Emanuele Dichio
Supervisors:
Giovanni Rallo e Damiano Remorini
Cosupervisor:
Angela Puig-Sirera
Research Field:
AgrHydrological Sensing and Modelling
Bio:
Emanuele Dichio is a PhD candidate in the Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences program at the University of Pisa. He holds a Master of Science in Sustainable Agricultural Systems, a first-level Master’s in Digital Agriculture for Sustainable Development (AGRITECH EU), and a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences.
His expertise includes the development of decision support systems (DSS) for irrigation, integrating in-field measurements, remote sensing data, and physically based modelling to enhance precision water management. The AGRITECH EU Master and the ESA course on Advanced Agricultural Monitoring and Management Solutions have further strengthened his capacity to incorporate Earth Observation data into operational agricultural monitoring frameworks. Additionally, he has experience in designing and validating IoT-based agro-hydrological monitoring systems, with a focus on low-power, open-source LoRa sensor networks encompassing sensor integration, data transmission, cloud-based data management, visualization, and data analysis.
His PhD research aims to enhance and validate a patented transpiration-monitoring device (ATMOSMART, WO2019/244057 A1) developed by the AgrHydrological Sensing and Modelling laboratory (AgrHySMo, www.agrhysmo.agr.unipi.it) for application in sparse-vegetation systems. This device integrates a Synthetic Jet Actuator (SJA) with an intelligent porous membrane designed to replicate leaves-atmosphere water status gradients and stomatal regulation. Initially, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Method (FEM) are employed to support the design and optimization of the smart porous membrane, enabling the reproduction of realistic stomatal-like mass and energy exchange dynamics. Subsequent experimental activities assess the device’s response to key atmospheric drivers and identify operating conditions that ensure signal stability and physical robustness.
By integrating experimental and computational approaches, his research advances a unified mass–energy framework for transpiration monitoring to support precision irrigation and sustainable agricultural management.
Keywords:
Irrigation and water resources management, irrigation decision support systems, wireless sensor networks, Internet of Things (IoT), complex dynamic systems.
Contacts:
emanuele.dichio@phd.unipi.it
Headquarters address:
Dept. Agricultural Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto n° 80, Pisa (PI)
Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Emanuele_Dichio
ResearchGate Account:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emanuele-Dichio?ev=prf_overview
LinkedIn Account:
www.linkedin.com/in/emanuele-dichio-290032298
ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9368-4940