All News
|
Hongyu (Helen) Ding (23rd cycle) Studied at SMCC: "Economic Assessment of Climate Change-Caused Impacts on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services" Current Position (Start from February 2012): |
| My Ph.D. research was conducted under the European Investment Bank University Research Sponsorship Programme (EIBURS), jointly hosted by the Department of Economics at Cà Foscari University of Venice and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM). My research seeks solutions to some of the most challenging environmental and socio-economic research questions faced today by biologists, climate scientists, economists and policymakers, through an innovative methodology, which goes beyond the conventional economic approach. During the pursuit of my PhD degree, I have gained considerable research experience from my work at the FEEM on the economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, the economic assessment of climate change impacts and the socio-economic impacts of biodiversity policy. Moreover, this experience has given me great opportunity to collaborate with many excellent researchers from multidisciplinary backgrounds and leading research institutes in Europe and the rest of the world, those who have contributed to my PhD dissertation, which is entitled “Economic Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being: An Application to European Forest Ecosystems ”. For the same reason, all methodologies developed in my PhD dissertation were characterized, to certain extent, by highly innovative features. In October 2011, my PhD thesis has honourably received the first prize of 10,000 USD for the “2011 UNECE/FAO PhD Thesis Award on Sustainable Forest Management”, for its important contribution to a better understanding of the magnitude of regional climate change threats to European forest ecosystems in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region. In addition to the amazing atmosphere at work, I have also enjoyed a lot the warmest Italian hospitality, as well as the constant willingness to help from all my friends and colleagues. All in all, both of my research and life experience with the SMCC programme has been remarkable and very successful. |
| **************************************************************************** |
|
Studied at SMCC: "Tropical Extratropical Interaction and systematic errors of climate models"
Current Position: |
|
I was interested in getting a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling the dynamics of the climate system and during the first year of the Dynamic Climatology stream of the SMCC program I got a robust formation on a variety of fundamental aspects of climate science and geophysical fluid dynamics. I have then been strongly encouraged by my tutors to follow my scientific curiosity and interest for developing my own research project. I found this extremely exciting. In particular, I was involved in designing simplified aquaplanet numerical experiments for studying the behaviour of atmospheric quasi-stationary waves, and in applying my findings to the analysis of the Earth’s climate and of the systematic errors of a climate model. Some of the courses I took during the first year later proved to be really useful for interpreting the phenomenology observed in the experiments. I worked in collaboration with the CMCC research unit of Bologna, which I found a friendly and collaborative working place and an enjoyable city to live in. I also spent a fruitful and stimulating six months period as a visiting research student at the Department of Meteorology of the University of Reading, where I have now returned for a postdoc |
| **************************************************************************** |
|
Francesco Presicce (23rd cycle) Studied at SMCC: "Enhanced action on mitigation in the future climate change regime: implications of the use of standardized multi-project baselines for the improvement of project-based mechanisms"
Current Position: |
| Being already engaged on climate change projects, programmes and negotiations, I thought taking part in this PhD programme was a good opportunity to improve my scientific knowledge and expertise in this field.Indeed, the PhD offered me the opportunity to build a comprehensive picture of all climate phenomena, policies and research approaches. This completed my sectoral knowledge and gave me a sound scientific basis for my work. The research topic I decided to develop was a bridge-builder between a technical topic and a political issue, in the light of the latest development of international climate negotiations. Choosing this topic offered me the opportunity to apply my findings “on the ground”, thus giving an added value to my job. |