Research Contractor
Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering (DISEG)
- Member of Interdepartmental Center SISCON - Safety of Infrastructures and Constructions
Profile
Keywords
Biography
Researcher in civil and environmental engineering, specializing in natural hazards, risk analysis and mitigation measures, with a specific focus on rockfall phenomena. She was awarded the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship for the project RIDETHERISK (GA 101103401), dedicated to the investigation of fragmentation processes in rockfall propagation and risk analysis in mountain and mining environments. Within this project, she carried out 1.5 years of research at the Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, University of Newcastle (Australia), and has recently completed the fellowship. She is currently a Research Contractor at Politecnico di Torino, Department of Structural, Building and Geotechnical Engineering, working on the project “Knowledge, management and maintenance of underground infrastructures through reverse engineering approaches”, focused on the assessment and maintenance of large Alpine and Apennine tunnels through inverse numerical modelling and geomechanical characterization. Previously, she held fixed-term research and postdoctoral positions at Politecnico di Torino, where for more than eight years she worked on hazard and risk analysis and the design of structural mitigation measures. After obtaining her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering on debris-flow modelling, her research focused on rock slope instability and rockfall protection systems. She is co-head of the Rockfall Protection Engineering Research Center and a member of the SISCON Interdepartmental Center. She has authored 65 scientific publications and has participated in 28 research projects. She serves on the editorial boards of Environmental and Mining Geoengineering and Geosciences. She holds the Italian National Scientific Qualification for Associate Professor and has been an adjunct professor at Politecnico di Torino since 2018.
Curriculum
Scientific branch
(Area 0008 - Civil engineering and architecture)
Skills
ERC sectors
SDG
Open badges
-
RIMINI SCHOOL “SUCCESSFULLY PARTICIPATE IN CALLS FOR RESEARCH FUNDING”
Issued by Politecnico di Torino on 16-12-2025
Fellowships
- Effective member - SIG, Italia (2026-)
- Scientific Committee member - UNI/CT 012/SC 03 "Opere di difesa dalla caduta massi", Italia (2026-)
- Effective member - IAEG, Zona Neutrale (2025-)
- Effective member - AGI, Italia (2024-)
- Effective member - ISRM, Portogallo (2024-)
- Effective member - GEAM: Associazione Georisorse e Ambiente, Italia (2020-)
Editorial boards
- GEOSCIENCES (2025-), Editorial board member
- GEOSCIENCES (2025-), Guest Editor of magazine or editorial series
- GEAM. GEOINGEGNERIA AMBIENTALE E MINERARIA (2020-), Editorial board member
Teaching
Collegi of the degree programmes
- Collegio di Ingegneria per l'Ambiente e il Territorio. Componente invitato
Teachings
PhD
- Rockfall protection techniques. A.A. 2025/26, INGEGNERIA CIVILE E AMBIENTALE. Teaching assistant
- Opere di protezione contro la caduta massi. A.A. 2024/25, INGEGNERIA CIVILE E AMBIENTALE. Teaching assistant
- Opere di protezione contro la caduta massi. A.A. 2023/24, INGEGNERIA CIVILE E AMBIENTALE. Teaching assistant
- Opere di protezione contro la caduta massi. A.A. 2022/23, INGEGNERIA CIVILE E AMBIENTALE. Teaching assistant
- Opere di protezione contro la caduta massi. A.A. 2021/22, INGEGNERIA CIVILE E AMBIENTALE. Teaching assistant
- Opere di protezione contro la caduta massi. A.A. 2020/21, INGEGNERIA CIVILE E AMBIENTALE. Teaching assistant
Master of Science
- Ground improvement engineering. A.A. 2025/26, INGEGNERIA PER L'AMBIENTE E IL TERRITORIO. Collaboratore del corso
- Ground improvement engineering. A.A. 2023/24, INGEGNERIA PER L'AMBIENTE E IL TERRITORIO. Collaboratore del corso
- Ground improvement engineering. A.A. 2022/23, INGEGNERIA PER L'AMBIENTE E IL TERRITORIO. Collaboratore del corso
- Consolidamento di rocce e terreni. A.A. 2021/22, INGEGNERIA PER L'AMBIENTE E IL TERRITORIO. Collaboratore del corso
- Challenge@PoliTo by Firms - Dream Your Outdoor. A.A. 2021/22, INGEGNERIA GESTIONALE (ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT). Collaboratore del corso
- Landslides and slope engineering. A.A. 2021/22, INGEGNERIA PER L'AMBIENTE E IL TERRITORIO. Collaboratore del corso
- Landslides and slope engineering. A.A. 2020/21, INGEGNERIA PER L'AMBIENTE E IL TERRITORIO. Collaboratore del corso
- Consolidamento di rocce e terreni. A.A. 2020/21, INGEGNERIA PER L'AMBIENTE E IL TERRITORIO. Collaboratore del corso
Research
Laboratories
Research projects
Projects funded by commercial contracts
- Validazione tecnica dei progetti di fattibilità tecnico economica ed esecutivi degli interventi paramassi sulle pendici del Viadotto Avise e del vallo-tomo di Le Champ sull’Autostrada A5 Aosta – Monte Bianco di competenza di RAV, (2026-2027) - Responsabile Scientifico
Consulting - Sviluppo delle buone pratiche, delle metodologie e degli strumenti per la quantificazione del rischio caduta massi e per la gestione dello stesso, (2025-2027) - Componente gruppo di Ricerca
Commercial Research
Supervised PhD students
- Francesco Pimpinella. Programme in Ingegneria Civile E Ambientale (38th cycle, 2022-2026)
Thesis: Mechanical characterization of flexible rockfall barriers through a global multi-component analytical framework
Earthquake Engineering Geoengineering Structural Design and Safety - Stefano Vigna. Programme in Ingegneria Civile E Ambientale (37th cycle, 2021-2025)
Thesis: Innovative Approaches to the Dynamic Behavior of Rockfall Protection Embankments
Geoengineering Geotechnical Engineering Numerical Modelling and Simulation Soil and Rock Mechanics
Publications
Publications by type
Last years publications
Last years publications View all publications in Porto@Iris
- Pimpinella, Francesco; Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio; Lanter, Hélène (2026)
An integrated multi-component model to investigate the performance of a rockfall barrier subjected to different loading conditions. In: Rocexs: the 8th Interdisciplinary Workshop on Rockfall Protection, Grenoble, 7-9/07/2026
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Vigna, Stefano; Nadalini, Matteo; Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio; Saltarin, ... (2026)
MONITORING EXTREME ROCKFALL IMPACTS: A 10,000 KJ FULLSCALE TEST. In: Rocexs: the 8th Interdisciplinary Workshop on Rockfall Protection, Grenoble (Fra), 7-9 July 2026
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena; Guccione, Davide Ettore; Giacomini, Anna; Buzzi, Olivier (2026)
Fragmentation Patterns and Trajectories During Rockfall: Analysis of the Influence of Discontinuities and Impact Conditions Through Drop Tests. In: ROCK MECHANICS AND ROCK ENGINEERING, pp. 1-33. ISSN 0723-2632
Contributo su Rivista - Vallero, Gianmarco; Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio (2026)
Structural vulnerability of power transmission line supports: development of fragility curves for snow avalanche loads. In: GEORISK, pp. 1-23. ISSN 1749-9526
Contributo su Rivista - Marchelli, Maddalena; Gabrieli, Fabio (2026)
A forecasting tool for anchored wire mesh behavior under out-of-plane loads. In: Rocexs: the 8th Interdisciplinary Workshop on Rockfall Protection, Grenoble, 7-9/07/2026
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - De Biagi, Valerio; Marchelli, Maddalena; Barnichon, Jean-Dominique (2026)
RELIABILITY-BASED DESIGN OF ROCKFALL BARRIERS: INTEGRATION OF ROCKSTOP IN ROCPRO3D FOR TARGET RESIDUAL RISK. In: Rocexs: the 8th Interdisciplinary Workshop on Rockfall Protection, Grenoble, 7-9/07/2026
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio (2026)
Reliability assessment of concrete walls as rockfall protection systems in mountainous areas. In: EURO-C 2026: Computational Modelling of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Seefeld (Aut), 9-12 marzo 2026, pp. 243-250. ISBN: 9781003660026
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio; Chiaia, Bernardino; Peila, Daniele (2026)
Managing rockfall risk on the Italian road network with the new UX131 guideline. In: III Fabre Conference – Existing bridges, viaducts and tunnels: research, innovation and applications (FABRE26), Roma (Ita), 16-19 Febbraio 2026, pp. 1-8
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena (2026)
A new probabilistic rockfall trajectory model incorporating fragmentation, rock mass quality and block shape variability. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROCK MECHANICS AND MINING SCIENCES, vol. 206, pp. 1-28. ISSN 1365-1609
Contributo su Rivista - Marchelli, Maddalena (2026)
A novel probabilistic rockfall model incorporating fragmentation : insights from an alpine case study. In: Rocexs: the 8th Interdisciplinary Workshop on Rockfall Protection, Grenoble, 7-9/07/2026
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena; Guccione, Davide Ettore; Giacomini, Anna; Buzzi, Olivier (2026)
Fragmentation and energy dissipation in rockfall: Effects of block shape and non-collinear impact dynamics. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROCK MECHANICS AND MINING SCIENCES, vol. 198, pp. 1-20. ISSN 1365-1609
Contributo su Rivista - De Biagi, Valerio; Marchelli, Maddalena; Pimpinella, Francesco (2025)
Failure probability of rockfall net fences subjected to ageing: a reliability- based approach for risk reduction. In: 9th International Symposium for Geotechnical Safety and Risk (ISGSR), Oslo (Norway), 25-28/08/2025, pp. 1-4
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Pimpinella, Francesco; Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio (2025)
A weight-based efficiency measure for energy dissipating devices for flexible rockfall barriers. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PROTECTIVE STRUCTURES, vol. 16, pp. 956-980. ISSN 2041-4196
Contributo su Rivista - Pimpinella, Francesco; Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio (2025)
Effects of eccentric impacts and corrosion on the structural behaviour of retaining wire ring nets. In: The 7th International Conference on Protective Structures (ICPS7), Abu Dhabi (Arab Emirates), 12-15/05/2025, pp. 1-8
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena; Guccione, Davide Ettore; Giacomini, Anna; Buzzi, Olivier (2025)
Fragmentation patterns during rockfall: analysis of the influence of discontinuities and impact conditions through drop tests. In: Eurock 2025 - Expanding the underground space: future development of the subsurface, Trondheim (Nor), 17-19 giugno 2025, pp. 1-8
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - De Biagi, Valerio; Marchelli, Maddalena (2025)
An experimental setup to study the collision force between brittle impacting bodies. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMPACT ENGINEERING, vol. 196, pp. 1-9. ISSN 0734-743X
Contributo su Rivista - De Biagi, Valerio; Marchelli, Maddalena; Pimpinella, Francesco (2025)
Prediction of residual rockfall risk in presence of net fences according to the position of the impact. In: Eurock 2025 - Expanding the underground space: future development of the subsurface, Trondheim (Norway), 17-19/06/2025, pp. 1-8
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio; Chiaia, Bernardino (2025)
A fully probabilistic framework to compute the residual rockfall risk in presence of mitigation measures. In: LANDSLIDES, vol. 22, pp. 2961-2968. ISSN 1612-510X
Contributo su Rivista - Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio; Paganone, Marco; Bertolo, Davide (2025)
A hybrid approach to quantifying rockfall risk with limited knowledge: a case study in Aosta Valley. In: BULLETIN OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, vol. 84, pp. 1-21. ISSN 1435-9529
Contributo su Rivista - De Biagi, Valerio; Marchelli, Maddalena (2025)
A new tool to quantify the failure probability of rockfall net fences. In: The Rocscience International Conference 2025 (RIC2025), Sydney, 6-8/04/2025, pp. 1-8
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Vigna, Stefano; Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio; Saltarin, Simone; Di Pietra, ... (2025)
Assessing inertial effects on Rockfall Protection Embankments: field & numerical tests. In: Eurock 2025 - Expanding the underground space: future development of the subsurface, Trondheim (Norway), 17-19/06/2025, pp. 1-8
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena; Giacomini, Anna (2025)
Synthetic slope profiles to assess rockfall hazard on open pit: influence of topography uncertainties. In: The Rocscience International Conference 2025 (RIC2025), Sydney (Aus), 6-8 aprile 2025, pp. 1-9
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Marchelli, Maddalena; Peila, Daniele; Chiaia, Bernardino (2025)
Quantitative risk assessment for viable infrastructures subjected to rockfall: analyses of social and economical consequences. In: 9th International Symposium for Geotechnical Safety and Risk (ISGSR), Oslo (Norway), 25-28/08/2025, pp. 1-4
Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding) - Pimpinella, Francesco; Marchelli, Maddalena; De Biagi, Valerio (2025)
A generalized multi-component analytical method to study the performance of a rockfall barrier under a generic impact condition. In: COMPUTERS AND GEOTECHNICS, vol. 188, pp. 1-19. ISSN 0266-352X
Contributo su Rivista
Knowledge Valorisation
Technology transfer
- RockFRAG. national Software
Inventors: Maddalena Marchelli - RockBarrier Control. national Software
Inventors: Maddalena Marchelli Daniele Peila - Rockstop. national Software
Inventors: Valerio De Biagi Maddalena Marchelli - Dispositivo Di Misura Della Forza Di Impatto Tra Corpi Che Possono Frammentarsi. national and international Patent
Inventors: Valerio De Biagi Maddalena Marchelli