Dr. Maria Cristina Rulli is Professor of Hydrology and Water and Food Security at the Politecnico di Milano since 2019, she is vice president of the Italian Society of Water Engineering since 2021. In 2025 she has been elected member of the Italian Academy of Engineering and Technology (ITATEC). She is fellow of Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti and Union Fellow of the American Geophysical Union since 2024. In 2024 she has been awarded with the 11th Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water-Creativity Prize. Her research focuses on the interaction between hydrological processes and humanity. Using the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus perspective, she has been investigating the impacts on food and water security induced by global changes. She has focused on the emergent phenomenon of Large Scale Land Acquisition (LSLA) and its implication on water, energy and food security, as well as on water governance, rural livelihoods, and the emergence of water conflicts. Her most recent research concentrates on the nexus between Health and Arid Environment focusing on the potential nexus between the unsustainable food system and the insurgence of diseases (e.g., food, nutrition related, zoonotic, uncommunicable).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MARIA CRISTINA RULLI IS THE AUTHOR OF 160 PUBLICATIONS, 135 OF THEM IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS.
STANFORD/ELSEVIER'S TOP 2% SCIENTIST
Google Scholar
Total Citations:: 11472 (as of JULY 2025),
H-INDEX: 58, I10-INDEX: 103
Scopus
Total Citations: 7863 (as of of JULY 2025),
H-INDEX: 50
Web of Science
Total Citations: 7059 (as of of JULY 2025),
H-INDEX: 46
Highly Cited Papers: 7; Hot Cited Paper:1
45 (scopus)
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ACADEMIC YEAR 2013-2014;2014-2015;………2024–2025
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE WATER AND FOOD SECURITY AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEAR 2019-2020;2020-2021;………2024–2025
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE CLIMATE AND GLOBAL CHANGE IN THE AGE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-2016;………2024–2025
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE CLIMATE AND HYDROLOGY AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO, FACULTY OF ARCHITECTUREI (ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEARS 2010–2013
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE PHYSICAL-MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEARS 2009–2010, 2008–2009, 2007–2008, 2006–2007, 2005–2006
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE HYDROLOGICAL SIMULATION METHODS AT THE POLITECNICO DIMILANO, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEARS 2011–2012, 2010–2011, 2009–2010, 2008–2009, 2007–2008
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE HYDROLOGY AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO, FACULTY OFENGINEERING I (CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEARS 2006–2007, 2005–2006, 2004–2005, 2003–2004, 2002–2003, 2001–2002
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE HYDROLOGY I WITH LABORATORY AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEARS 2003–2004, 2002–2003
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE HYDROLOGY AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO - COMO CAMPUS, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEAR 2002–2003
TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE HYDRAULIC INFRASTRUCTURES AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEARS 2001–2002, 2000–2001, 1999–2000
ASSIGNMENT FOR INTELLECTUAL SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF TEACHING IN THE COURSE HYDRAULIC INFRASTRUCTURES AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEAR 2000–2001
ASSIGNMENT FOR INTELLECTUAL SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF TEACHING IN THE COURSE HYDRAULIC INFRASTRUCTURES AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO – COMO CAMPUS, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEAR 1999–2000
ASSIGNMENT FOR INTELLECTUAL SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF TEACHING IN THE COURSE HYDROLOGY AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO – COMO CAMPUS, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEAR 1999–2000
ASSIGNMENT FOR INTELLECTUAL SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF TEACHING IN THE COURSE HYDROLOGY LABORATORY AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO – COMO CAMPUS, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
ACADEMIC YEAR 1998–1999
ASSIGNMENT FOR INTELLECTUAL SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF TEACHING IN THE COURSE AQUEDUCTS AND SEWERS AT THE POLITECNICO DI MILANO – COMO CAMPUS, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING I (ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS).
2007 TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE GIS TERRAIN ANALYSIS FOR HYDRO-GEOMORPHIC APPLICATIONS, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, NEW YORK, USA.
2008 TEACHING ASSIGNMENT FOR THE COURSE GIS TERRAIN ANALYSIS FOR HYDRO-GEOMORPHIC APPLICATIONS, POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, USA.
1998 INVITED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY, USA, FOR A SEMINAR TITLED SHALLOW LANDSLIDES: A HYDROLOGICAL DISTRIBUTED APPROACH. BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, JULY 7, 1998.
2010 INVITED BY THE WATER RESOURCES UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM, FOR A SEMINAR TITLED WILDFIRE FORCING OF HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES. HANOI, VIETNAM, NOVEMBER 20, 2010.
ACADEMIC YEAR 2014–2015……2024-2025
SUSTAINABLE WATER AND FOOD SECURITY
YEAR 2018–2019…..2020-2021
RESOURCE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT WITHIN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A FOCUS ON THE WATER, ENERGY, FOOD AND CLIMATE NEXUS
6 POSTDOC
20 PH.D. STUDENTS. Three of these received the cum magna laude distinction for their PhD thesis.
70+ M S STUDENTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING. Three of these theses received the CIRITA award as the best Master’s thesis of the year; another thesis was awarded in 2007 with the “City and Security” award as best master thesis of the year and in 2016 another thesis received the prestigious SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) mention as the best master thesis of the year in analysing the impact of energy production on water resources.
MENTORING-WOMEN IN SCIENCE; TALENTED GIRLS IN STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATEMATHICS)
**********************AG-WAMED-Advancing non conventional water management for innovative climate-resilient water governance in the Mediterranean Area. Project granted by European Union (1400K €).
NEXUS-NESS-NEXUS Nature Ecosystem Society Solution: Fair and Sustainable Resource Allocation Demonstrator of the Multiple WEFE Nexus Economic, Social and Environmental Benefits for Mediterranean Regions- Project granted by European Union (1800K €).
AWESOME- Managing Water, Ecosystems and food across sectors and Scales in the sOuth Mediterranean. Project granted by European Union (1900K €).
NEWAVE -Next Water Governance H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network. Project granted by European Union (5000K €).
FLORIMAP- Smart FLOod RIsk MAnagement Policies. Project granted by Cariplo foundation (300K €).
MHYCONOS- Mapping the HYdrological Control on shallOw landSliding. Project granted by CARIPLO Foundation.
Sustainable MAnagement of sediment transpoRT in responSE to climate change conditions (SMARTSED), Project funded by CARIPLO Foundation. (200K €).
HERASE -Hydrogeological modeling for Erosion Risk Assessment from SpacE. . Project granted by CARIPLO Foundation (200K €).
MIIUR-Methodologies and Indicators for forest fire risk in the Mediterranean urban-rural interface. Project granted by Sardinia Region (300K €).
SHARE-STELVIO. Un Parco-Osservatorio per lo studio dei Cambiamenti Climatici e Ambientali in alta quota. [A park observatory for studies of climate change at high altitudes]. Project granted by CARIPLO Foundation (1.5K €).
SHARE-PAPRIKA-Effects of climate change on water resources Karakoram range (Pakistan, Asia). Project granted by EVK2CNR (2000K €).
I CARE: Impact of Climate change on Alpine water REsources: the case of Italy and Switzerland. Project granted by POLITECNICO DI MILANO (80K €).