Dr. Francesco Civilini is a seismologist and research space scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. His research expertise is using data analysis and algorithm design to understand the mechanisms driving geophysical systems. His current active research is in lunar seismology, specifically the assessment of lunar surface and internal processes using moonquakes. He is particularly interested in extracting further information from legacy datasets using novel techniques. Additional research interests include the expansion of scientific return of future planetary missions through the development of machine learning algorithms for lander-side signal assessment.
Francesco Civilini
(RESEARCH AST, PLANETARY STUDIES)
| Email: | francesco.civilini@nasa.gov |
| Org Code: | 690.1 |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 690.1 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: |
Brief Bio
Selected Publications
Refereed
2023. "Ambient seismic noise tomography of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." Active volcanism on the Arabian Shield- Geology, volcanology, and geophysics of northern Harrat Rahat and vicinity, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1862 [https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1862N] [Book]
2023. "Thermal Moonquake Characterization and Cataloging Using Frequency‐Based Algorithms and Stochastic Gradient Descent." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 128 (9): [10.1029/2022je007704] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Precursory Signal Detected for the 2018 Sierra Negra Volcanic Eruption, Galápagos, Using Seismic Ambient Noise." Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 127 (3): [10.1029/2021jb022990] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Anatomy of Continuous Mars SEIS and Pressure Data from Unsupervised Learning." Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 111 (6): 2964-2981 [10.1785/0120210095] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Detecting moonquakes using convolutional neural networks, a non-local training set, and transfer learning." Geophysical Journal International 225 (3): 2120-2134 [10.1093/gji/ggab083] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Shear wave velocity changes induced by earthquakes and rainfall at the Rotokawa and Ngatamariki geothermal fields, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand." Geophysical Journal International 221 (1): 97-114 [10.1093/gji/ggz547] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Crustal imaging of northern Harrat Rahat, Saudi Arabia, from ambient noise tomography." Geophysical Journal International 219 (3): 1532-1549 [10.1093/gji/ggz380] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Inferring shear-velocity structure of the upper 200 m using cultural ambient noise at the Ngatamariki geothermal field, Central North Island, New Zealand." Interpretation 4 (3): SJ87-SJ101 [10.1190/int-2015-0204.1] [Journal Article/Letter]
Non-Refereed
2024. "MULTIPLE DATASETS TO DETERMINE “YOUTH MARKERS” OF ACTIVITY AT WRINKLE RIDGES IN MARE FRIGORIS." 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held 11-15 March, 2023 at The Woodlands, Texas and virtually. LPI Contribution (1643): [Proceedings]
Positions/Employment
Research Space Scientist
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD
2023 - Present
- Creating automated analysis algorithms to teach robotic landers how to discern data quality for telemetry prioritization during space missions.
- Developing proposals and conducting research on planetary seismology using AI techniques focusing on lunar data analysis.
Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Geophysics
Caltech - Pasadena, CA
2021 - 2022
- Analyzed moonquakes with time-frequency algorithms to invert for lunar surface properties and assess risk for upcoming crewed and robotic missions.
- Created a Python package for seismic detection of noisy datasets using supervised deep learning.
- Used novel algorithms to detect and locate unusual microtremor signals at a New Mexico geothermal field to invert for fracture properties and advise future field development.
- Mentored three graduate students on tomography and automatic seismic detection projects.
NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center - Huntsville, AL
2019 - 2021
Developed a supervised machine learning algorithm for moonquake detection using transfer learning that obtained over ten times greater accuracy than NASA's prior models.
NASA FDL Challenge Team Researcher
NASA Frontier Development Lab - SETI Institute (Remote)
2020 - 2020
Developed a deep learning algorithm that solves NASA remote sensing imagery search engine problems in unlabeled data.
IRIS Summer Mentor
Tulane University - New Orleans, LA
2019 - 2019
Mentored an Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) geophysics intern at Tulane University on a project assessing eruption precursors of the 2018 Sierra Negra volcanic eruption, Galapagos, using ambient noise interferometry
Postdoctoral Fellow
Victoria University of Wellington and U.S. Geological Survey - Wellington, New Zealand and Menlo Park, CA
2018 - 2019
Created 3D subsurface models using terabytes of time-series data to detect unknown subsurface volcanic structures and inform seismic and volcanic risk for Saudi Arabia and update hazard maps.
Visiting Research Scientist
U.S. Geological Survey - Menlo Park, CA
2016 - 2016
Used seismic ambient noise to develop subsurface models to assess the presence of a magma chamber beneath the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Visiting Research Scholar
Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre) - Grenoble, France
2016 - 2016
Developed time-dependent (pseudo-4D) deformation models for Mercury Energy to monitor seismic and subsidence production risk resulting from fluid injection at their geothermal fields.
PhD Candidate
Victoria University of Wellington - Wellington, New Zealand
2013 - 2018
- Funded by Mercury Energy to develop novel ways to assess production risk for their New Zealand geothermal fields. Used ambient seismic noise to build time-dependent models that monitored subsurface deformation resulting from geothermal injection.
- Funded by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Saudi Geological Survey to create 3D subsurface maps for the Harrat Rahat volcanic field and assess risk for the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Assistant Specialist II
Earth Research Institute - Santa Barbara, CA
2012 - 2013
Determined seismic amplification from an earthquake swarm to inform hazard and building design.
Graduate Student Researcher
Earth Research Institute - Santa Barbara, CA
2010 - 2012
Modeled post-seismic acceleration, strain, and pore pressure for EarthScope seismic stations for carbon capture and nuclear waste storage applications.
Undergrad Research Assistant
Institute for Crustal Studies - Santa Barbara, CA
2009 - 2010
Developed time- and frequency-domain algorithms for assessing earthquakes at ICS seismic stations to improve Southern California earthquake hazard maps.
Education
- PhD: Geophysics - Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
- M.S.: Geophysics - University of California Santa Barbara
- B.S.: Geophysics - University of California Santa Barbara
Professional Service
- 2023: Led a team for the 2023 NASA/NVIDIA Hackathon: EQSpec Seismic Detection Team
- 2023: Planetary representative for the NASA Goddard AI Grand Challenge Team
- 2023: Part of the GREMLin 695 Machine Learning Group
- 2020: Led a deep learning workgroup for NASA Marshall planetary science researchers
- 2016: Victoria University tutor - Tectonics and structural geology
- 2015: Led a Python coding workgroup for Victoria University geophysics graduate students
- 2009-2013: NEES@UCSB education and outreach team
- 2010, 2011, 2012: Summer research mentor for the Southern California Earthquake Center
Awards
- 2023 : Best Poster Title, NASA Goddard January 2023 Poster Party: How To Train Your Lander: Automatic moonquake detection using machine learning
- 2020: Collaborative Spirit Award, NASA Frontier Development Lab
- 2015: Best Poster Presentation, GeoSciences 2015
Grants
Constraints on Geologically Young Lunar Wrinkle Ridges and Lobate Scarps
Planetary Geodesy ISFM Grant - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Awarded: 2023-10-01
Dates: -
Thermal moonquake classification and location using machine learning
NASA Science Mission Directorate Lunar Data Analysis Program (LDAP) grant - NASA Science Mission Directorate - Awarded: 2021-07-01
Dates: -
Two deep learning models for planetary seismicity detection and classification
NASA Postdoctoral Program Grant - NASA - Awarded: 2019-09-01
Dates: -
US Geological Survey Grant for Volcanic Hazard Seismology Research - US Geological Survey - Awarded: 2016-10-01
Dates: -
VUW Faculty Strategic Research Grant - Victoria University of Wellington - Awarded: 2016-07-01
Dates: -
Mercury Energy grant for geothermal energy research - Mercury Energy - Awarded: 2014-01-01
Dates: -
Talks, Presentations and Posters
Other
6th Planetary Data Workshop (talk)
July 2023
NASA Goddard Director's Seminar (talk)
June 2023
Potomac Geophysical Society (talk)
June 2023
NASA Headquarters Lunch and Learn (talk)
May 2023
Geological Society of Washington (talk)
April 2023
The 3rd SMD and ETD Workshop on AI and Data Science (poster)
April 2023
NASA Goddard Poster Party (poster)
February 2023
Caltech Seismolab Brownbag Seminar (talk)
2022
AGU Fall Meeting 2022 (poster)
2022
Caltech GMG IAB Meeting (poster)
2022
Caltech GMG IAB Meeting (talk)
October 2022
Caltech GMG Geothermal Deep-Dive (talk)
May 2022
Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting (talk)
May 2022
George Mason University Computational & Data Sciences Department seminar (talk)
April 2022
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Section 322 Planetary Science (talk)
February 2022
Caltech GMG Industrial Advisory Board Meeting (talk)
February 2022
AGU Fall Meeting 2021 (poster)
2021
AGU Fall Meeting 2020 (poster)
2020
NASA Frontier Development Lab 2020 AI Showcase (talk)
September 2020
SETI Live (talk)
August 2020
NASA Marshall IMPACT Lunch and Learn (talk)
July 2020
NASA Marshall ST13 Journal Club (talk)
June 2020
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Jamboree and Poster Expo (poster)
March 2020
SCEC Annual Meeting 2019 (poster)
October 2019
SSA Annual Meeting 2019 (poster)
May 2019
Victoria University of Wellington SGEES Seminar (talk)
February 2018
AGU Fall Meeting 2017 (poster)
2017
AGU Fall Meeting 2016 (poster)
2016
Victoria University of Wellington Geoclub (talk)
July 2016
ISTerre Department Seminar (talk)
February 2016
GeoSciences New Zealand Annual Meeting (talk)
December 2014
Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting (talk)
May 2012