Antonio Torres Skillicorn

Antonio is a PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research examines forced labor in construction material supply chains, with an evolving focus on Brazil’s mining sector. Antonio’s work integrates geochemical fingerprinting, machine learning, and geo-spatial analysis to trace material origins and identify labor risks within extractive industries. He collaborates with academic and NGO partners, including Design for Freedom, to develop research that contributes to actionable tools for ethical sourcing. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship as well as  interdisciplinary grants from the Stanford Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute and the Woods Institute for the Environment. Antonio has published in the urban planning journal Cities and presented his work at conferences including the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, the American Ceramic Society, the Latin American Studies Association, the International Conference of Urban Affairs and the Goldschmidt Conference. Outside of his research, Antonio is president of Flamenco Cardenal (Stanford’s Flamenco club) and he is currently enjoying learning Portuguese!

King Center Supported Research

2026 - 2027 Academic Year | Graduate Student Fellowship

Tracing Construction Supply Chains and Forced Labor Risk in Brazil

Forced labor in imported construction material supply chains remains difficult to detect due to opaque sourcing and production networks. In Brazil’s mining sector, forced labor cases have risen since 2000 alongside the expansion of extractive industries. This project develops a framework that: (1) uses geochemical fingerprinting of cement and natural stone to improve material traceability through elemental and isotopic signatures; and (2) applies interpretable machine learning methods with satellite-based indicators to predict forced labor risk across Brazilian mines.