Driven by strong technical creativity and the ability to envision innovative solutions, Daniele Bailo has been working for many years at the intersection of Research Data Management and Artificial Intelligence, developing original approaches for data integration, management, and valorisation in the Earth Sciences.

He is IT Officer of EPOS-ERIC, with strategic responsibilities for the evolution of the European digital infrastructure dedicated to integrated access to multidisciplinary data, services, and software.

At INGV, he also serves as Head of the Functional Unit “Computational Geophysics – Information Systems – EPOS”, coordinating institutional and project-related activities in the fields of information systems, digital infrastructures, and AI technologies for geosciences.

He is also coordinator of AI-focused projects and working groups at INGV, with particular emphasis on deep learning for seismology, generative models, and LLM/RAG-based applications for building intelligent agents in the geosciences.

He is Scientific Coordinator of European projects within the ENVRI, EOSC, and Virtual Research Environments (VREs) ecosystems and holds roles as Work Package Leader and Task Leader in several Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 consortia. He has led international technical teams and contributed to the definition of architectural models, semantic standards, metadata frameworks, and FAIR processes for the Solid Earth Science community.

His scientific activity includes numerous contributions to international peer-reviewed journals, as well as technical reports, conference proceedings, and invited talks at European conferences, with a growing focus on the application of artificial intelligence in Earth Sciences and on the ethical dimensions of AI.

Education

  • PhD in Materials Science, Sapienza University of Rome, 2011
    Thesis on the structural and morphological properties of organic materials for thin-film photovoltaic cells.
    Research conducted at the CNR – Institute of Structure of Matter.

  • MSc in Computer Engineering, Roma Tre University, 2003 (110/110)
    Thesis on optimisation algorithms applied to human movement biomechanics.

  • Teaching Qualification (A042 Computer Science, A034 Electronics), SSIS Lazio, 2008.

  • Professional Qualification as Engineer, Roma Tre University, 2005.

  • Scientific High School Diploma, “G. Peano” High School, 1997 (60/60).

Continuous professional training (selection) – reverse chronological order

  • 2025 — Artificial Intelligence: Secure and Robust Design, SERICS Academy Team (October–December 2025).
  • 2024 — ChEESE Training: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Geosciences, 5–7 November 2024.
  • 2024 — INGV Course: How to write a proposal in the Horizon Europe Research Infrastructures programme.
  • 2024 — INGV Course: Secretaries of Public Competition Committees.
  • 2024 — GARR Course: Artificial Intelligence and the new European Regulation.
  • 2024 — Public Administration Certification: Digital Skills for Public Administration – Emerging Technologies for Digital Transformation.
  • 2022 — FAIR Implementation Profiles (FIPs) Training Workshop (Earth Science Services), 9 hours.
  • 2021 — English Language Course B2, Darby School, Rome.
  • 2019 — ENVRI FAIR Training (FAIRness, terminologies, capacity building).
  • 2017 — VRE4EIC / EPOS / ENVRI+ Training Sessions on VREs and service integration.
  • 2015 — EGI Training Sessions (cloud, distributed computing, hybrid infrastructures).
  • 2015 — FitSM Foundation in IT Service Management (certification achieved).
  • 2014 — GSAC Workshop: GSAC Software Training.
  • 2009 — National School-Conference on Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics.

Professional Experience

Research Technologist (Level III) – INGV / EPOS-ERIC (2016 – present)

Research Technologist (Level III) at the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), within the EPOS Management Office ICT.
He serves as EPOS-ERIC IT Officer, with responsibility for IT strategy, the technical roadmap of the infrastructure, and the coordination of the international team developing the EPOS Data Portal, an open-source platform for integrated access to data, services, and software in the Earth Sciences. The platform is based on microservice architectures, Docker/Kubernetes orchestration, federated authentication (OAuth2, OpenID Connect, AARC Blueprint), semantic integration, and FAIR data management.

Main activities include:

  • Coordination of the international EPOS IT team and integration of data, services, and software from multiple scientific communities.
  • Design and development of Virtual Research Environments supporting the entire data lifecycle (production, analysis, modelling, visualisation, interpretation).
  • Definition of software architectures and information models for distributed research infrastructures.
  • Experimentation and application of deep learning techniques for seismology (e.g. PhaseNet for automatic picking).
  • Design and development of LLM/RAG pipelines for intelligent agents and decision-support systems in the geosciences.
  • Organisation and participation in scientific and technical dissemination activities, including institutional events such as AI Day @ INGV.
  • Participation in EPOS governance bodies: IT Board, General Assembly, Executive Committee, and Board of Officers.

Adjunct Professor of Computer Science – LUISS Guido Carli University (2024)

Adjunct Professor for the Computer Science course (Economics and Management) at LUISS Guido Carli University.

Teaching activities focused on:

  • Python programming.
  • Data analysis with NumPy and Pandas.
  • Data visualisation with Plotly.
  • Fundamentals of data science applied to economics, including hands-on exercises and small projects.

Research Technician (CTER Level VI) – INGV / EPOS (2012 – 2016)

Research Technician (CTER Level VI) at INGV, within the EPOS Management Office ICT group.

Main activities:

  • Development of AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) solutions in e-infrastructure contexts.
  • Management and development of software products within collaborations with EGI.
  • Design and development of the CERIF XML RESTful web service and the RIDE Database information system for describing EPOS research infrastructures.
  • Participation in international meetings and European projects on e-infrastructures and scientific data management.

Teaching and other professional activities (2007 – 2011)

  • Teacher of Computer Science and Systems (A042) at a technical high school.
  • Teaching, training, and seminar activities in EPOS, ENVRI, Open Science, and Open Data contexts, in Italy and abroad.
  • Development of websites and software applications (WordPress, PHP, JavaScript) for external and personal projects.

Research and Development in Materials Science – CNR (2005 – 2012)

Research and development activities carried out through contracts and fellowships at the CNR – Institute of Structure of Matter.

During this period, he obtained a PhD in Materials Science (ISCED 6) at Sapienza University of Rome.

PhD Thesis title:
In-situ morphological and structural studies of polymer films for organic photovoltaic devices: bulk, surface and interface properties and ageing effects
(In-situ Structural/Morphological study of polymer-based active materials for Organic Photovoltaic devices: bulk, surface and interface properties and aging effects).

Research activities were carried out within the X-ray spectroscopy group at CNR – Rome/Tor Vergata (Institute of Structure of Matter).

Main research areas and techniques:

  • Organic materials for photovoltaic applications (P3HT:PCBM, PPV:PCBM, PEDOT buffer layers).
  • Materials for gas sensing applications (Ni phthalocyanines, Co porphyrazines).
  • Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (lattice parameters, grain size).
  • X-ray reflectometry (thickness, surface and interface roughness).
  • AFM microscopy for high-resolution surface morphology analysis.

Coordinator: Ruggero Caminiti
Supervisor: Barbara Paci