Born in Milan on 8 May 1975, has a 5-year University Degree in Biological Science and a PhD in Agricultural Ecology. Employed at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) from 2005 to 2008. Leader of the JRC team that developed a new system for rice yield forecasts, operational for Europe since 2006, and successfully tested for China and India during 2008. Coordinator of the interdisciplinary research group that developed the WARM model for rice simulations. WARM is used by the EC for rice yield forecasts in Europe, China and India, and for food security studies in Mali and Burkina Faso. WARM is also used within other international projects (e.g., EU-FP7 project E-AGRI, AgMIP network). Developer of new criteria for the evaluation of biophysical models, formalizing for the first time the concepts of model robustness, balance and plasticity, and proposing statistical criteria for their quantification. Developer of a new statistical method for determining the optimal sample size, free from any statistical assumption and particularly suitable for agro-environmental experiments. Designer and constructor of instrumentation for the determination of biophysical variables (e.g., a floating micrometeorological station, a machine for determining the stability of soil aggregates, level sensors). Coordinator of different national and international projects (e.g., Work Package Leader in the EU-FP7 project E-AGRI). World Bank consultant for a project aimed at assessing climate change impacts on land use in Latin America. Researcher at the State University of Milan since 30 December 2008.

Author of 123 scientific publications, 34 on international journals with Impact Factor (20 as first author). h-index (ISI) = 11. Inventor in the patent number 0001340669.

Roberto Confalonieri, PhD
roberto.confalonieri@unimi.it
via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy

Centre for Advanced Simulation Studies
AND Researches on Agroecological modelling