We are a team of researchers and students from the MaRHE Center of University of Milano-Bicocca. We love nature, the oceans, and care deeply about their conservation. We are many, all dreamers, and convinced that unity is strength.
Vice-director of the MaRHE Center and an active researcher in the Maldives since 2009, Dr. Montano is the creator and team leader of "Map the Giants" and will coordinate the scientific aspect of the project. His research has focuses on symbiosis in tropical organisms, coral diseases, coral reef restoration, and other aspects of tropical marine ecology.
Federica is a PhD Student at the University of Milano-Bicocca. Federica has worked in the Maldives since 2012, focusing on marine environmental outreach and CSR projects involving local communities. Her research now focuses on coral reef restoration and reef monitoring through citizen science.
Professor Alessandro Gabbiadini is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Milano-Bicocca. His main research interests concern the psychosocial aspects related to the use of new technologies in general. Dr. Gabbiadini is an expert in social media and has entirely developed the website of the project www.mapthegiants.com.
Dr. Luca Fallati is a marine geomorphologist. His research is mainly centered on marine geomorphology and habitat mapping in coastal and submarine environments, with a particular focus on innovative remote sensing technologies for multiscale approach in changing environments. His experience with underwater photogrammetry and reconstruction of 3D models for immersive Virtual Reality (VR) scenarios allows people from home to visit virtually the GIANTS.
Dr. Inga Dehnert, former doctoral student at Milano-Bicocca, has been working in and out of the Maldives since 2015, supporting the MaRHE Center at its main headquarters and since 2017 as a Marine Researcher for Planhotel. Her experience in the Maldives makes her the perfect reference point for the project.