Simonetta Paloscia received her degree in agricultural sciences in 1979, from the University of Florence. After graduation she joins the National Research Council (C.N.R.), where she worked in agrometeorology and remote sensing studies concerning agricultural crops. Since 1987 she has been with IFAC-CNR (Institute of Applied Physics), where she continued studying natural surfaces using microwave and infrared remote sensing techniques. Her research currently concerns with the study of microwave emission and scattering of soil (both bare and snow-covered) and vegetation. Since 2001 she is
Senior Scientist, and since January 2004 she is
leader of the Microwave Remote Sensing group at IFAC, and scientific responsible of the research line
"Sviluppo di tecnologie per la generazione, il trattamento e l'interpretazione di immagini e dati telerilevati della superficie terreste
", within the framework of the Earth & Environment Dept. of CNR. She had participated in various microwave remote sensing campaigns (SAR-580, AGRISAR, AGRISCATT'87, AGRISCATT'88, MAC'91 and SIR-C/X-SAR), where she has coordinated the activities of ground truth data collection and data analysis. She was co-investigator of the SIR-C/X-SAR and ERS-1/2 projects, and Principal investigator of JERS-1 project. She participated in many European Projects where she was co-investigators in NOPEX-Forest Dynamo, ReSeDA, and ENVISNOW EC Programs and was scientific responsible for the FLAUBERT and FLOODMAN. Since 1996 she is Principal Investigators in a Science Team of JAXA (Japan Space Agency), within the framework of the project Advanced Earth Observing Satellite, for the use of AQUA/AMSR-E and G-COM/AMSR-2 microwave data in algorithms for measuring soil moisture and vegetation biomass from satellites. She was responsible of projects and sub-projects of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana).
She has a temporary teaching contract of "Microwave Remote Sensing Applications" for a Professional Master "Geomatics and Natural Resources Evaluation" at the Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Florence.
She was member of organizing committees of some international meetings, such as the Specialist Meeting on Microwave Radiometry and Remote Sensing Applications, hold in Florence in 1988, 1999, and 2008 and the annual International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). She was Symposium Coordinator of IGARSS 1995 and General Co-chair of the MicroRad 1999 and 2008 meetings organized in Florence.
She is a regular referee of the following international journals: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Remote Sensing of the Environment and International Journal of Remote Sensing. She is also Associate Editor of the International Journal of Remote Sensing.
She is Senior member of IEEE, since 2006 and of the Electromagnetics Academy of Cambridge (MA, USA). In 2012 she has been elevated to the grade of IEEE Fellow with the motivation: "for contributions to active and passive microwave remote sensing of vegetation and land surfaces". She is also Vice-President of the URSI commission F since 2011 and Chair of the GRSS Chapter of the IEEE Italy Section since 2010.
She is member of the Associazione Italiana di Telerilevamento (AIT) and Treasurer from 2004 to 2010.
She is author and co-author of more than 60 works published on international journals and books, of more than 90 papers published on proceedings of international meetings.
