Elena De Petrillo

Elena De Petrillo's picture

Ph.D. in Ingegneria Civile E Ambientale , 37th cycle (2021-2024)

Ph.D. obtained in 2025

Dissertation:

Unveiling invisible water flows in socio-hydrological systems (Abstract)

Tutors:

Francesco Laio Marta Tuninetti

Profile

Research topic

Water teleconnections from global to regional scales: the virtual and atmospheric networks

Research interests

Hydrology

Biography

Elena De Petrillo is a PhD candidate at Politecnico di Torino, focusing on virtual water trade and land-atmosphere interactions. Her interest in water footprint research began with her 2018 Bachelor's thesis, "Spatial Analysis of the Agricultural Water Footprint with Free Data Visualization Software," which explored the global spatial variability of water footprints and the complexity of virtual water trade networks. Since then, she has been actively involved in the Water To Food project, with three research scholarships. In 2021, she earned her Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering with a thesis that analysed the spatial resolution of virtual water trade at the transnational corporate level. Her current research delves into the pivotal role of key actors in driving global virtual water trade through the import and export of food commodities, alongside investigating how land-atmosphere interactions influence water redistribution within the hydrological cycle

Awards and Honors

  • Letter of appreciation from the Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, recognizing my contributions to the youth workshop “Drops of the Future,” held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 19-20 September 2024. This event, organized as part of the OSCE’s Extra-budgetary project “Women, Water Management and Conflict Prevention – Phase III,” brought together diverse participants from Central Asia to engage in topic discussions on water management and conflict prevention. During the workshop, I contributed to discussions and exchanging ideas with both participants and co-organizers, fostering a collaborative and insightful environment for cooperation within the water-food-energy nexus and transboundary resources management. (2024)

Teaching

Teachings

Bachelor of Science

MostraNascondi A.A. passati

Publications

PoliTO co-authors

Works published during the Ph.D. View all publications in Porto@Iris

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