Walter Bertoldi

Walter Bertoldi is an Associate Professor of Geomorphology and Physical Geography at the University of Trento, Italy, within the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering. Since April 2018 he has held the Associate Professor rank, after serving as Assistant Professor from 2011-2018. He is also affiliated with the Agriculture, Food and Environment Center-C3A at the same university, and previously worked as Research Associate at Queen Mary University of London (2009-2010) and the University of Trento (2006-2009).

Education

• PhD in Environmental Engineering (2004), University of Trento – Thesis: “River Bifurcations”
• 5-year Laurea degree in Environmental and Landscape Engineering (2000), University of Trento – 110/110
• High school diploma (1994), Liceo Scientifico B. Russell, Cles (TN)
• On-line Master “Cooperación internacional: Tecnologías para el Desarrollo Humano” (2005), Ingenieria Sin Fronteras & Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Research Interests

Walter Bertoldi’s research is centred on fluvial geomorphology with a strong emphasis on braided rivers. He investigates:

• Interactions between flow, sediment transport and vegetation
• Spatio-temporal controls on river morphology and bifurcations
• Biogeomorphic feedbacks involving riparian vegetation and large wood
• Physical and numerical modelling of river morphodynamics
• Use of remote sensing (LiDAR, Sentinel, close-range imagery) for monitoring river change

His preferred field laboratory is the pristine River Tagliamento in Italy, complemented by collaborations on Alpine, Balkan and Japanese rivers.

Scientific Awards & Recognition

• 2019 Gordon Warwick Award – British Society for Geomorphology, for excellence in geomorphological research within 15 years of PhD
• 2010 Wiley-Blackwell Award – Best paper in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms for “Planform dynamics of braided streams”

Advising & Grant Leadership

Bertoldi has supervised 14 PhD students to completion (or up to present), 46+ MSc theses and three post-doctoral fellows funded by MSCA and provincial grants. He currently sits on the academic boards of the Erasmus Mundus SMART Joint Doctorate and the University of Trento PhD programmes in Agrifood & Environmental Sciences and Civil & Environmental Engineering.

Laboratories, Teams & Collaborations

He leads experimental work in the University of Trento hydraulic/fluvial lab and coordinates field campaigns combining drones, LiDAR and in-situ instrumentation. Long-standing international collaborators include Queen Mary University of London, University of Western Ontario, ETH Zurich, University of Padova, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, University of Kyoto and others.