• He has been asked to take part to various commissions for evaluating applications to different academic degrees: selection of technical staff, researcher, confirmation as associate professor, promotion to full professor ( Canada )

Public examiner/opponent tasks

• He was asked in two occasions to act as examiner of Ph. D Thesis carried out one at the University of Rome and the other at the University of Bucharest ( Romania )

Thesis supervision

• Since 1976 he has been tutor or co-tutor of more than 200 among M. Sc. and B. Sc. theses, including one carried out at Imperial College , London .
• He has been tutor or co-tutor of various Ph. D. Theses ( Turin , Pisa and the International Doctoral School ).

Positions of trust and membership in councils, boards, committees, networks, scientific associations, etc.

• Member of the Council of the School of Engineering ( University of Pisa ) for the term 2013 – 2016.
• President of the Council of the Master Course in Hydraulic, Transportation and Territory Engineering ( University of Pisa ) for the term 2007-2011. Since 2010 to 2011 President of the Council of the Course of Civil Engineering.
• President of the Council of the B. Sc. Course in Civil-Environmental & Building Engineering (University of Pisa) for the term 2012-2016.
• Member of the Scientific Committee for the Civil-Engineering Area of the University of Pisa for the periods 2006-2008 and 2008 – 2010.
• Since November 2007 member of the Council of the Doctoral School in Civil Engineering of the University of Pisa . Formerly member of the Council of the Doctoral School in Geotechnical Engineering at the Technical University of Turin. Since 2012 member of the International Doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering ( University of Florence , University of Pisa and ISTI CNR)
• Director of the Master Course in “Safety Management and Risk Evaluation of Work Environment” – University of Pisa
• Since 2007 is member of the task force of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Pisa for the International Relationships. Erasmus Coordinator of the Department (DESTeC – University of Pisa ) for the term 2013-2016.
• He has been involved as contact person of the Technical University of Turin in the EUCEET program (European Civil Engineering Education and Training, coordinated by ENPC - Paris).
• In the period 1995-1998 he was contact person of the Department of Structural Engineering of the Technical University of Turin for the Joint European Project, Tempus 9486 CESNET and Tempus 1155.2. In the framework of the above mentioned Project he coordinated the student and staff mobility and tutored some students coming in Torino from Romania or Poland ; he also delivered some lectures to Romanian students.
• In the period 1998 – 2004 he was responsible of the Socrates-Erasmus programmes of the Civil Engineering Course of the Campus of Vercelli (Technical University of Turin).
• Contact person of the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Pisa for the EUCEET Association (European Civil Engineering Education and Training – No Profit Association, Belgium Law, http://www.euceet.eu/). President of EUCEET Association for two periods: 2012-2014 and 2014-2016. Actually is vice-president of EUCEET Association and member of the Administrative Council.
• Is member of the Italian Geotechnical Society (AGI) and actually member of the Society Board, He is also member of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM), International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) and International Association of Engineering Geology (IAEG).
• Since September 1994 he was core member of the Technical Committee No 29 of ISSMGE (TC29: Stress-Strain Testing of Geomaterials in the Laboratory).
• Since February 2000 he was member of the Committee appointed by the Tuscany Regional Government for the mitigation of the seismic risk in the most seismic areas of Tuscany .
• Since February 2003 he was core member (two terms) of the European Technical Committee No 12 (ETC12: Application of Eurocode 8) of ISSMGE. Since August 2006 he was core member and secretary of ETC12.
• Since January 2007 he was core member (one term) of the European Technical Committee No 16 of ISSMGE (ETC16 on Education and Training in Geotechnical Engineering).
• Since 2012 he is Member of the National Committee on Seismic Microzonation (Italian Civil Service, Italian Prime Minister).
• Actually he is member of the Technical Committee TC 303 of the ISSMGE.

Experience of leadership

• It is worth noting to mention the coordination of the Pisa working group in the framework of the project, granted by the Italian Ministry of University, and concerning the following topic: “Geological and Geotechnical Characterization of Natural Slopes for Stability Analysis in Seismic Areas: a comparison between simplified and rigorous approaches”. The research team consisted of the Group of the Department of Earth Sciences and the Geotechnical Group of the Civil Engineering Department ( University of Pisa ). It is also worth noting to recall the attempt to obtain in 2016 a European Grant in the framework of Erasmus+ (KA2 – Strategic Partnerships). Fourteen European Universities joined the proposal “Resilience by Design” under the coordination of the University of Pisa . The proposal passed the first examination but unfortunately was not granted.

Joint efforts and cooperation

• He has been involved in the Internationalization process at the Technical University of Turin, as well as at the University of Pisa . Under this role he successfully promoted student and staff mobility, new BA and DD degrees. As President of EUCEET Association he had more opportunities of success.
• Recently he promoted a cooperation agreement between the University of Pisa and the Semera University ( Ethiopia ). The core of such an agreement concerns the protection, control and management of the hydraulic resources.
• He is participating to the MARUEEB project leaded by the University of Genoa (Erasmus +, Capacity Building action) and to the TA-SE project leaded by the University of Deusto (Erasmus +, Capacity Building action).

Participation in/organization of conferences, workshops

• He took part to the organizing Committee of the 2nd International Symposium on pre-failure deformation characteristics of geomaterials, held in Torino on September 1999 and was co-editor of the two volumes of proceedings.
• He took part of the organizing/scientific/steering/advisory committee of many National and International Conferences or Symposia. The last case is the 5 th GEDMAR, September 2017.
• Yearly he has been organizing a workshop in Pisa on in situ testing. Details and presentations are available at www.ing.unipi.it/geotecnica (events).

Public appearances

• He has been invited as lecturer or panellist to many International Conferences and Symposia. It is worth noting the General Report prepared in the occasion of the International Symposium on pre-failure Deformation of Geomaterials (IS Sapporo 94) and the Invited Lecture in the same occasion.

External research funding

He took part to the following research projects supported by the Italian Ministry of University:

• 1998: Geotechnical Analysis of vulnerability of historical monuments;
• 2002: Seismic response of coarse-grained alluvial deposits in some areas of Tuscany ;
• 2005 (coordinator): Geological and Geotechnical Characterization of Natural Slopes for Stability Analysis in Seismic Areas: a comparison between simplified and rigorous approaches.
• Other research contracts for the development of new equipments, experimental methods and Technical Guidelines have been supported by ENEL CRIS ( Milan ), ISMES ( Bergamo ), Joint Research Centre (Ispra), International Committee for the Safeguard of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Regional Government of Tuscany, Regional Government of Piedmont, Italian National Seismic Survey.
• Other research contracts of minor importance have been carried out for local public Authorities.

Most cited papers: