Piccialli Arianna

Main research fields

I am a planetary scientist interested in (exo-)planetary atmospheres, in particular those of Venus and Mars. I acquired a strong expertise in the analysis of data from several remote sensing experiments on board the European orbiters Mars Express, Venus Express, and ExoMars-TGO.

Keywords:  
(exo-)Planetary atmospheres, terrestrial planets (Venus, Mars), atmospheric composition, dynamics & circulation, thermal structure, space research, remote sensing, data analysis, science communication & outreach, gender & diversity in science.

Scientific community services

• Associate editor: Journal or Geophysical Research (Planet)
• Coveneer/committees:
  • Member of the Venus Science Coordination (VeSCoor) group.

Education & public outreach

• Coordinator of the EPSC Planetary Science Wiki-edit-a-thon
• Organizer team member for Soapbox Science Belgium
• Seminar at Volkssterrenwacht Urania: “The history of water on Mars (and on the terrestrial planets)” - 31/01/2023

Short bio

I am an astrophysicist, originally from Naples, in Italy, and since many years, my career has brought me to live in 5 different countries around Europe. I started with a PhD in Germany at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, followed by a first postdoc in The Netherlands at the European Space Agency (ESTEC) in Noordwijk and later on I moved to Paris, where I worked at Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS, Gyancourt, France) and at the Astronomical Observatory of Paris.

I strongly believe that as scientists we should consider further ways to create an inclusive workplace for all. As a researcher and as a woman in science I am convinced of the importance of combining my research activity with that of science outreach. This is why since my PhD studies I have been involved in public engagement and mentoring activities directed to different public.

I am the Diversity Benelux officer of the Europlanet Society. Since Europlanet Science Congress 2020, I am the coordinator of the Planetary Science Wiki Edit-a-thon to highlight diversity within the planetary science community.

Following my passion for science communication, in 2021 I enrolled at the Master in “Journalism and institutional communication of science”, and in February 2023 I discussed my thesis with the title “Climate change in 'La Stampa': analysis from the newspaper archive from 1867 to 2006”. Since then I am writing for the Italian webmagazine Agenda 17.