Scientific research is the backbone of R3GIS, transforming the company from a standard software provider into a leader in "smart city" environmental management. By investing approximately 20% of its resources into R&D, R3GIS ensures that its tools, like the GreenSpaces platform, are not just management logs, but scientifically validated systems for urban resilience.
To maintain its lead in innovation, R3GIS established a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) composed of internationally recognized experts in arboriculture, geomatics, and urban forestry. The board ensures that R3GIS products are aligned with the latest global scientific trends. They provide a "roadmap" for future development, ensuring the company invests in technologies and methodologies that will remain relevant as environmental regulations change (such as the 2025 European requirement for companies to disclose carbon footprints).
By having professors from institutions like the University of Milan, The University of Florence, Politecnico di Milano, and University Centre Myerscough (UK) on their board, R3GIS ensures its methods are peer-reviewed and unbiased. This gives municipalities and private clients the confidence that the data provided by GreenSpaces is scientifically sound.
The board helps translate complex research into actionable insights for city planners.
Meet the Members
Dr. Andy Hirons
Senior Lecturer in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry at University Centre Myerscough (UK), having begun his career as a climbing arborist and plant-health technician in the UK, Australia and USA before joining academia in 2004.
Prof. Franco Guzzetti
Associate professor in the field of Geomatics (CEAR-04/A) at Politecnico di Milano (Department of Architecture, Construction Engineering and Built Environment).
Prof. Alessio Fini
Professor of Arboriculture and Urban Forestry at the Università degli Studi di Milano (Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Bioenergy).
Prof. Dr. habil. Hartmut Balder
Studied horticultural science at the Leibniz Universität Hannover, where he earned his doctorate and habilitation in the field of plant-disease and plant-protection at the Institute for Plant Diseases and Plant Protection.
Dr. Francesco Ferrini
Full Professor of Arboriculture and Tree Cultivation at Università degli Studi di Firenze, and a renowned Italian expert in urban forestry, with over 400 published works on trees, green infrastructure and plant-environment interaction.