Curriculum

Experience

Prof. Cristina Flesia has been responsible for more than 30 European and International programmes in the frame of Science and Education. Programmes have been supported by EU, the Swiss Federal Offices for Science and Education, the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, ASI, and several National Agencies in Europe.

Prof. Cristina Flesia has been member of several international scientific committees in the field of Research and Education. In particular she has been member of the Remote Sensing Committee of the American Meteorological Society from 1995 to 1998, of the ESA Earth Radiation Mission Advisory Group from 1997 to 1999, she has been appointed as CO-PI’s fro the NASA Zephyr STS Wind Lidar Shuttle Demonstration Flight,  she has been a member of the NOAA working group on Spacebased Lidar Winds, she has been the PI’s of an experiment in the frame of the NDSC (Network for  Detection of  Stratospheric Change) at the station of the “Ile de la Reunion” in the Tropics.  She authored and co-authored over 60  scientific articles in the field  published on international journals. In addition, she authored over 10 detailed ESA reports on different aspects related the  spaceborne lidars.

 In particular, in the field of the research management she has been member of the government nominated control panel of the Italian National Research Centre (CRN) (2001-2003) for the atmospheric research. She is member since 1995 of the expert panels of the ECC - FP4 (Framework Programme 4) FP6, FP7, for different subjects related to the Education and Development of Research, as Infrastructures, Human Capital and Mobility, and Marie Curie Programs, and to specific research areas as Atmospheric Research, Climate Changes, Stratospheric Research and Ozone, Environment, Aviation, and Space Research..

Her scientific co-operations included the major Space and Atmospheric Agencies- ESA (EU), NASA (USA), NOOA(USA), JAXA(Japan), ASI (IT), CNES (FR), DLR (GE), Russian Academy of Science, Byelorussian Academy of Science,  several aerospace industries - British Aerospace, Alcatel, Alenia Spazio, AEADS, and more then 40 primary scientific institutes in Europe, United States, Russia, and Japan..

Her present interests are in the field of climate change processes. Moreover, recent interests are in devoting her experience, scientific and institutional knowledge and personal contacts to the development of the European Research International collaborations in particular with the Gulf States and China. In this frame, she is responsible for the Italian participation to the EU project Inco-Net-GCC, devoted to the identification of the common research and development priorities between the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Scientific activities

Propagation of the optical radiation in turbulent media, lidarsignal processing, assessment of multiple scattering effects from space,inversion techniques, signal retrieval under low signal-to-noise ratioconditions.

2.- Atmospheric physics and climatology.

Theoretical and experimental design and set-up of DIAL ozone instruments, stratospheric ozone measurements, backscattering clouds and aerosol measurements and their effects on the atmospheric properties and chemical composition, different groundbased and airborne measurements campaigns, study of the ozone transport and its effects on climate, long term monitoring of the atmosphere.

3.- Satellite Earth’s observation.

Critical analysis of different Doppler Wind Lidar Techniques, optical and mechanical design of a space representative breadboard, manufacturing of a receiver breadboard. Establishment of a backscatter coefficient database in the UV region, fundamental analysis of Direct Detection Doppler wind speed measurement techniques, fundamental comparison between the different Direct Detection  Doppler Wind Lidar  This includes a detailed study on the signal processing of Doppler Wind Lidar techniques, the critical assessment on the Doppler Wind Lidar architecture ( transceiver and detection unit), the evaluation of the impact of the geophysical parameters on the signal characteristics, as Rayleigh-Brillouin  and Multiple Scattering effects, the evaluation of the state of the art technologies relevant to space application, and the critical assessment on Doppler Wind Lidar performance from space. All those activities have bben performed in the frame of ESA and NASA contracts.

A strong scientific co-operation with NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center for  the development of Direct Detection Doppler Wind and Temperature Lidar using the Double Edge Technique has been formalised by a Memorandum of Understanding in 1995. In this frame, Prof. Cristina Flesia agreed to attempt 355 nm molecular wind measurement using the Double Edge technique Lidar she developed in Geneva in support to the  “Zephyr STS Wind Lidar Shuttle Demonstration Flight” proposed in the frame of the New Millennium Programme. The measurements where successful obtained in March 1998.