Rachele Nieri

Rachele Nieri is a Researcher (RTD-A) at the Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, with additional affiliation at the Agriculture, Food and Environment Center (C3A). Her work bridges mathematical approaches with agricultural entomology, focusing on vibrational communication in insects for sustainable pest management solutions. She holds the National Scientific Qualification as Associate Professor in Plant Pathology and Entomology.

Education:

• 2017: PhD in Ethology and Ecology, University of Florence (thesis: "Insect vibrational communication: description, decoding, and manipulation")
• 2012: Master's Degree in Biology (animal behavior curriculum), University of Florence (110/110 with honors)
• 2010: Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences, University of Florence (110/110 with honors)

Rachele Nieri's research centers on biotremology - the study of vibrational communication in animals - and its applications in agriculture. Her work examines how substrate-borne vibrations influence insect behavior, particularly in pest species, with the goal of developing non-chemical pest management strategies. She investigates vibrational mating disruption techniques for controlling vineyard pests like Scaphoideus titanus and has expanded her research to include other agricultural pests including Drosophila suzukii and Halyomorpha halys.

Her publication record shows a clear trend toward practical applications of biotremology in agriculture, with increasing focus on multi-modal pest control approaches that combine vibrational signals with chemical cues. The research spans fundamental studies of vibrational communication mechanisms to field applications in vineyards and other agricultural settings.

Scientific Awards:

• 2024: Presentation Awards for Young Scientists (PAYS) and Women Scientists (PAWS) at ICE2024Kyoto
• 2018: Professional Development Award by OSU Postdoctoral Association ($1,000)
• 2013: FameLab Trento science communication competition winner (€500)
• 2012: PhD scholarship from Edmund Mach Foundation (€80,000)

Nieri has received multiple travel awards from scientific societies to attend international conferences. Her teaching includes courses on insect communication and pest management at both University of Trento and Oregon State University. She has organized symposia on behavior manipulation for pest control and serves as chair for biotremology conference sessions. Her research has practical implications for sustainable agriculture, with several field-tested vibrational pest control techniques developed through her work.

Nieri's research is conducted through collaborations with the Center for Agriculture Food Environment (C3A) at University of Trento, where she has established a research focus on applied biotremology. Her work bridges entomology, mechanical engineering, and agricultural science, creating innovative approaches to pest management that reduce reliance on chemical pesticides.