In the national and international context of environmental science research and education, the University of Siena boasts over thirty years of experience and significant achievements in both teaching and research.
The Department of Environmental Biology was established on January 1, 1984. Although primarily composed of faculty and researchers with backgrounds in biology and natural sciences, it was distinguished from the beginning by a multidisciplinary approach to studying interactions between organisms and their environment, as well as by numerous international collaborations. As early as the 1980s, the department was involved in major projects such as those addressing pollution in the Mediterranean Sea, promoted by the CNR (National Research Council) and FAO (UNEP), and European Community initiatives for the certification of reference environmental matrices and the development of protocols for environmental biomonitoring.
During this period, research began—and continues to this day—on marine and terrestrial ecosystems, including those in Antarctica, making important contributions to the understanding of biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and the impact of persistent and emerging contaminants, such as nanomaterials, endocrine disruptors, and microplastics on biotic communities.
Educational and training activities extended beyond the degree programs of the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences. The department also gained international visibility through its regular organization of the International Summer School for a Multidisciplinary Assessment of Contaminants in the Environment and of Risks for Human Health, along with other summer schools, as part of internationalization projects promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and partnerships between Italian and foreign universities.
In the 1990s, the department strongly promoted the development of ecotoxicology and biomarker research. With the inclusion of faculty and researchers in fields such as environmental geochemistry, prehistoric ecology, animal ecology and systematics, ethology, and other disciplines, the department adopted the new name Environmental Sciences, acquiring the necessary expertise to launch a bachelor’s program, a master’s degree, and a PhD program.
Following recent academic reforms, many researchers in Environmental Sciences became part of the new Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, with the aim of fostering stronger collaboration with colleagues involved in land and natural resource management, Earth system science and global processes, environmental chemistry, and sustainability.
Thanks to these synergies, the new department is now able to offer expanded research opportunities and high-quality educational programs, including the Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental and Natural Sciences, the Master’s Degree in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Sustainability, and the PhD in Earth, Environmental and Polar Sciences.
The fact that a significant number of students enrolled in these programs come from other Italian and international universities may be the clearest recognition of the achievements and expertise developed over more than thirty years of history.