FERDINANDO VILLA, Ph.D
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FERDINANDO VILLA, Ph.D. Research Professor Department of Plant Biology, Department of Computer Science and Ecoinformatics Collaboratory, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics University of Vermont 617 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05405 (802) 656 2968 [email protected] Personal Citizenship: Italian. US Permanent resident since 2005. Phone: (802) 656- 2968 Fax: (802) 656-2995 Email: [email protected] Referee list available upon request. Studies and career 1986‐1989: Chief software engineer, EDECA, Parma, Italy. 1987 M.Sc. cum laude in Biology from the University of Parma, Italy. Degree thesis at the Institute of Ecology on ``The Analysis of the Stability of Natural Communities: Loop Analysis and Computer Simulation.'' 1989‐1991: Independent consultant in IT, database, and educational software for large‐scale environmental and commercial applications. 1989‐1993: Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of Parma. Dissertation title: ``The role of environmental disturbance in the biogeography of small islands: simulation studies as a contribution to research and management.' Ph.D. advisor: Orazio Rossi, Institute of Ecology, University of Parma. 1996‐2002: Assistant Research Scientist, Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Maryland. 2002‐2008: Associate Research Professor, Department of Plant Biology, University of Vermont. 2002‐present: Resident Fellow, Gund Institute of Ecological Economics, University of Vermont 2007‐present: Adjunct Research Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont. 2009‐present: Research Professor, Department of Plant Biology, University of Vermont. Page 1 of 18 Postgraduate and postdoctoral studies 1984 Scuola di modellistica matematica per la biologia e la medicina. Corso di Modelli per l'Ecologia. (School in Mathematical Modelling for Biology and Medecine; Course in Ecological Modelling) Ancona, Italy. 1992 International Summer School on Environmental Dynamics. Venice, Italy. 1993 Summer School on Modelling Structured Populations in Freshwater, Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems, Cornell University, Ithaca (NY), U.S.A. 1993‐1996: Postdoctoral fellow, Theoretical Ecology, GIS, Island Biogeography, University of Parma. Languages spoken Italian Native speaker English Excellent speaking, reading, writing and comprehension French Good speaking, comprehension, writing; excellent reading Spanish Excellent reading, comprehension; good speaking; basic writing Portuguese Good reading and comprehension; basic writing and speaking Research areas With a Ph.D. (1993) in Theoretical Ecology and a long parallel career as a scientific software designer and engineer, I have been working at the interface of Ecology and Computer Science since the beginnings of my career. Over the years, my research on high‐performance computer simulation, ecological modeling, and artificial intelligence applied to environmental data and model integration has earned me recognition and collaborations with primary US institutions and NGOs as well as several foreign institutions and governments. After working in many fields of Ecology, from theoretical Island Biogeography to protected area design, I came in 1996 to the Institute for Ecological Economics (since 2002 the Gund Institute at UVM) initially with mixed feelings (that "economics" word...) and soon discovered the joys and pains of interdisciplinary research. I am now enthusiastic about science that can inspire large‐scale visions for a sustainable future and be used directly for decision‐making, which translates directly into a humble attitude towards other disciplinary fields and attention to the application potential of research products. On the other hand, I remain fully aware of the challenge (and the responsibility) of maintaining scientific depth unaltered in face of the greatly increased breadth, and I see my relationship with interdisciplinary science as an evolving one. At the broadest level, the main subject of my research has always been language, in a wide‐ ranging definition that encompasses the ways information is formulated and how preexisting theory shapes and constrains the depth of the questions scientists ask. Whereas most ecologists spend their careers seeking answers, I feel strongly that a lot of important work remains to be done on the questions themselves, which often constrain answers and prevent progress. While my research extends to several application fields that are directly related to the Gund Institute’s mission (including protected areas planning, environmental vulnerability assessment, and the Page 2 of 18 economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services), virtually all of my research has approached its topics through the lens of formal semantics and knowledge representation, with a strong critical attention to the conceptual frameworks implicit in natural system data and models. The natural outlet of such research is not only academic publications, but most often also the development of software infrastructure that operationalizes the theoretical achievements and provides directly useful toolkits that solve real‐world problems. Over the years, I have attained recognition as a primary thinker in, and one of the pioneers of, the nascent discipline of Ecoinformatics. In the UVM academic context, I have concentrated my efforts into developing the identity for the discipline of Ecoinformatics, and created the Ecoinformatics Collaboratory within the Gund Institute. The Collaboratory, which has an extensive web presence at http://ecoinformatics.uvm.edu, is committed to unifying the science and management of the natural and human environment in a new synthesis inspired by the latest developments of information technology, contributing novel technologies, openly accessible data and models, and innovative education to promote a breakthrough in the effectiveness of environmental research, decision‐making and policy‐making. In the course of my four years at UVM, I have made the Collaboratory a recognized actor in large‐scale ecoinformatics initiatives worldwide, and a participant in key partnerships such as the Partnership for Biodiversity Informatics. Much of my outreach effort within UVM has been directed to making the importance of Ecoinformatics recognizable in the larger context of the environmental mission of UVM. Quick synopsis of primary research fields Ecoinformatics: Development of integrative, collaborative software infrastructure for ecological modeling; integrated Knowledge retrieval and management • Conceptualization and software toolkit for integrated multi‐scale, multi‐paradigm modeling • Client/server architectures for distributed modeling and data access. • Spatially‐explicit, high‐performance simulation software • Methods for evaluating the performance and goodness‐of‐fit of complex simulation models • Research on innovative means of storage of island data in collaboration with UNESCO Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Landscape Ecology and Environmental Management oMulti‐criteria analysis and GIS oDevelopment of synthetic indexes of environmental quality and vulnerability oMulti‐criteria decision‐making and GIS approach to area selection and monitoring in planning Marine Protected Areas Theoretical population and community ecology oQualitative analysis of model communities oThe effect of a variable delay in developmental time in model population oIndividual‐oriented simulation studies of populations and communities oTheoretical Island Biogeography oCoexistence in many‐species communities oMassive parallel computers and the advancement of ecological theory oThe dynamics of agroecosystems and the ecological approach to pest management Page 3 of 18 Statistical analysis of terrestrial, freshwater and marine communities Educational activity My position is a grant‐funded research position that does not include teaching commitments. Yet, I always considered teaching a necessary learning experience as well as a chance to put one’s scientific beliefs and achievements to hardest test. In recognition of this, I have been involved in teaching in several ways. My goals in teaching are mostly part of a plan to raise awareness of Ecoinformatics within UVM, given that my time is completely committed to research. Despite this, I see much unexplored potential in a graduate certificate in Ecoinformatics, consisting in 15‐20 credits exploring the diverse facets of environmental information technology (database, knowledge modeling, dynamic modeling, and GIS) in an integrated perspective. I circulated informal proposals in 2004 and obtained good response from several potential partners at UVM, and I’m hoping to have a chance to pursue this goal. Driven by the notion that no place in the USA would be better placed than UVM for becoming the primary education center in Ecoinformatics in the Northeast (with only another one existing nationally), I am currently discussing an interdisciplinary ecoinformatics curriculum with key players at the departments of Computer Science and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and I have hopes that this discussion will turn into an action plan soon. In case we can catalyze enough interest and support from the departments involved, I will be happy to rediscuss my agenda to involve more teaching. Teaching is an integral component of the stated mission of the Ecoinformatics Collaboratory at the Gund Institute. The web site at http://ecoinformatics.uvm.edu expands on the vision of an integrated teaching offer that I will be pursuing if given the chance.