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Francesco Panzera

Assistant Professor of [GEOS-04/A]
Membership Section: Earth Sciences section
Contacts

Email: francesco.panzera@unict.it
Phone: +39 095 478 37 02

VERSIONE ITALIANASTUDIUMAREA RISERVATA

I born in Catania on October 22, 1981 and I obtained the Master degree in Geophysical Sciences on July 2008 with a thesis entitled "Numerical and experimental methods to evalute seismic site response in the urban area of ​​Catania". I obtained the PhD in "Geological Evolution of Mediterranean Orogens" on March 2012 with a thesis entitled "Approaches to earthquake scenarios validation using seismic site response". Both degrees were obtained at the University of Catania.

I held various postDoc positions, among which the most significants are: Postdoc researcher at the Icelandic Meteorological Office in Reykjavik (Iceland) from October 2013 to August 2014; Postdoc researcher at the University of Catania from September 2014 to January 2018; Senior researcher at the Swiss Seismological Service – ETH Zurich from February 2018 to October 2022. Currently, since 31 October 2022 I am Assistant Professor at the University of Catania. I was also coordinator of the activity of the "Strong ground motion and seismic site characterization" group at the Swiss Seismological service - ETH Zurich from July 2020 to October 2022. In 2018 I obtained the National Scientific Qualification as Associate Professor in the Scientific Sector Geophysics 04/GEOS-04 and in 2025 I obtained the National Scientific Qualification as Full Professor in the Scientific Sector Geophysics 04/GEOS-04.

I participated in several national projects (Swiss and Italian) and international projects on the seismic risk prevention and mitigation topic. My scientific level is documented by more than 40 publications in international scientific journals PEER reviewed, book prefaces, book chapters and more than 90 abstracts in national and international conferences.

The experience acquired in recent years in the field of research and teaching on natural hazards is also demonstrated by various collaborations with Italian and foreign institutions and universities (University of Malta, INGV, Icelandic Meteorological Office, ETH - Zurich, University of Oslo, University of Geneva, University of Catania, OGS Trieste, University of L'Aquila and Center for Seismic Microzonation and its applications).

Last publications:

  1. D’Amico S, Cannata A, Panzera F, Marinaro G (2025) Seismic reconstruction of meteotsunami wave heights using coastal seismic stations: an application in the Port of Hamina, Gulf of Finland. Natural Hazards 121, 15637–15654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-025-07407-9
  2. Janusz P, Panzera F, Bergamo P, Perron V, Fäh D (2025) Mapping site amplification with the dense recording of ambient vibration for the city of Lucerne (Switzerland) – comparison between two approaches. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-024-02091-9
  3. Borzì AM, Castiglione F, Gangemi MV, Cannata A, Cavallaro L, Foti E, Musumeci RE, Panzera F (2025) Exploring the relationship between seismic noise signals and modeled river flow data: a case study from Sicily, Italy. Engineering Geology, 345, 107872, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2024.107872
  4. Borzì AM, Cannata A, Panzera F, D’Amico S, Lo Re C, Aster RC (2025) Microseism Amplitude and Wave Power in the Mediterranean Sea (1996–2023) Journal of Geophisical Research Solid Earth, 130, e2024JB030528. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JB030528
  5. Papadopoulos AN, Roth P, Danciu L, Bergamo P, Panzera F, Fäh D, Cauzzi C, Duvernay B, Khodaverdian A, Lestuzzi P, Odabasi Ö, Fagà E, Bazzurro P, Valenzuela N, Marti M, Dallo I, Schmid N, Kästli P, Haslinger F, Wiemer S (2024) The National Earthquake Risk Model of Switzerland ERM-CH23. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 3561–3578, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-3561-2024
  6. Janusz P, Bonilla LF, Bergamo P, Panzera F, Roten D, Loviknes K, Fäh D (2024) Multi-step procedure for estimating nonlinear soil response in low seismicity areas – a case study of Lucerne, Switzerland. Geophysical Journal International, Geophysical Journal International, 239(2):1133-1154, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggae324
  7. Panzera F, Bergamo P, Imtiaz A, Fäh D (2024) Estimation of site-specific amplification function from quarter-wavelength velocity profile and its application to obtain local amplification maps, Engineering Geology, 107628, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2024.107628
  8. Panzera F, Bergamo P, Danciu L, Fäh D (2024) Investigating worldwide strong motion databases to derive a collection of free-field records to select design-compatible waveforms for Switzerland. Bull Earthquake Eng (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-024-01970-5
  9. Galone L, Villani F, Colica E, Pistillo D, Baccheschi P, Panzera F, Galindo-Zaldívar J, D'Amico S (2024) Integrating near-surface geophysical methods and remote sensing techniques for reconstructing fault-bounded valleys (Mellieha valley, Malta), Tectonophysics, 875, 230263, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2024.230263.
  10. Galone L, Panzera F, Colica E, Fucks E, Carol E, Cellone F, Rivero L, Agius MR, D’Amico S. (2024) A Seismic Monitoring Tool for Tidal-Forced Aquifer Level Changes in the Río de la Plata Coastal Plain, Argentina. Sustainability,16(4):1432. https://doi.org/10.3390/su160414

Databases with the full list of publications:

  1. https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55668835900
  2. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sf-xf8oAAAAJ&hl=it

 

VIEW COURSES FROM A.Y. 2022/2023 TO PRESENT

INTERREG VI A Italia-Malta 2021/2027 WP project

2025-2027 (time duration)

WAVEGUARD – Enhanced monitoring and disaster response to mitigate impacts of extreme meteo-marine events.

Improve monitoring and response to natural disasters to mitigate the effects of extreme weather and marine events.

Progetto Fondo Italiano per le Scienze Applicate (FISA) - Ministrero dell’Università e della Ricerca – Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy

2024-2027 (time duration)

MODERN – Advanced seismic interferometry methods and technologies for engineering seismology (FISA-2022-00764)

Develop a seismic signal monitoring and processing system using interferometric techniques for site characterization and infrastructure monitoring.

Progetti di Ricerca Collaborativa, PIAno di inCEntivi per la Ricerca di Ateneo 2024/2026

2024-2026 (time duration)

RIVERS – River dynamics monItoring via EngineeRing and Seismological techniques

As part of this project, the first study in Sicily will be conducted in which seismic data are used to characterize river activity.

PNRA: Research projects to deepen knowledge in Antartica

2023-2027 (time duration)

I-VOLCAN – Italian VOLCanological observatory in ANtartica

To develop a multi-parametric monitoring system (seismological, geodetic, geochemical) in the area of ​​the Melbourne and Rittmann volcanoes.