Davide is an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist. He studies complex social-ecological systems, systemic risk, and sustainable development, with specific focus on environmental security and conflict. He implements both quantitative (eg computer simulation) and qualitative (eg multi-stakeholder engagement) methods in his projects.
Davide joined the Global Risk and Resilience theme of the Global Sustainability Institute as PhD researcher in 2013 working on the Global Resource Observatory Project, where he developed an agent-based model to simulate how scarcity of natural resources, prices and political fragility can trigger conflict around the world. The model is used to test the possible consequences of future food and fuel production shocks in terms of food and fuel riots. Meanwhile, Davide was Research Assistant on the UK-US Taskforce on the Impact of Extreme Weather on US/UK Food Security which was sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Davide is a permanent member of academic staff and co-leads the Global Risk and Resilience theme with Dr Zareen Bharucha.
Davide has also been involved in science communication activities and collaborations between arts and science as part of the Pint of Science festival in Cambridge and in collaborations with Cambridge School of Art and a group of artists from the Cambridge e:collective.