GANDOLFI CLAUDIO

EDUCATION
- High School diploma, Liceo Scientifico Majorana, Rho (MI) (July 1978)
- Master Sc. Degree in Civil Engineering, Hydraulics section, at the Politecnico di Milano (July 1984)

ACADEMICAL CAREER
- Full Professor of Agricultural Hydraulics at the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of UniMI, from October 2001 (ongoing).
- Associate Professor of Agricultural Hydraulics at the Faculty of Agriculture of UniMI, from November 1998 to September 2001.
- Researcher of Agricultural Hydraulics at the Faculty of Agriculture of UniMI, from May 1991 to October 1998.
- Technician at the Faculty of Agriculture of UniMI, from January 1990 to May 1991.
- Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria, from September 1988 to August 1989.
- Research Fellow at the Electronics Department of the Politecnico di Milano from September 1985 to August 1988.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
My main research interests are hydrological modeling and integrated water resources management, with particular reference to the specific issues of rural areas. I have developed a niche at the interface between system engineering and agronomic approaches, combining field-scale experimental activities, hydrological modelling and optimization techniques. Most of my work employs mathematical modelling – often in combination with the collection of empirical data from field and laboratory experiments – in order to better understand and explain hydrological processes and irrigation systems behavior. This includes consideration of water and solutes dynamics in soil-vegetation-atmosphere relations, surface water-groundwater interactions, regional scale irrigation systems efficiency and agro-drought risk analysis. My effort is both to apply directly field experience and process-oriented hydrological modeling tools to analyse irrigation water use at different scales, and to embed them into optimization approaches to multipurpose water resources management. This implies the search for parsimonious modeling solutions for the simulation of irrigation systems that are simple enough to be incorporated into optimization algorithms, but still physically realistic.
I have coordinated several research projects on these topics and in many others I was responsible of research units. Projects include:
• PROMEDRICE - Effective farming practices to protect water resources in Mediterranean rice-based agroecosystems; finanziato dal programma PRIMA; October 2023 - September 2026; role: component of Research Unit
• OPTAIN - Optimal strategies to retAIN and re-use water and nutrients in small agricultural catchments across different soil-climatic regions in Europe, funded by EU Horizon 2020; settembre 2020 program - August 2025; role: component of Research Unit
• progetto ADDAPT, - Strategies for the optimal management of water resources in the Adda River basin; funded by the Lombardy Region; December 2019 – June 2022; role: Scientific Coordinator of the UniMi Research Unit
• INCIPIT - INtegrated Computer modeling and monitoring for Irrigation Planning in ITaly, funded by the Italian Research Ministry under the call MIUR-PRIN 2017, role: PI;
• ADAM - ADaptation to climate change with Multifunctional irrigation for viticulture, funded by Regione Lombardia under the call for research project in agriculture 2018, role: PI;
• DWC – Digital Water Cities, funded under EU Horizon 2020; role: component of Research Unit
A selection of previous projects includes:
CARIPLO Foundation. Project “SO-WATCH – SOft path WATer management adaptation to CHanging climate”, 2016-2018; role: Responsible of Research Unit
MIUR - Italian Ministry of Education, Univ. and Research. PRIN projects (Research Projects of Relevant National Interest): 5 funded projects in the fields of soil hydrology and irrigation water resources monitoring and management, 1998-2014, Research Unit PI in all the projects;
MiPAAF - Italian Ministry for Agric., Food and Forestry Policies. Project “POLORISO – Research and Testing of Innovative Technologies and Higher Education for the Sustainable Development of the Italian Rice Production Chain”, 2012-2013, Scientific Responsible of the Agric. Hydraulics Research Unit
Lombardy Region. Project “BIOGESTECA – A platform of green-biotechnologies and management techniques for highly sustainable agricultural systems”, 2011-2012, Scientific Responsible of the Agric. Hydraulics Research Unit
Lombardy Region. Project “AC-CA: Measurement and Modelling of Water and Carbon Fluxes in Mais Agroecosystems”, 2009-2010, role: PI
Lombardy Region. Project “MoNaCo “Monitoring and rehabilitation of rural water bodies”, 2003-2005, role: PI
CARIPLO Foundation. Project “TwoLe-B Water Resources Planning System”, 2005-2008, role: PI
British Council & MIUR. Bilateral project with the Univ. of Stirling - Dept. of Environ. Sciences on “Development of New Numerical Modelling Methodologies for the Management of Diffuse-Source Contaminant Transport to Surface Waters”, 2001, Scientific Responsible for UniMI
EC-JRC Ispra. Project on "Development, application and comparison of numerical models of hydrological and biological processes within drainage basins and the measurement of gas and solute fluxes", 1998-1999, Scientific Responsible for UniMI
European Center for Ecotoxicology of Chemicals-ECETOC. European project “GREAT-ER Geography Referenced Regional Exposure Assessment Tool for European Rivers”, 1997-1999, Scientific Coordinator of the Italian Research Units (UniMI, Univ. of Venice, Water Research Institute of the National Research Council)
I have also been active in commissioned and collaborative research projects and consulting, aimed at deriving impacts from the scientific achievements, particularly through the development of long term and continuous relationships with public bodies, irrigation agencies and water companies. The most recent collaborations are:
ANBI Lombardy (Association of Irrigation Agencies of Lombardy) and Lombardy Region. Project “ISIL- Investigation on Lombardy Irrigation Systems”, 2015-2018,
CAP Holding Ltd. Project “FLOOD-HIDE – analysis of the potential role of rural canals in the management of overflow disgorges from urban sewage systems” 2016-2017,
URBIM Lombardy and Lombardy Region. Project “Irrigation water uses in the Lombardia Region and district scale water balances”, 2015,
BEIC (European Library of Information and Culture). Project “BII – a web-based library of Italian historical hydraulics books”, 2015,
URBIM Lombardy and Lombardy Region. Project “Guidelines for the elaboration of real estate classification plans by Irrigation Consortia”, 2014,
Lombardy Region. Project “Analysis of the compatibility of the Lombardy Region irrigation systems with the ex-ante conditionalities of the cohesion policy reform and rural development programs for 2014-20”, 2014,
Cremona Province. Project “Implementation of a hydrological model of the aquifer system between the Adda and Oglio rivers and identification of criteria for consenting groundwater withdrawals in the Cremona Province”, 2008-2011.

EDITORIAL AND PEER REVIEW ROLES
I served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Agricultural Engineering from 2018 to 2024 and as a section editor for the same journal from 2012 to 2018.
Over the years, I have regularly served as a scientific reviewer for articles submitted to leading international journals in the field of water resources (Journal of Hydrology, Transport in Porous Media, Water International, Water Research, Environmental Modelling and Software, Biosystems Engineering, Agricultural Water Management, Journal of Hydraulic Research, Journal of Climatology).
I have carried out scientific reviews of project proposals and assessed applications for research or professorial positions for numerous organisations and institutions, including the University of Bolzano (IT), the University of Padua (IT), the University of Palermo (IT), the University of Venice (IT), AQU Catalunya (ES), CEDEX – Centre for Hydrographic Studies (ES), the University of Huddersfield (UK), the University of Warwick (UK), and NERC – Natural Environment Research Council (UK).

PUBLICATIONS
My scientific productions is documented by about one hundred papers, sixty of which are indexed by the major science databases (Scopus, WoS). I am also co-author of two books – a glossary of hydraulic terms and a collection of historical biographies of the major hydraulic scientists and engineers from the 16th to the 19th century - and co-editor of a web-based library of historical texts in hydraulics (www.beic.it/it/articoli/biblioteca-idraulica-0).
Bibliometric indices (Scopus, December 2017)
h-index: 28
Documents (total): 96
Citations (total): 2799

TEACHING ACTIVITIES
I have taught both in undergraduate and graduate courses at the Polytechnic of Milan (1986-1988) and the University of Milan (1990 to present), and in many national and international post-graduate courses (offered by International Institute of Applied System Analysis, European Association for Environmental Management Education, Warsaw University of Technology, Technical University of Agriculture and Technology of Tokyo, Venice International University, UNESCO, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, and others).
Over the last twenty years I have been regularly teaching classes of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Water Resources Management in several BSc. and MSc. courses at UniMI, where I have also supervised several internships, thesis and PhD students.

ACADEMICAL ROLES
• Member of the Postgraduate Education Board of the University of Milan (2026-ongoing)
• President of Consorzio dell'Oglio, the public agency responsible for the regulation of lake Iseo e and the water diversions from the downstream Oglio river (July 2021 - July 2025)
• Vice-rector for Knowledge Transfer (2016-2018)
• President of the Filarete Foundation for Innovation (tech transfer and spinoff incubator of UniMI, 2015-2016)
• Rector’s delegate for Sustainability (2014-2106)
• Member of the Board of Directors of the students support agency of UniMI (2015-2016)
• Director of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, with ca. 120 permanent staff and 150 PhD’s and Post-Doc’s (2012-2014)
• Member of the Academic Senate (2009-2014)
• Vice-director of the Department of Agricultural Engineering, with ca. 30 permanent staff and 30 PhD’s and Post-Doc’s (2009-2012)
• Director of the Institute of Agricultural Hydraulics, with ca. 10 permanent staff and 10 PhD’s and Post (2006-2008)
• Director of the BSc course in Agrotechnologies for Environment and Landscape and of the MSc course in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (2001-2008)
• Member of the Board of the PhD School in Agriculture, Environment and Bioenergy (formerly PhD in Research and Innovation for Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, 2001-ongoing)

MEMBERSHIPS
I am member of the following scientific societies:
• EurAgEng, AIIA where I have served as president of Section 1 (Soil and Water) of AIIA in years 2010-2013 and as vice president in the former four-year period.
• I was member of AGU (for 25 years), EGU, GII