Marco Baity-Jesi (he/him)

I am a theoretical physicist, Group Leader at Eawag, a research institute of the ETH domain (Switzerland), where lead the Machine Learning and Complex Systems Group.

Research interests

• Application of machine learning to:
  • Ecological risk assessment. Using AI as an alternative to animal testing.
  • Monitoring of ecosystems. AI software for automated biodiversity monitoring.
  • Ecological forecasting. Prediction of harmful algal blooms in lakes.
  • Rainfall runoff prediction.


• Theory of machine learning applied to:
  • How the data can bias AI systems.
  • How the model architecture can bias AI systems.
  • How the training of machine learning models works.


• Theory of complexity applied to:
• Ecology. Emergent behaviors in ecological communities with a large number of species.
• Machine Learning. Statistical physics of disordered systems to understand the typical behavior of neural networks.

Further activities

• Grassroots community organizing:
  • Tango Rebelde @ Practica Maravillas.


• Workers representation:
  • Scientific staff representative at Eawag.


• Advocacy for recognizing the political dimensions of Science:
  • Technical editor in the Science for the People magazine.
  • Public talks.


• Advocacy for human rights, equal opportunities and non-militaristic approaches:
  • Adhesion to International Union of Scientists against militarism and the destructive use of science and technology.
  • Adhesion to Scientists for Palestine.
  • Advisory Committee of the Palestinian Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program at MIT.
  • Organization of events.

Career path

• 2019-present: Group Leader @ Eawag
• 2017-2019: Postdoc @ Columbia University (New York, USA) with David R. Reichman
• 2016-2017: Postdoc @ CEA Saclay & ENS (Paris, France) with Giulio Biroli
• 2015: Research Intern @ University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA) with Andrea J. Liu
• 2014: Research Intern @ New York University (New York, USA) with Matthieu Wyart
• 2012-2015: PhD student @ Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) with Víctor Martín-Mayor
• 2012-2015: PhD student @ Sapienza, Università di Roma (Italy) with Giorgio Parisi

Click here for my full CV.