Vera Rocca

Vera Rocca is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin, where she also earned her MSc and PhD in Petroleum Engineering. She teaches across multiple academic levels including PhD programs in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master's programs in Georesources and Geoenergy Engineering, and undergraduate courses. Her academic affiliations include membership in the College of Environmental and Land Engineering and participation in doctoral colleges focused on sustainable materials and systems for transition.

Her educational background includes a Master's of Science and PhD in Petroleum Engineering, both from the Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering at Politecnico di Torino. She has developed expertise in reservoir engineering, geomechanics, and subsidence analysis through her academic training and professional development, including earning the 'Learning to Teach (L2T)' certification from Politecnico di Torino in June 2024.

Rocca's research focuses on land subsidence, underground gas storage, optimization of reservoir production, fluid-flow and geomechanical analysis, and 3D numerical simulation of anthropogenic ground movements. Her work bridges petroleum engineering with environmental concerns, particularly examining how underground energy systems can support the energy transition. She has developed significant expertise in analyzing subsidence in the Po Plain region of Northern Italy using geological and satellite data.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on applying machine learning techniques to InSAR data for monitoring ground movements related to underground energy storage and fluid extraction. The research spans carbon storage, natural gas storage, groundwater management, and shale formation characterization, with particular attention to the geological conditions of Northern Italy and the Adriatic region. Her work increasingly integrates computational methods with traditional geomechanical analysis.

Rocca serves as Scientific Director for commercial research contracts including 'Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering' (2024) and 'Insights into ground deformations...' related to the Montepagano Formation storage project. She has supervised multiple PhD students including Nacer Benlalam, Alberto Manuel Garcia Navarro, and Celine Eid, whose work focuses on subsidence analysis, machine learning applications, and underground energy systems.

She leads or collaborates on teaching numerous courses including Underground Energy Storage, 3D Modeling of Underground Geological Formations, Reservoir Engineering, Fluid Mechanics in Porous Media, and 'Challenges and Opportunities for Non-Renewable Resources in the 21st Century.' Her teaching spans multiple academic years from 2019 through planned courses for 2025/2026, demonstrating sustained academic engagement. She has also taught at the Kazakh-British Technical University and conducted training courses for private organizations internationally.