BIOGRAPHY:
Iacopo holds a Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Civil Engineering from the University of “Roma Tre鈥� (Rome, Italy, 2014) and a Master in Hydraulic Engineering from the University of Roma Tre (Rome, Italy, 2017). He completed his PhD in 2023 at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (Maryland, US), where he studied oysters and vegetation as nature-based solution for coastal protection, to reduce shoreline erosion and enhance shoreline resilience in the face of climate change and sea level rise. His work examined impacts of oyster reefs and vegetation on flow hydrodynamics and morphodynamic via fieldwork, modeling and lab experiments. Following his PhD, he moved to Italy at the National Research Council, Institute of Marine Science (CNR-ISMAR) as postdoctoral scholar, to study multi-stressors impact on coastal health through long-term satellite observations. He is now a postdoctoral scholar at 麻豆原创 at the department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, working in the Eco-hydraulics lab on nature-based solution (oysters and vegetation) for coastal protection.
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RESEARCH:
Iacopo joined the Eco-Hydraulic Lab in Winter 2025 as a Postdoctoral Researcher. His research focuses on flow interaction with biota features, such as vegetation and/or oysters, to better understand hydrodynamics and sediment transport within and surrounding natural ecosystems. The main application of such research is for sustainable shoreline protection and climate adaptation. He combines field-based hydrodynamic measurements (waves, velocity, turbidity) with lab and modeling analysis, also to evaluate future scenarios. His research aims to help planners and decision-makers in implementing flexible climate adaptation strategies in coastal environments.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email: iacopo.vona@ucf.edu