Organizing Committee

Stefano is an Associate Professor at the University of Bologna since 2021, he carries out his research in the field of numerical modeling of georesources and occupational safety with particular reference to excavation works. cultural. He currently focuses his research on the theme of optimizing the extraction of ornamental rocks. Engaged in national and international research projects, he collaborates with various European and non-European institutes. The research activity was mainly carried out on the following topics: Geostatistics and its applications in the mining and environmental fields; Characterization and numerical modelling of high, medium and low enthalpy geothermal reservoirs; Software tools for discretization with the integral finite difference method (finite volumes), visualization, pre-and post-processing of numerical simulations; Calculation of pathlines and streamlines for finite volume grids; Use of Ground Penetrating Radar for the characterization of rock masses in mining activities; Optimization of extraction activity in ornamental rock quarries with the use of algorithms specifically developed in-house.

Camelia is a Senior Lecturer in the Environmental Engineering and Geology Department at the University of Petrosani, Romania. She holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering, an MSc in Environmental Impact Assessment, and a BSc in Environmental Engineering in Mining from the same university. She has robust international working experience as an Environmental Scientist in the consultancy sector and as an International Headhunter & Human Resources Director, finding great people for great jobs, growing dreams, and growing teams. Camelia is a self-motivated, analytical, enthusiastic, and results-oriented professional with strong managerial experience and versatility to adapt and excel in any multidisciplinary and multinational environment, specializing in geo-environmental engineering, mainly contaminated land risk assessment. Her expertise goes even further, as she has been involved in four research grants as Project Director & Research Team Leader within the University of Petrosani. Camelia is an author and co-author of peer-reviewed scientific papers and technical reports.

Gelu is a seasoned professional with over three decades of experience in Civil, Mining, and Environmental Engineering. His career spans academic, design, and consulting roles, focusing on geomechanical and geotechnical design. He specializes in numerical methods and probabilistic approaches for underground structures, adept at working with diverse ground conditions, from jointed rock masses to frozen ground. His project experience covers North and South America, Europe, and Africa.

Currently, he serves as the Technical Director at ECO-ROCCA Engineering, a Romanian consultancy specializing in Mining, Geomechanics, and Environment. Gelu also holds a position as a Research Associate at the University of Petrosani. Previously, he was a Professor of Geomechanics at the Polytechnic of Namibia.

As the Scientific Coordinator for the "Artificial Intelligence and Combined Survey Techniques for Stone Quarries Optimization" project, he focuses on implementing Discrete Fracture Networks in Computational Geomechanics. Known for his exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, Gelu excels at collaborating with diverse teams across various disciplines, companies, and nationalities.

Sara Kasmaee is a mining engineer and Research Fellow at UNIBO. She has got her PhD (2017) from University of Bologna- DICAM in Geostatistics. Since 2017 she is a researcher working in various European projects. She has started working on GEOTeCH H2020, and since 2018, she is working on Raw Materials topics. She is an active member of RawMatCop group working on stockpiles/tailings characterisation, Exploration of minerals, Geological mapping of critical raw material, using optic satellite images, funded by EIT Raw Material.  COP-Piles, Brico-Piles and Inco-Piles are recent projects she worked on. She is manager and one of the  trainers of RawMatCop-Advanced course (Funded by EIT-RawMaterials) since 2023. Recently she has started MINEYE horizon project covering the whole mining life cycle.  

Sara Focaccia is an environmental engineer and Research Fellow at UNIBO, holding a PhD in Georesources engineering of the University of Bologna and Instituto Superior Técnico of Lisbon. Collaborating with the university and her spin-off Serengeo since 2014, she is specialized in geothermal and petroleum underground modeling.

Marvie is a Research Fellow at the University of Bologna, their research focuses on the use of Artificial Intelligence and Combined Survey Techniques for Stone Quarries Optimization (AI-COSTSQO). This project seeks to enhance efficiency in production and to promote environmental sustainability during ornamental stone extraction processes. He holds an MSc. in Environmental Engineering (Curriculum: Earth Resources Engineering) from the University of Bologna, Italy, a second MSc. in Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, and a BSc. in Mining Engineering from the University of Liberia, Liberia.