The winners of the 2nd Edition of the Paolo Bernardi Prize have been selected

As announced, the results of the winning project of the first edition of the Paolo Bernardi Prize were presented by Simone Noto and Nicola Durighetto as part of the Hydrology Days held from 8 to 10 September at the Politecnico di Bari. The winners of this second edition were also announced: Francesco Alongi, from the University of Palermo, and Giulia Evangelista, from the University of Turin, for the project entitled: “PIX2PEAKS - Velocimetry using imagery to support run-off time estimation in unmonitored hydrographic basin”.

Alongi and Evangelista's project proposes the use of innovative optical techniques to measure the velocities of watercourses during floods and improve run-off time estimation. Understanding this parameter precisely means better prediction of flood onset and intensity, an important step for the hydraulic safety in unmonitored areas.

Estimating flood hydrograms in basins without instrumentation is a long-standing challenge for applied hydrology. One of the difficulties lies in determining the critical time-scale for the hydrological response of the basin, such as the run-off time. There are no robust, hydraulically based and commonly accepted methods to determine it. The PIX2PEAKS project aims to fill this gap by experimentally validating recently proposed scaling relationships for mean flow velocities within a small Sicilian basin, and evaluating their potential to improve run-off time estimates. The expected result is to provide concrete guidance to both the scientific community and professionals on estimating the run-off time in small basins, based on data such as observed flow velocities, and applying an experimental technique traditionally reserved for purely hydraulic applications.

Congratulations to the winners, and good work!

In the video, the comment of the Chairman of CAE S.p.A. Guido Bernardi