Stefania De Pascale

University of Naples “Federico II” • Full Professor, Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Department of Agricultural Sciences

Stefania De Pascale is a full professor of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops at the Department of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Naples Federico II. She received her bachelor and master degree in Agricultural Sciences from the same university and, subsequently, a master degree in design of gardens, parks, and landscape from the Polytechnic University of Turin. After joining the Department of Agricultural Sciences in 1993, she has conducted numerous research projects, both in the field and in greenhouses, on the effects of environmental and cultural factors on plant growth and development, as well as on the quality of the products, in a wide range of vegetable and ornamental crops. Over the past 25 years, she has dedicated her attention to studying the effects of microgravity and ionizing radiation on plants, the development of plant growth modules for the International Space Station (ISS), and the cultivation of plants in bioregenerative environmental control systems to support life in space. Recent research activities also include the use of biostimulants in horticulture, strategies to improve circularity in agriculture, smart urban horticulture, and vertical farming. Since November 19, 2019, she has been the head of the Laboratory of Crop research for Space, which focuses on the characterization of plants for life support regenerative systems. This laboratory is the result of a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) in the context of the Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) program, which has been studying closed-loop life support systems with an ecosystem approach for over 30 years. Since February 28, 2024, she has been a member of the Scientific Technical Committee of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Accademia dei Georgofili (the oldest institution dedicated to agriculture, the environment, and food). She is listed among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University since 2019-2020.

Events

International Astronautical Congress 2024

14-18 October 2024

Milan, Italy

Participation: