Introducing the FUS Faculty: Silvia Piccinelli

Assistant professor, Environmental Science

Ph.D. Chemical and Environmental Science, Insubria University, Italy
MSc Environmental Science, Insubria University, Italy
BSc Natural Sciences, University of Milan, Italy

Office: NC Villa, North Campus, office 12
Phone: +41 91 986 36 35
Email: spiccinelli@fus.edu

Silvia Piccinelli is Assistant Professor of Environmental Science. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical and Environmental Science at Insubria University, Italy, coupled with a Ph.D. Visiting at Geneva University, Switzerland.

Her research studies focus on climate change impacts on vegetation, with a particular interest in species colonizing pre-alpine and high-elevation alpine ecotones, permafrost environments, and high-latitude peatlands. Her expertise includes both dendroecological (ring with and wood anatomical traits) and phytosociological approaches, investigating plant responses to climate variability, from trees and shrubs to alpine grassland, snowbed and pioneer ecological series. Her work has been published in high-level peer-reviewed journals such as Catena and Frontiers in Plant Science. Her teaching interests include all shades of Environmental and Natural Science, with a particular focus on recent Climate Change.

Before joining Franklin University Switzerland, she worked at Geneva University, Switzerland, as FNS PostDoc in the Project « TURBERAS - Reconstruction of Holocene hydro-climatic fluctuations based on multi-proxy peatland records » in collaboration with Lund University, Sweden.

She is currently working in the SPI (Swiss Polar Institute) Project « PAMIR - From ice to microorganisms and humans: toward an interdisciplinary understanding of climate change impacts on the Third Pole » within the Cryospheric hazard Cluster (Geneva University), analysing rock glaciers and surface instability through a multidisciplinary approach in Pamir, Tajikistan.

2024-2025 Courses

BIO 215T	Alpine and Nordic Ecosystems Dynamics (Sweden)	FALL 2024
This course offers an in-depth study of cold ecosystems, encompassing a wide-ranging exploration from the European Alps to the Nordic regions, focusing on their ecological dynamics. It provides a comprehensive look at the environmental factors influencing these unique regions, including their diverse flora and fauna. The course will explore ecological processes, interactions, and the adaptations of species to their environments in both the Alpine and Nordic contexts. Students will engage with current issues such as climate change, human impacts, and ecological conservation challenges. The Travel component will allow direct observation and hands-on experience on the field. Students should be prepared for outdoor activities in varied weather conditions and terrains.
BIO 310	Ecology	FALL 2024
This course examines the interactions of organisms with their environment and each other, the dynamics of populations, the structure and functions of ecosystems, the role of biogeochemical cycles, and biodiversity. Required laboratory sessions. MAT 201 and BIO 102 are strongly recommended prior to taking this course.
ENV 199	Glaciers No More? Climate Change	FALL 2024
Climate change has been named one of the most important issues facing our society and globe today. At particular risk are regions at high latitudes and altitudes, including the Alps. This course examines the complex issue of climate change, considering the scientific background of climate and how it changes, the impact of those changes on ecological and human systems, and possibilities for mitigating these impacts. The course will focus on the situation in the Alps, but will also examine climate change in a global context. An integral and required part of the course will be a weekend visit to the Rhone glacier. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental critical and academic skills necessary for succeeding at university.
BIO 203	Plant Biology	SPRING 2025
The course provides an overview of the fascinating world of plants, with a primary focus on higher plants. It explores how plants are structured at both the cellular and organismal levels and how these features differ across species and environments. It examines how plants reproduce, how they interact with each other and other organisms, and their role in ecosystem functions. It also considers their interactions with humans and the important roles they play for human societies, including for food, medicine, and carbon sequestration. Using the campus grounds and the local area, students will engage in field activities that may take place outside of the regularly scheduled course period. Although only one course in introductory biology is required, students will have ideally completed both semesters of the introductory biology sequence before taking this course. (Students who have previously earned credit for BIO 103 may not also earn credit for BIO 203.)
ENV 372W	Sustainability Science	SPRING 2025
This seminar-style course will examine the emergent field of sustainability as well as the science it employs to understand and manage the interactions between human society and the natural world. It will trace the development of our understanding of sustainability and its importance in the contemporary world. It will examine key processes driving global change in areas such as biodiversity, climate, energy use, pollution, population growth, public health, and urbanization, as well as provide an overview of the tools we use to measure sustainability. Lastly, it will explore some of the innovative approaches people are employing to address contemporary problems and effect a transition to a more sustainable society. Students in the course will apply their learning in a project that develops a solution for a particular sustainability problem on campus, locally, or somewhere on the globe. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)

Publications:

Piccinelli, S., Francon, L., Christophe, C., Stoffel, M., Slamova L., Cannone, N., 2023. Vessels in a Rhododendron ferrugineum (L.) population do not trace temperature anymore at the alpine shrubline. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13:1023384. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1023384

Cannone, N., & Piccinelli, S., 2021. Changes of rock glacier vegetation in 25 years of climate warming in the Italian Alps. Catena, 206, 105562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105562

Piccinelli, S., Brusa, G., Cannone, N., 2020. Climate warming accelerates forest encroachment triggered by land use change: A case study in the Italian Prealps (Triangolo Lariano, Italy). Catena, 195, 104870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2020.104870