Zampela is a Soil Scientist, and her area of expertise is Soil Spectroscopy.
She obtained her degree in Surveying Engineering and Geo-Informatics Engineering at the Cyprus University of Technology and completed a master’s in Hydrogeology and Environmental Geoscience at the University of Göttingen (Germany). During her Ph.D. in Soil Physics at Aarhus University, she developed an interest in developing fast methods for predicting soil hydraulic characteristics since knowledge of soil physical properties and hydraulic behavior is essential for predicting the fate and transport of surface-applied agrochemicals in soil. To achieve that, she has studied the potential of a spectroscopic method, called visible−near-infrared spectroscopy (vis−NIRS) to predict soil properties. As a postdoc at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S., she also worked on transferring calibration models since the developed spectral models are often instrument-specific because of differences in laboratory conditions and the sensor setup.
Her vision is to continue the development of alternative to conventional methods for rapid, effective and low-cost predictions of soil properties and thus, to provide tools that will be used to increase the awareness of soil and water resources in our society.