University of Bologna

This is a graduate level course that is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. Students learn the effects of global climate change on key organisms, biodiversity and ecosystems, particularly on marine species, including the effects on human societies and economies. Models and forecasts are presented considering different scenarios predicted by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Students learn how organisms interact, as components of the structure and function of ecosystems, including the consequences of human interactions with the environment. Marine organisms are traced from the Earth's primordial oceans, to their response to the warming and acidifying oceans. Module 1 covers: conflicts and security risks of climate change in the Mediterranean Region; socioeconomic aspects of human migrations, tourism, and fisheries; ecological and evolutionary considerations regarding corals in a rapidly changing environment; coral population dynamics. Module 2 covers strategies of acclimation to ocean acidification in Mediterranean corals.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course focuses on the principles of chemistry and how they apply to the behavior of solid states. Special attention is placed on electronic structure, chemical bonding, and crystal structure. The course discusses topics including amorphous and crystalline solids, symmetry, lattices, and silicates; bonding in solids, ionic solids, the role of ion size, Shannon-Prewitt model for ions, transition metal compounds and non-bonding electron effects, crystal field theory, and band model for metals and semiconductors; crystal defects and non-stoichiometry, role of point defects in diffusion in solids, ionic conductivity, and some important solid-state electrolytes for batteries and fuel cells; catalysts for polymer production: radical initiators, Ziegler-Natta and metallocene catalyst in polyolefin production, branching in polyethylenes: origin and influence on polymer properties, and catalysts for step-growth polymerization: transition metals in polyester production; biobased and/or biodegradable polymers: production, properties, and main applications; chemisorption and activation on transition metals, interaction models based on HOMO-LUMO, and examples of relevant industrial applications: CO activation; carbon based materials, conducting polymers, structure, and properties, materials for secondary Li-based batteries, anodes, cathodes, and electrolytes, Li-ion vs Li metal batteries, fuel cells, materials for anodes, cathodes, electrolytes, and bipolar plates, proton conducting polymers for fuel cells electrolytes, fullerenes and fullerides, synthesis and properties, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and their application in polymer nanocomposites; and layered solids, layered double hydroxides, clays, and their modification to improve the compatibility with polymers, preparation of polymer nanocomposites using organoclays, flame retardant properties of LDH and organoclay based polymer nanocomposites.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. Students learn the conceptual foundations to understand the interactions between natural and social systems in globally changing urban landscapes (terrestrial, freshwater and marine), and gain analytical basic urban-ecology tools to be applied in urban monitoring, planning, and restoration. The students are introduced to urban areas as novel ecosystems, and learn about the unique ecological conditions and functioning of cities and waterfronts, the environmental challenges and opportunities of a sustainable urban development, and the principles and strategies for biodiversity conservation, restoration and management in a human-modified context. They are introduced to ecosystem services concepts and how to use them in an interdisciplinary analysis. They also learn the direct and indirect effects of human impact with particular attention to freshwater ecosystems as Highly Modified Bodies (WFD 2000/60/CE definition). Students obtain the ability to read and understand articles in the field of urban ecology, sustainability and restoration science, to synthesize and communicate interdisciplinary research, and gain insight on how to identify appropriate solutions for urban planners, policy makers, and managers. Students also get the opportunity to develop a field-work proposal for a restoration project in an highly modified area. Course topics: principles of urban ecology and the concept of novel urban ecosystems; unique (man–made) ecological conditions of urban ecosystems– land (and sea) use cover; urban climate and the heat island effect; changes in the physical environment (soil/sediment properties, hydrological processes and (sea)water characteristics); impacts of pollution, noise, artificial light and electromagnetic fields; patterns of urban biodiversity and controlling factors– impacts of urbanization on biodiversity and changes in biodiversity along urban-rural gradients; losers and winners in urban habitats, homogenization and the susceptibility of urban ecosystems to species invasions; effects of altered disturbance regimes; habitat transformation, fragmentation and loss in urban land/seascapes, altered connectivity, and dispersal barriers and corridors; ecosystem functions and services in urban landscapes- urban biodiversity and ecosystem services; valuing the role of natural ecosystems in flood risk reduction and nature-based adaptation; ecosystem management options to enhance resilience of society and the environment to future climate conditions; principles of sustainable urban development–urban footprint, sustainability, and governance-related challenges in urban environments; natural capital and strategies for biodiversity conservation; indicators of environmental quality in urban environments (e.g. the city biodiversity index, the Ocean health index, etc.); management of multiple stressors and stakeholders; bioengineering, multifunctional blue/green infrastructures; conservation and restoration in an urban context; ecological concept from natural to modified freshwater ecosystems structure and functions, impact of human activities; HMWBs and AWBs (highly modified and artificial water bodies) in the Water Directive WFD (2000/60 EU); reservoirs and dams–impact and benefit; ecosystem services of natural versus modified rivers within sustainable development strategy; the blue imprint of cities and water scarcity; monitoring of HMWBs and AWBs: hydromorphology and biomonitoring; biodiversity conservation in HMWB and AWBs; multifunctional natural infrastructures; Common European implementation strategy on HMWBs; restoration of HMWBs and AWBs; Navile and canals of Bologna: opportunity to develop restoration proposals.

The first part of the course is introductory and provides the general outlines of the historical development: political, economic, and social of the European continent, as well as of the interaction and circulation of peoples and of the international relations between multinational states and nation-states, from the second half of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, focusing in the final part also on the processes of European institutional and economic unification. A second part is devoted to an analysis of the early postwar period in Europe, which saw profound political and institutional crises, a new geopolitics on the continent with the emergence of new states, and a phase of revolutions and counterrevolutions in which political violence and social conflicts took on particular magnitude. Starting with Wilsonian proposals and the decisions made at Versailles and imposed by the peace treaties, attention goes to the crisis of democracies, the rise of a new internationalism and trans-nationalism, and communism, and the rise to power of fascism in Italy. On the centenary of the March on Rome, the course takes a close look at 1922 in Italy and at the long repercussions of that historical event on the continent. In addition to an examination of the most recent historiography, the course focuses on sources and especially on analyses, reconstructions and memories relating to fascism's seizure of power written by contemporaries, both opponents and protagonists of the early fascist movement, in the 1920s and 1930s.

This course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. This course discusses topics including climate change: the physical basis and impacts; carbon emission drivers, abatement strategies, and investment needs; transition dynamics and socio-economic impacts; climate-related macro-financial risks, and physical/financial asset stranding; mitigation policies: carbon pricing and permit markets; sustainable finance policy-making, and central banks and financial supervisors; climate economic modelling: the DICE model, IAMS, and CGE models; neoclassical transition modelling approaches; complexity-driven transition modelling approaches; and production and financial networks.

The course focuses on the fundamental elements of Roman artistic, architectural, and urban civilization and their role in the processes of cultural integration. The course highlights historical and cultural issues and places artistic productions in their social, political, and economic contexts in order to arrive at sound historical reconstructions. Students are encouraged to explore independently scientific instruments and bibliographical references that are of interest to them. The course focuses on typologies, functions, and significance of Roman monuments and artistic expressions. Attention is placed on chronological questions and the history of research methodologies. The course includes an optional seminar for art history majors. Specific topics include: A Plural Art–artistic Roman cultures from the Archaic period to the Late Antiquity; Rome in the Archaic period–places of power, cultural spaces, houses; the urbanistic and monumental evolution of the Urbe in the Republican and Imperial age; places of power, temples, and sanctuaries, spaces of entertainment, houses, tombs; originality of Roman art, relationships between Greek art and Classicisms; Romanization–diffusion and assimilation of romanitas, town urbanism and its public and private monuments; art of construction–techniques and materials; artistic “languages” Arte colta and arte plebea; sculpture, painting, and mosaics, Achillean statues, historical rendering, portraits. Assessment is based on an oral exam aimed at verifying knowledge of the materials presented in class as well as the assigned readings. Exchange students are given the option of a written exam in lieu of the oral exam, if they prefer. The written exam consists of four essay questions on the general themes of the course and the identification and analysis of specific works of art.

This course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course addresses the main issues concerning cognitive science, both from a historical-theoretical point of view, and as regards the intertwining and connections with other disciplines connected to it or that are partially part of it. In particular, the issue of the gestation and birth of cognitive science, the status of cognitive science, and the evolution of cognitive science in its phases is discussed. With regard to the latter, problems concerning the classical artificial intelligence, the connectionist artificial intelligence, the developments of robotics and more contemporary approaches to artificial intelligence are addressed: all these developments are treated from the point of view of cognitive science evolution, closely related to artificial intelligence, and with specific attention to the philosophical and epistemological aspects of the discipline. The connection between cognitive science and psychology, neuroscience, and linguistics, as well as the contemporary debate on the status of cognitive science, its methodologies, its ontologies, and its scientific nature are also treated from an epistemological point of view. Within a constant philosophical framework of reference, the course is divided into four parts of equivalent length: the background and birth of cognitive science; classical cognitive science (and related disciplines); the new cognitive science (and related disciplines); and the relationship with other disciplines and the debate on the status of cognitive science.

This is a graduate level course that is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course focuses on the relevant themes related to blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and novel applications that can be built over the blockchain. Students in the course develop simple smart contracts that can be deployed on a blockchain. Bitcoin and novel cryptocurrencies gathered momentum in the last months. More and more investors look with interest at these technologies, while others label them as a dangerous speculative bubble. The truth is that the blockchain, and the alternative implementations of a distributed ledger, represent very interesting technologies, that can be exploited to build novel distributed applications. The underlying building blocks are related to many concepts and research areas of computer science in general. This course illustrates the main principles and conceptual foundations of the blockchain and the Bitcoin network. The course discusses topics including introduction to peer-to-peer systems, overlay topologies and decentralization, introduction to Crypto and Cryptocurrencies, the blockchain: how to achieve decentralization, transactions and transaction scripting languages, mining, attacks to the blockchain, anonymity, and smart contracts.