As an Italian-American citizen, he earned a degree in Political Science, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies from the University of Florida and subsequently a Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution and Human Rights from Utrecht University, where his thesis examined political corruption and institutional dynamics in Guyana’s gold mining sector.

His research interests include human-nature relations, natural resource management, waste studies, organized crime, illicit economies, political ecology, and justice in the energy transition. As an intern at InSight Crime, he worked on an investigative journalism project on environmental crimes committed in Amazon basin countries, with particular focus on Guyana.

As a researcher at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, he worked on fire mitigation strategies, forest management, GIS mapping, and a project using drones and artificial intelligence to identify illegal waste disposal sites.

He is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Models for Economics and Finance (MEMOTEF) at Sapienza University of Rome, following the curriculum in Economic Geography and Territorial Statistics.

At IRPPS, he is part of the project Illicit labour: Unveiling the dark sides of the global photovoltaic industry under the supervision of Carlo Inverardi-Ferri. The research group studies the socio-economic, political, and environmental dynamics and illicit economies encountered in the various stages of the solar panel value chain (resource extraction, production, commercialization, and waste disposal). His doctoral project, and main contribution as part of the Illicit Labour team, will investigate solar energy projects in informal peri-urban communities in Rio de Janeiro and in indigenous rural territories in Brazil.

Orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0610-9634

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-lovreglio-5961a2122/