathison J.B., M. Bittelli, O. Badini, M. Flury, G.S. Campbell and E.J. Nichols,
Reduction of Evapotranspiration by Foliar Application of Chitosan, in Proc. Crop Science
Society of America, Salt Lake City, UT, 223.
• 1998 Campbell, G.S., M. Bittelli and J.B.Mathison, Soil Moisture Characteristic Estimated
from TDR-measured Soil Freezing Characteristics, in Proc. Soil Science Society of America,
Baltimore, MA, 179.
• 1998 Bittelli M., G.S. Campbell, M. Flury and C.O. Stockle, Fractal Characterization of
Particle Size Distribution in Soils, in Proc. Soil Science Society of America, Baltimore, MA,
189.
• 1997 Donatelli M., C. Stockle, R. Nelson, C. Gardi, M. Bittelli, G. Campbell, 1997, Uso dei
software CropSyst e ArcInfo per la valutazione degli effetti della gestione di sistemi
colturali attuati in due aree dell’Emilia-Romagna, Atti XXXI Convegno della Società Italiana
di Agronomia, Milano.
Spin-Off
Results achieved in technology transfer in terms of participation in the creation of new companies (spin-offs),
development, application, and commercialization of patents
• 2021 – Collaborator of the Spin-Off Vaimee (https://vaimee.com/), a company specializing in data management and
software development, within a project focused on water resource management in agriculture.
• 2010 – Scientific Coordinator for the University of Bologna of the spin-off GAIAG Srl, funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region:
Teaching Experience
University of Bologna (2006–present)
Courses taught (BSc, MSc, PhD):
•Agrometeorology, Soil Physics and Agricultural Ecology (6 ECTS) – BSc in Technologies for Land and Agro-Forestry Environment
•Soil Physics (6 ECTS) – MSc in Agricultural Sciences and Technologies; MSc in Agro-Territorial, Forest and Landscape Ecosystems
•Data Analysis Methods (5 ECTS) – MSc in Forest, Landscape and Environmental Planning
•Experimental Methodology and Data Analysis (5 ECTS) – MSc in Agro-Territorial Ecosystem Management
•General Agronomy (6 ECTS) – BSc in Agro-Forestry Land and Environmental Sciences
•Philosophy of Science and Scientific Methods – PhD in Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences (2014–2022, in English)
Teaching activities include lectures, seminars, laboratory instruction (physical and computational), and supervision of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students.
International Teaching
•Soil Physics (in English), International Master’s Program in Land and Water Conservation (2006–2013);
supervision of MSc theses and internships in the USA
•Adjunct Faculty, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
•Summer School Lecturer, Adriatic School of Archaeology, University of Bologna –
Non-invasive diagnostic methodologies for archaeology: Ground Penetrating Radar
Invited national and international teaching activities (seminars and short courses)
• 2022. Can we measure soil density with electromagnetic methods?Department of Civil
Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru, India.
• 2020. Workshop on In-situ Testing and Geophysical Characterization, Department of Civil
Engineering Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru, India.
• 2019. Invited speaker at the G.S. Campbell lecture: “Dielectric spectroscopy to investigate ice and
frozen porous media: a journey between spatial and time scales”
https://css.wsu.edu/seminars/the-campbell-lecture/, , Washington State University, USA.
• 2018. Short Course: Soil Physics with Python. Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru, India
• 2018. Short Course: Non Linear Time Series Analysis. Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru,
India.
• 2018. Short Course: Soil Physics with Python. University of Suratthani Rajabhat, Suratthani,
Thailand.
• 2018. Short Course: Soil Physics with Python. University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
• 2017. Short course: Soil Physics with Python. University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
• 2016. Short course: Soil Physics with Python. University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
• 2014. Invited Series of Lectures: Theory of Heat and Mass Transfer in Soil. Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Cracow, Poland.
• 2014 Organizer and Lecturer, Italian Society of Agronomy (SIA) – Techniques and Approaches for
Agronomic Soil Research (Bologna, 2014), including X-ray tomography for soil porosity analysis
• 2012. Invited Lecture: The Ground Penetrating Radar. Decagon Devices Inc., Pullman, WA,
USA.
• 2009. Invited Lecture: Research at the Soil and Environmental Physics group at the University
of Bologna, Italy, an overview. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. August, 2009.
• 2009. Invited Lecture: L’utilizzo di metodi a pressione di vapore per la determinazione della
curva di ritenzione idrica. Nell’ambito del corso di aggiornamento tecnico-scientifico in fisica
e idrologia del suolo. Associazione Italiana Pedologi, CNR-ISAFOM, Napoli, 4-5 Giugno, 2009.
• 2009. Invited Lecture: Microwave Remote Sensing. Measuring soil water content: methods,
limitations and future challenges. CNR-IFAC, Florence, May 20, 2009.
• 2009. Graduate Seminar: A 3-D Model of Surface and Subsurface Hydrology. Department of
Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, USA. January, 2009.
• 2008. Lecture: The physics of Ground Penetrating Radar. Seeing beneath the soil – not
intrusive investigation methodologies and diagnostics for archaeology. International Summer
School, Ravenna-Marzabotto.
• 2006. Invited Lecture: Water balance at the field and watershed scale. WUEMED: Improving
water use efficiency in Mediterranean Agriculture.
http://www.distagenomics.unibo.it/wuemed/index.html
• 2006. Invited Lecture: Innovative methods for measuring soil water content. WUEMED:
Improving water use efficiency in Mediterranean Agriculture.
Institutional Activities
• 2006 – Organizer and coordinator of the exchange agreement between
the University of Bologna and Washington State University (Pullman, WA, USA)
for undergraduate, graduate, and PhD student mobility.
• 2006–2013 – Coordinator of the International Master’s Program in Land and Water Conservation, jointly established between
the University of Bologna and Washington State University.
• 2014 – Organizer and coordinator of the exchange agreement between the University of Bologna and the
University of Florida (Gainesville, FL, USA) for undergraduate, graduate, and PhD student mobility.
• 2014–2022 – Member of the Academic Board of the PhD Program in
Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences and Technologies.
Editorial and Scientific Activities
2020–2022 – Associate Editor, Vadose Zone Journal.
2020–2021 – Associate Editor, Geophysics.
2019–2020 – Guest Editor, Water.
2016–2018 – Associate Editor, Measurement Science and Technology.
2008 – Member of the Organizing Committee, 10th Congress of the European Society for Agronomy (ESA), Bologna, Italy.
2016 – Organizer and Member of the Scientific Committee, International Conference
on Electromagnetic Wave Interaction with Water and Moist Substances (ISEMA 2016), Florence, Italy.