It all started when…

I grew up in Italy, where since I was a child I cultivated a great passion for nature. During my adolescence I was very curious and loved to explore the woods, marine environments, and discover all the little wonders that lived there. I completed both my Master’s and Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolution at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, where I studied marine and fisheries ecology. During this time, I specialized in the application of spatial models and machine learning algorithms to study population dynamics and anthropogenic impacts. Over the past few years, I have been studying freshwater fish communities in the Amazon forest using deep learning models.

My research...

My research focuses on the application of emerging technologies to study coral reef ecosystems, in particular:

1.   The development of machine learning tools for automated detection and measurement of reef halos from high-resolution satellite imagery.

2.   The application of novel mathematical models for studying how environmental and anthropogenic variables affect coral reef health.

3.   The development of a web information tool for improving management, conservation, and scientific communication of/about coral reef ecosystems.

Machine learning, satellite data, and drone imagery are among the most innovative instruments currently used in ecology and allow a great adaptability of application. I believe the most important point in research is to adapt the method to data – and not the other way around – and to look for new approaches to better understand the system and the relationships between the variables involved.

What I've written...

My peer-reviewed publications are listed here. Feel free to email me for copies of any of them. 

Contact me…

Email:

simonefr@hawaii.edu

Website:

(under construction…)

Address:

Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
University of Hawaii at Manoa
PO Box 1346 (for US Postal Service)
46-007 Lilipuna Road (For all other carriers)
Kaneohe, HI 96744 USA

Office:

New Pauly Building, Room 105