IN PROFILE: Dr. Simonetta Paloscia, IEEE Fellow

By Joanne Van Voorhis

Dr. Simonetta Paloscia was a Research Director at the Institute of Applied Physics – National Research Council (IFAC-CNR) in Florence, Italy up to 2022. She now continues to collaborate with IFAC-CNR as a research associate, always dealing with earth observation with microwave sensors.

She was elected an IEEE Fellow in 2012 for contributions to active and passive microwave remote sensing of vegetation and land surfaces. She is also a Fellow of the URSI (Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale) and the Electromagnetics Academy of Cambridge. Most recently, she was honored with the prestigious 2024 IEEE GRSS Fawwaz Ulaby Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to active and passive microwave remote sensing of land processes.

Four Decades of Targeted Research

Starting in the early 1980’s, Dr. Paloscia focused her efforts on agrometeorology and microwave remote sensing studies concerning natural surfaces. Her career spanned four decades at the National Research Council (CNR) of Italy. After earning her M.S. in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Florence, she began cooperating with CNR in 1981 and then earned the position of Researcher in 1984. In 2001, she became a senior scientist at the Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC) of CNR, and by 2010, she had risen to the position of Research Director. Since 2004, she has led the Microwave Remote Sensing Group, driving forward research on microwave remote sensing of natural surfaces within CNR’s Earth Observation Project.

Her groundbreaking work has advanced our understanding of microwave emission and scattering in soils – both bare and snow-covered – as well as in vegetation. She also participated in and led many national and international experimental campaigns which involved both ground and remote sensing measurements, including satellite and airborne sensor systems.

Collaboration Critical to Success

Throughout her career, Dr. Paloscia recognized the intrinsic value of collaboration. “Nobody is alone in research,” she explains. “Even the most reclusive scientist owes a substantial part of their success to the people working and studying around them. This was particularly true for my research in remote sensing as many different competences need to be integrated to achieve valid results.” She found that her cooperation with several international research groups was essential in order to keep up with new research and methodologies while strengthening research bonds and friendship among colleagues.

Over the years, she also worked closely with her husband, Paolo Pampaloni (Life Fellow, IEEE and retired Head of Research of the Institute of Applied Physics of the Italian National Research Council), whom she credits with teaching her the methodology of scientific research and the rigor of a correct approach to the multifaceted problems of remote sensing. “We supported each throughout our careers and worked as a team to overcome those tougher moments where hoped-for results seemed out of reach,” she explains.

A Respected Voice

Beyond her leadership roles, Dr. Paloscia has played a pivotal role in numerous high-profile research projects, collaborating with major organizations such as the Italian Space Agency, the European Commission, ESA, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Her expertise earned her a place on NASA’s SMAP JPL science team and a seat on the permanent Steering Committee of the MicroRad Specialist Meeting. She also co-chaired many prestigious conferences, including MicroRad 1999 and 2008, and the URSI-F 2010 meeting in Florence.

A respected voice in the field, she served as an associate editor for leading journals, including the International Journal of Remote Sensing, the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, and the European Journal of Remote Sensing. Dr. Paloscia has authored or coauthored over 100 articles in international journals and books, along with more than 200 papers published in the proceedings of international meetings.

Many “AHA” Moments

Dr. Palosica recognizes several “aha” moments that stood out in her long and successful career. “These were often related to significant results obtained from an experiment or to the success of an experimental campaign and the use of a new sensor,” she explains. “Especially at the beginning of my career, our research was pioneering because microwave radiometry of natural surfaces was in its infancy.”

“One early experiment stands out however,” she adds. “We had installed microwave radiometers on a small plane and were thrilled to see that everything worked perfectly – much to the dismay of the airsick researcher onboard (poor thing!). I can still recall the pure joy of seeing that the data collected agreed with our theory and that the results were as expected. These are magic moments, indeed.”

Unanswered Challenges

In spite of all her successes, Dr. Paloscia recognizes many unanswered challenges in her field that she hopes new researchers will address. “The mechanisms regulating the interactions between electromagnetic waves and the natural surfaces are complicated and to be understood and modeled, for example.” says Paloscia. “Existing models are certainly able to describe surface characteristics, but they are extremely complicated and difficult to handle as they require a considerable amount of detailed information which is difficult to collect,” she explains.

“Moreover, the ability to trace the observed parameters from these models is scarce. Although the use of simplified semi-empirical models is easier, these models are less accurate and risk excessively simplifying the relationships between electromagnetic waves and observed surface parameters.” Paloscia recognizes aspects of her studies that still present many open questions for others to investigate. “Vegetation is an extremely complicated medium, which provides unique challenges,” she observes. 

GRSS Member Throughout Career

Dr. Paloscia has been a member of GRSS since its inception. “GRSS has been a constant presence throughout my career and I have always had the feeling of being part of a very strong and extensive community which supported my efforts,” Paloscia explains. “In addition, the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium is a great and unique opportunity for scientific growth with so many available sessions and the chance to present current research to a large audience of international scientists,” she adds.

Reflective Advice to Self and Others

Asked what advice she might give to her 22-year-old self, Paloscia reflects “it is very difficult to look back and try to understand what the right and wrong choices may have been that could have enriched my career. I have always been very attached to my country of origin, to my family and to my friends; thus, I spent some time in other countries but never wanted to move away for long periods like many of my colleagues did.”

“Perhaps moving might have enriched my career and given a different impulse to my research, but it is very difficult to predict in retrospect what the best choice might have been. In any case, I don’t regret anything about the choices I made and the turns my career has taken over the years,” she adds.

Advice to Early Career GRSS Members

Regarding advice to those at the beginning of their career journey, Dr. Paloscia suggests that young researchers “study and have fun, because only by having fun studying and doing research can they achieve interesting results and have a great life.” She cautions that it is difficult to carry out research work without making mistakes and fumbling along the way. “The important thing is to recognize you have made wrong steps and get out of them in time,” she cautions.

She also supports teamwork and collaboration. “Team up, team up, and always team up,” she says. “Never be tempted by the romantic vision of the solitary scientist who works in a ‘turris eburnea.’ Strive to exchange ideas, visions – and data too – to support personal and global growth,” she adds.

Links:

• Dr. Paloscia on Google Scholar 
• Dr. Paloscia on IEEE Xplore
• Dr. Paloscia on SCOPUS