Francesco Alexandr Colosimo

Seismologist & Quantitative Geophysicist

Developing machine learning, modelling, and scientific software solutions for geophysical monitoring, natural hazards, and subsurface systems.

📍 Zürich, Switzerland

Geophysics Machine Learning Scientific Computing Monitoring Systems Geophysical Modelling

About Me

I am a seismologist specialising in applied geophysics, machine learning, and scientific software development. My work bridges research and deployable tools — from real-time earthquake early warning systems to generative AI waveform synthesis, structural health monitoring, and web-based simulation platforms.

With an MSc in Geophysics from ETH Zürich and a BSc in Geology from Charles University, I bring a rigorous quantitative foundation to data-driven problems in Earth science. My operational experience spans the Swiss Seismological Service (SED), IRMOS, the Geophysical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and OpenEEW — environments that demand both scientific rigour and engineering reliability.

I specialise in translating complex geophysical methods into robust, scalable software: building processing pipelines, designing machine learning workflows, and developing interactive platforms that make scientific results accessible. My goal is to create tools and models that are not just scientifically sound, but operationally ready.

5+ Research & Industry Roles
3+ Countries of Deployment
2 International Degrees
EGU 2026 Latest Conference

Professional Experience

Seismologist

Sep. 2025 – Present

Swiss Seismological Service (SED) — ETH Zürich

  • Developing seismic processing workflows and machine learning integration for real-time earthquake detection and source characterisation
  • Applying quantitative time-series analysis and data-driven methods to operational seismic monitoring problems
  • Building and maintaining scientific software pipelines for near-real-time seismic processing and analysis
  • Teaching Master's-level courses in machine learning for Earth and Planetary Sciences

Infrastructure Monitoring Intern

Feb. 2025 – Aug. 2025

IRMOS AG

  • Led field measurement campaigns for structural monitoring, including sensor deployment, acquisition, and quality control
  • Analysed vibration and time-series datasets using operational modal analysis and signal processing techniques
  • Developed automated and reproducible data-processing workflows for monitoring applications

Research Assistant — Seismic Monitoring & Machine Learning

2024 – Feb. 2025

Swiss Seismological Service (SED) — ETH Zürich

  • Applied generative machine learning (diffusion models) to seismic waveform synthesis at scale on HPC infrastructure
  • Developed scalable workflows for large-scale simulation and analysis of seismic time-series data
  • Contributed to real-time earthquake early warning research and operational evaluation workflows

Seismologist

2023

Geophysical Institute — Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS)

  • Developed and tested an operational Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system for Nepal
  • Integrated hardware and software components for real-time seismic data acquisition in the field
  • Validated and deployed operational seismic monitoring workflows in high-seismicity environments

Seismologist Internship

2021 – 2022

Grillo / OpenEEW

  • Analysed seismic datasets for real-time earthquake detection and magnitude estimation
  • Improved reliability and performance of low-cost operational seismic monitoring systems
  • Worked with observational time-series data and near-real-time detection workflows

Education

🎓

MSc Geophysics

ETH Zürich

2023 – 2025

Specialised in quantitative geophysics, machine learning for Earth sciences, and earthquake early warning. Master's thesis: generative deep learning models for synthetic waveform generation to optimise real-time EEW algorithms.

🎓

BSc Geology

Charles University in Prague

2019 – 2022

Awarded Best Bachelor Thesis by the EAGE local chapter Prague for research on real-time magnitude estimation using MEMS-based accelerometers. Received Merit Scholarship from Faculty of Sciences for academic excellence.

Technical Expertise

Combining geophysics, machine learning, modelling, and software engineering to solve complex Earth science problems.

🌍

Geophysics

Seismology Applied Geophysics Hazard Assessment Signal Processing Geophysical Interpretation Field Acquisition & QA/QC Earthquake Early Warning Structural Health Monitoring OpenQuake
🤖

Data Science & Machine Learning

Deep Learning Generative AI Diffusion Models (DDPMs) Probabilistic Modelling Time-Series Analysis PyTorch TensorFlow scikit-learn Supervised & Unsupervised Learning
💻

Scientific Software

Python FastAPI REST APIs Docker Linux HPC Computing Cloud Workflows NumPy / Pandas ObsPy Git Reproducible Workflows
🗺️

Visualisation & Geospatial

QGIS ArcGIS Pro Plotly Interactive Dashboards Matplotlib Seaborn Power BI Adobe Illustrator

Languages

Italian (Native) Czech (Native) English (C1)

Current Interests

Areas where I am actively developing expertise and seeking new collaborations.

🧠

AI for Geoscience

Applying generative and discriminative AI to geophysical data — from waveform synthesis to subsurface characterisation.

📡

Monitoring Systems

Designing and deploying real-time geophysical and structural monitoring networks with automated processing pipelines.

⚠️

Natural Hazard Assessment

Quantitative seismic and multi-hazard risk assessment, with focus on early warning and rapid response systems.

🌉

Infrastructure & Asset Resilience

Applying non-destructive testing, structural health monitoring, modal analysis, vibration analytics, and machine learning to assess the condition and performance of critical infrastructure.

⚙️

Scientific Software Development

Building deployable, production-ready scientific software tools that make research results operationally accessible.

🌐

Geophysical Modelling

Numerical and probabilistic modelling of Earth processes including finite-fault simulations and ground-motion prediction.

Publications & Research

📄 Ongoing Research

In Submission

Improving Real-Time Earthquake Source Characterization Using Diffusion Model Based Broadband Envelope Synthetics

Colosimo, F. A., Jozińović, D., and Böse, M.

Manuscript integrating diffusion model–generated synthetic waveforms into real-time earthquake source characterisation workflows, demonstrating improved EEW performance over conventional approaches.

🎤 Conference Contributions

EGU 2026

Improving Real-Time Earthquake Source Characterization Using Diffusion Model Based Broadband Envelope Synthetics

European Geosciences Union (EGU), Vienna, Austria — 2026

Poster Presentation

doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu26-20840 →

Fluctuation of the Dipolar Fields in the Brain and Control of Brain Functions

Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM) — 2021

Kletetschka et al., 2021

🏆 Theses

Best Bachelor Thesis — EAGE Prague

Real-Time Magnitude Estimation Using MEMS-Based Accelerometers

Charles University in Prague — 2022

View thesis →

Optimising Earthquake Early Warning Algorithms with Synthetic Waveforms from Generative Deep Learning Models

ETH Zürich (MSc Thesis) — 2025

View thesis →

Additional Experience & Achievements

Geo-Engineering Research Accelerator

BGC Engineering Canada | Jun. 2026 – Aug. 2026

Selected participant in an international research program focused on applied geoscience and natural hazard modelling.

From Data to Hazards Modelling Hackathon & Earthquake Tsunami Cascades Workshop

GeoInquire Italy | 2026

Worked on integrated hazard modelling approaches, combining seismic and tsunami processes in a collaborative research environment.

Creating Effective Warnings for All Conference

UCL Warning Research Centre | 2023

Participation in interdisciplinary conference focused on inclusive early warning system design and implementation.

Scientific Outreach & Industry Collaboration

Prague, Czechia | 2025 - ongoing

Organizing and coordinating scientific outreach initiatives and career networking events that bridge the gap between students, academic institutions, and private sector partners. These events facilitate knowledge exchange, promote career opportunities in geosciences, and strengthen collaboration between university departments and industry stakeholders.

4EU+ Virtual Excursions Project

Sicily, Italy | 2022

Developed innovative virtual field excursions using drone-based data acquisition and 3D modeling techniques. This interdisciplinary bottom-up project combined geoscience fieldwork, remote sensing technology, and educational methodology to create immersive online learning experiences, making geological field sites accessible to students regardless of physical location or mobility constraints.

🏆

Merit Scholarship

Faculty of Sciences, Charles University in Prague | 2021 - 2022

🏆

Best Bachelor Thesis

Honorary award by the EAGE local chapter Prague | 2022

Get in Touch

I'm always open to discussing new opportunities, research collaborations, or connecting with fellow geoscientists and engineers.