Stefano Lo Russo

Stefano Lo Russo is the Mayor of Torino, Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Turin, Geologist and Professor of Engineering Geology in the Department of Environment, Land, and Infrastructure Engineering at Politecnico di Torino.

Biography
Stefano Lo Russo was born on October 15, 1975, in Turin, Italy, where he has resided all his life.

His father is from Apulia, and his mother from Villafranca Piemonte.

From 1991 to 2006, he actively participated in Operazione Mato Grosso, an NGO focused on cooperation projects in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

During the same period, he served as a federal soccer referee until 2004.

He married in 2004 and later divorced; he has a daughter.

Academic background
Geologist, he graduated cum laude in Geological Sciences in 1999 and earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Politecnico di Torino in 2004.

He was an Assistant Professor from 2007 to 2014, an Associate Professor from 2014 to 2017, and has been a Full Professor since 2017.

He has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and presented at various conferences.

He serves as an Associate Editor of Geofluids (Wiley) and is on the Editorial Board of Environmental Earth Sciences (Springer).

As a co-founder and board member of the Energy Security and Transition Lab (EST) at the Energy Center of Politecnico di Torino, he is also a member of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), the European Geosciences Union (EGU), and the Italian Association of Applied Geology (AIGA).

His research focuses on low-enthalpy geothermal systems and hydrogeological issues related to groundwater protection, with interests in digital mapping, rock-fall risk analysis, energy security, and mining sustainability.

He teaches Engineering Geology, Hydrogeology, Petroleum and Mining Geology, Geothermal Energy, and Land Planning.

He has been a Visiting Professor at MGIMO University, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, as well as an Invited Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Queensland and a Visiting Scholar at the National Center for Groundwater Research and Training and Flinders University.

Political Roles
He was first elected to the City Council of Torino in 2006.

Re-elected in 2011, he served as the leader of the Democratic Party in the Council until 2013, when he became Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning.

Elected again in 2016, he continued as the leader of the Democratic Party in the City Council until October 2021, when he was elected Mayor.

Since 2015, he has been the President of the National Commission for Housing, Urban Planning, and Public Procurement of ANCI (Italian Municipalities National Association).

He also serves as the Regional Vice President of Metropolis and is a Member of OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth.

He participated in the 7th edition of the Yearlong Mayors Program of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative (2023-2024).