Student Member Spotlight: Francesco Mauro

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Student Member Spotlight
Francesco Mauro

Written by: Kevin Corbley

Francesco Mauro is a third-year PhD candidate in the Engineering Department at the University of Sannio in Benevento, Italy, where his work focuses on applying quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) to Earth observation. He also earned his undergraduate degrees in Benevento, studying electronic engineering for automation and telecommunications. Among his current responsibilities, Francesco is a Visiting Researcher at the European Space Agency (ESA) in Frascati, Italy. A GRSS member since 2022, he currently heads the Region 8 Chapter and co-leads the Quantum Computing for Earth Observation Working Group within the IEEE GRSS QUEST Technical Committee (TC).

Why did you decide to join GRSS?

I decided to join GRSS because my Master’s thesis supervisor, Professor Silvia Liberato Ullo at University of Sannio, asked me to join. She is a senior member of IEEE GRSS and Europe Liaison.

How did you expect your GRSS experience to impact your current academic activities?

I expected to have some opportunities to improve my knowledge about AI and quantum computing techniques for earth observation. And I had the opportunities to attend different GRSS summer schools, [as well as] several conferences to present my work. So, I had a lot of opportunities.

Do you feel like your expectations have been fulfilled by GRSS? What is your overall impression after almost three years?

Yes, my expectation was to improve my technical background, but also to improve my network, and I think they were [successful] since I learned a lot and I met a lot of people that work in this field. And thanks to GRSS, I had the possibility to work with these people. The most important events, I think, in my three years in GRSS were the invitation to participate in the GRSS Administrative Committee (AdCom) meeting in Athens, Greece, and San Diego, California. I had the opportunity to meet the most important people in the field of Geoscience and Remote sensing. So, I think that my experience in GRSS really matches the expectations.

What are some of the GRSS activities that you’ve taken part in so far, and what are some that you haven’t done yet, but hope to take part in in the future?

My first GRSS activity was IGARSS 2023 in Pasadena, California. Then, in November 2023 I attended, again in Pasadena, the IEEE GRSS MicrowAve MonItoring of WATer with Applications (MAMI WATA) Workshop. In 2023 and 2024, I attended two editions of the GRSS IADF Summer School (in 2024 I also won the best poster award) and also plan to attend it in 2025 here in Benevento, my hometown. In 2024, I attended IGARSS in Athens, Greece, and I also organized the GRSS European Chapter Chairs Meetup in Krakow, Poland, with the help of professors Silvia Liberata Ullo, Paolo Gamba and Haris Kontoes. Just a few weeks ago, I gave a talk as invited speaker at the GeoAI for Urban Sensing School in Tunis, Tunisia. We are planning two Chapter Chairs meetups this year (one for Europe and another one for MENA), and I plan to attend the GRSS HDCRS Working Group – High Performance and Disruptive Computing in Remote Sensing School 2025 which will be held from June 3–6, 2025, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. I was invited to participate as co-lead of the Working Group on Quantum Computing for Earth Observation within the GRSS QUEST TC. I also plan to attend IGARSS 2025 in Brisbane, Australia, in August and the International Conference on Machine Intelligence for GeoAnalytics & Remote Sensing (MIGARS) in September 2025 in Bucharest, Romania.

Looking forward to your professional career after you complete your PhD, how do you think GRSS membership is going to help you there?

Thanks to GRSS, I have a big network of people that I know, and I hope that this network can help me in finding a job after my PhD.

What are your plans as Head of the Region 8 Chapter?

What I proposed during the last meetup is to establish, for the first time, a European PhD prize. Prof. Liberata Ullo is working with me on this. I think that it could be a nice initiative for Europe, and perhaps in all GRSS regions. We have other goals that we have reached. For example, we were able to help Sweden and Poland in establishing a new chapter. We are also in contact with other people that would like to establish new chapters in other regions of Europe.

Are there any upcoming GRSS events where members can look forward to seeing you?

In addition to IGARSS 2025 in Brisbane, Australia, and MIGARS in Bucharest, I will attend the ESA Living Planet Symposium [June 23-27, 2025] in Vienna, Austria.

What encouragement would you give to other students at various levels if they’re considering joining GRSS?

They should join GRSS because it’s like a big family in which you can meet a lot of people that could help improve your research. By joining GRSS, you have the possibility to meet the most important researchers in our field. So, I think that this is a great opportunity.

Do you know an IEEE GRSS Student Member who deserves to be recognized? We invite you to submit a nomination by sending a brief message to ir_pub@grss-ieee.org with the subject: “Student Member Spotlight.”