Marco Baity-Jesi (he/him)

I am a theoretical physicist and the leader of the Machine Learning & Complex Systems Group at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.
My work bridges theory and application of machine learning. On the theoretical side, I investigate how suboptimal data can influence the quality of AI software. On the side of applications, I apply these insights to environmental challenges, such as monitoring plankton populations and assessing chemical toxicity on aquatic species.

Most importantly, I believe that science should be at the service of improving peoples’ lives, reducing inequality and protecting the environment, and that scientists should push for it to serve this purpose.

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

• 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 Science for the People.
  • 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.


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


• Workers representation:
  • Scientific staff representative at Eawag.

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.