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La spettroscopia utraveloce è un capitolo della scienza che si scrive a Milano

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Politecnico is at the top of the world rankings of universities also thanks to the frontier scientific research it carries out in its laboratories. The protagonists of this Italian record are the approximately 3,500 scientists and researchers of Politecnico. Among the hottest topics are obviously those related to the systemic transformation towards climate neutrality; and then, the world of digital, space exploration, life sciences, the movements embraced by the New European Bauhaus, the new frontiers in the study of matter... In particular, young researchers inject new life into the research system and grow innovative scientific strands. Politecnico invests in activities aimed precisely at encouraging young scientists of excellence to join in. Among many, this year we welcome twelve new young researchers who are among the best of their generation. They are here at Politecnico di Milano thanks to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fellowship programme. Let us introduce them... in alphabetical order.

CHIARA TROVATELLO has chosen to bring her project to the Poli because extremely competitive research in the field of non-linear optics and ultrafast spectroscopy are flagships for Politecnico di Milano. Her project applies them to the study of two-dimensional materials (such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides and van der Waals heterostructures): it combines materials science, non-linear optics and quantum optics to unveil nanoscale integrated light sources, with possible impact on the future of secure quantum communications, creating new protocols and advanced technologies for ever faster and more energy saving communications.

Read more: all Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) researchers in 2023 on MAP 12

Alumnus Simone Carniglia in the Guinness book of records

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Around 132,000 people in the world have finished the world's six most important marathons: only a few dozen of them are diabetics, and of these few dozen only two have type 1 diabetes, the most serious because it's autoimmune and there's currently no cure; “but it's only a little while away,” said the man we're talking about with confidence. The man in question is Simone Carniglia, a graduate of Politecnico di Milano, a mechanical engineer who graduated in 2011 and now works for Saipem, a company operating in the energy, oil and renewable energy sectors.

Simone's story is an inspiring one: "Many mothers thanked me after meeting me, because I showed them that their diabetic children could also do sports” Do sport, and not just that: Do endurance sports, which many people think is out of the question for diabetics: "The message I want to give is that we diabetics can do endurance sports, but we must pay attention to a number of parameters during exercise: for example, our diet:, which must be more substantial than that of others, with more carbohydrates, and our hydration. We have to drink a lot.”

Carniglia got into marathons by chance: “I have always played team sports, mainly basketball and handball, but in 2017, at the age of 30, I had too many ankle sprains and had to stop. I gained weight, which is one of the side effects of our illness, I weighed over 125 kilos. Then some friends suggested I do a 10 km race, the Milano DJ ten. I had never raced before, but I took part and finished it.

From there he discovered a talent: "I started running marathons and discovered I was fast.

In fact, Simone is more than fast: he has set some important records, so much so that he ended up in the Guinness Book of Records for being the first type 1 diabetic to have finished the six longest marathons in the shortest possible time: just over 16 hours (the previous record was 21 hours).

The six marathons are: London, Boston, Chicago, Tokyo, Berlin and New York: "And unlike what the Italians think, the most prestigious is Boston, not NY".

Again: “I have a personal best of 2 hours 38 minutes and 21 seconds (which means running one km well under 4 minutes!) but my goal is to get below two hours 35 at least once. I think I can do it, I came close twice.

But why does Simone run? Certainly because he likes it but also to help research: “Yes. We are in the final stretch to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. Insulin is a treatment but not a cure. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease, but scientists have succeeded in finding methods to make the cells destroyed by our immune system invisible to the immune system itself and thus allow new cells obtained from stem cells to be transplanted safely, enabling them to produce insulin like a healthy pancreas would. I know that the human trial has been going on for 2-3 years and those who have had the treatment have stopped using insulin.

In short, we are very close: "It could be 10 years or just two or three. What I do know is that I will see the cure and be able to use it, so that children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes can rest assured that they will be cured. I like to support research and that's why you can donate here to help JDRF, the leading global organisation in the search for a cure for type 1 diabetes, which funds the best research in the world, including Italy”.

Again on himself: "Running a marathon is already challenging for the average amateur runner, but for a diabetic it is even more so. During a marathon, a diabetic has additional factors to take into account: he or she must continuously monitor blood sugar levels to make sure he or she does not faint or, on the contrary, go into ketoacidosis or even worse, a coma. Diabetics are more prone to dehydration and cramping during physical activity, especially if glucose levels are not perfect. This happens because with T1D the pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone essential for turning food into energy”.

The daily life of a person with T1D involves many challenges such as the many daily insulin injections that have to be balanced with diet and physical activity.

“I qualify for competitions with my results, I am not accepted for charity or because I am ill. I finished as the third Italian overall in Boston, Chicago and Tokyo, fourth overall in Reikiavik and sixth overall in Helsinki, other international marathons that are not part of the majors”.

Find this and many other articles in MAP, the magazine of Politecnico di Milano Alumni, coming out very soon! Want to support the project and receive the Magazine at home in hard copy? Donate here!

Anthea Comellini, polytechnic astronaut

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"One day I got a call from a French number, I answered and heard a male voice speaking to me in English with a Germanic accent. I believe there is only one person speaking like that in Europe: Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General”. That day, his voice informed Politecnico’s Alumna Anthea Comellini that she had just been chosen by ESA out of 23,000 applicants to join the Austronaut Reserve, made up of 17 astronauts among whom she is the only Italian woman. We call her at the French headquarters of Thales Alenia Space, where she works as an engineer in the R&D department, and she tells us about her journey.

Where does the journey to the Moon begin?

I started raising my head to the sky as a child. I was fascinated by the technology that humankind was able to deploy in order to venture into this kind of exploration, and also by the complexity involved: how many people were needed, how much technological development and how much preparation was required. One of the first science fiction films I remember was Armageddon, certainly not a particularly scientifically accurate work, but I was immediately struck by the image of the shuttle on the launch pad. Since I was a Star Wars fan, I thought it was science fiction. It was after a few days, talking to my parents, that I discovered that the shuttle really existed and that it really did leave from that launch pad. I told myself then that some Star Wars stuff could be done. In the same way, I was fascinated by the pioneers of aviation, because we were not born to fly but all these years of scientific and technological advances have enabled us to do so and help us pursue studies that are not an end in themselves but have real impacts on humankind. This gave me a lot of strength and fuelled my passion.

After discovering the technological truth behind science fiction, how did you proceed?

The first sliding door in my life was towards the end of secondary school, when I asked myself the question: a career in humanities or in science? I chose the second option. There was a time when I even considered joining the Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli but I realised that I would have preferred to study aircraft instead of flying them. I felt that mine was a craving for technological knowledge. So I chose the three-year degree in Aerospace Engineering. That which Politecnico did for me has been crucial for me to get where I am and become who I am now. The way I studied and assimilated things allowed me to develop a global vision. Having spent so many hours on books to assimilate concepts in the most diverse disciplines has made me aware that I may not remember a formula by heart but I know where to look for it and how to apply it. This, in a multidisciplinary field like space, is a fundamental value. Astronauts are often described as 'generalists', i.e., people who get away with everything, and that is a perfect description of me.

How long did the selection last and what did it consist of?

There were six steps in one and a half years. The first step was to send your CV together with a motivation letter and filling in a questionnaire. From there, we went from being 23,000 to 1,400 applicants. The second step was a day of psychometric tests very similar to those of airline companies for the selection of aspiring pilots: tests of perceptual speed, visual and auditory long-term and short-term memory, hand-eye coordination, multitasking and endurance of attention, and finally tests of mathematics and technique. After this second steps there were 400 candidates left. We were then invited to Cologne, to the Astronaut Training Centre, for a psychological assessment day. We did exercises in pairs, to evaluate communication skills under stress, and group exercises to see how we interacted with the other candidates. On the same day, we had an interview with a psychologist and a panel with a jury consisting of psychologists, HR department members and former astronauts. In my case, I met Luca Parmitano. Following this step, there were a hundred of us left and we underwent a week of medical and physical tests. Fifty of us were given access to the last two stages: an initial interview with a board consisting of senior members from the HR department, astronauts and also people from the communications department, because at that point the ability to publicise space issues also came into play. Twenty-six of us had a last interview with the ESA director. I was quite relaxed that day because I knew I had come as far as I could go and had nothing to complain about. I had emphasised that for me becoming an astronaut had not been an obsession, because I had made my way by trying to become a good engineer first and foremost, and the rest were convergences that led me to apply. They asked me if I thought this meant I was less motivated than someone who had directed ten years of their life towards this goal. My response was that mine was a less selfish approach, as rather than being obsessed about achieving something, I was interested in the usefulness of that which we can do as a space community.

You have therefore been appointed as a reserve astronaut, what does a reserve astronaut do?

The reserve is primarily intended to ensure continuity in the event of a generation change. Then, since we are in the historical moment of the advent of commercial operators, missions are no longer only paid for by institutions, and this opens up space tourism for those who can afford it but also gives smaller European countries easier access to missions with astronauts of their own nationality. In the meantime I continue my work as an engineer, especially on rendezvous. That is, I am in charge of enabling satellites to make autonomous trajectories without the need for ground support. This has several applications: autonomous rendezvous are used, for instance, to recover space debris and return it to the atmosphere or to perform life extinguishing, refuelling and repair services. I feel I am contributing in a way that is good, we are trying to maximise the resources already in orbit, we are cleaning up that which was done in previous years when launches were freer and no thought was given to the aftermath.

Speaking of this, what is the value of sustainability in space?

These types of orbital systems are an excellent example of a circular and sustainable economy: up to 80 percent of the water is recycled, they are totally energy independent thanks to solar panels and they help us develop technologies that have a return on earth, which we can apply in our everyday lives. The same applies to lunar exploration, where the touch-down is no longer nationalistic, it is not a matter of who gets there first but of trying to build more or less permanent habitats and utilise resources found on site for water and oxygen production and protection against radiation.

Since you have been appointed a member of the astronaut reserve and you look up at the sky, what is it like to see the moon?
I don't look up at the sky anymore because it scares me (laughs, ed.). Sometimes, as a joke, when I am with my boyfriend, I look at the moon and wink at it.

When you meet peers or younger people, what is the message you want to convey?

To the younger ones, I say do not be afraid to make difficult choices. I then try to draw attention to how wrong a certain type of narrative is, which is still present, that if you are a girl and choose a technical-scientific career you will have a hard time, because it is not a place for women. Finally, I say that one does not necessarily become an astronaut. I did well, but one of the last stages, the medical tests, does not depend on our efforts and passing it is not a merit. So we cannot condition our happiness on a goal that entails such a large component of luck. I always say that if it had gone wrong I would not have felt like a failure. Even without being an astronaut, all the way through, I would still have found myself passionately doing that which I love.

Find this and many other articles in MAP, the magazine of Politecnico di Milano Alumni, coming out very soon! Want to support the project and receive the Magazine at home in hard copy? Donate here!

Poli is in the top 7% of the best universities in europe

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In the 2023 ranking for Europe (source QS University Rankings), Politecnico di Milano is in the top 7% of the best universities (690 in total). We remain firmly in first place in Italy, while in global university rankings, we have achieved our highest position in history, ranking 123rd out of a total 1,500 universities worldwide. For the first time, Politecnico enters the top 9% of universities worldwide that are recognised for their excellence.

According to QS, the university has demonstrated excellent performance, which ranks among the top 20 universities worldwide in the fields of Design (8th position), Architecture (10th position) and Engineering (18th position).

You often read news about there being more and more talk of university rankings. But what are they? On what criteria are they based? And more importantly... do we really care?

WHO DECIDES THE RANKINGS

There are dozens of rankings and sub-rankings. They are generally decided by private companies, from publishing companies to consulting companies. For example, Times Higher Education, a British periodical, The “Shanghai” ranking, as it is informally known, is published by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy.The QS ranking, mentioned above, is developed by Quacquarelli Symonds.

No ranking is “definitive”: Francesca Saracino, Head of CareerService, explains: "Those mentioned receive the most attention in the media, but there isn't one, independent supranational body that defines once and for all the parameters for deciding which is the best university. There are various points of view and academic systems, leading to a lack of universal or international consensus on what defines a university. Some do research, others do not; some cover a range of subjects; others, like ours, are very focussed. The results obtained by these ranking systems vary considerably depending on the method and criteria used”.

SO, WHAT ARE THEY FOR?

This varied approach amongst different geopolitical regions reflects the variety of perspectives towards the academic and university system. In other words, you might find that Politecnico is ranked 1st in one ranking, 50th in another, and might not appear at all in another. But it is always good to bear this in mind. First of all, Saracino continues, “Students recognise that graduating from a highly ranked university can give them a competitive edge when seeking prestigious career opportunities as some companies consider university rankings as a factor when hiring. Researchers also find value in rankings as a means of staying informed about the strong universities in their fields of interest. In this sense, university rankings serve as a powerful tool for attracting talent on an international scale as the strong marketing associated with them ensures that universities are recognised globally, reaching various corners of the world. They also provide universities with a useful benchmark for comparison: we are able to see how we fare against our competitors and make strategic decisions accordingly".

RANKINGS ARE AN INDICATOR OF THE OVERALL WELL-BEING OF THE UNIVERSITY

They are therefore a tool rather than a goal. And in this sense it is useful to know which indicators we are strong in and those we still need to work on. They also provide insights into the shortcomings within the national and international environments in which we operate.

In the “Student Faculty” indicator, which measures the number of lecturers per student, Italian universities perform poorly. This is due to the structural limitations imposed by the Ministry of Universities and Research regarding the recruitment of lecturers.

On the other hand, we perform very well in Employer Reputation, an indicator that assesses the global opinions of employers regarding how well a university prepares its graduates for the world of work. We also receive positive recognition in the Academic Reputation indicator, based on the responses of thousands of academics who are asked to list the most prestigious universities in their scientific disciplines. Our university ranks among the top 100 universities worldwide in terms of academic and business reputation. Certain internationalisation indicators, such as the number of international staff and students, have shown improvement in recent years, particularly the new International Research Network indicator, which assesses the level of international collaboration in scientific research.

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN ALSO HAVE YOUR SAY?

Gli Alumni possono unirsi alla comunità internazionale dei referenti aziendali e condividere la loro opinione con QS su quali siano le migliori università nel mondo. Chi desidera farlo, può registrarsi per esprimere il proprio interesse a partecipare alla QS Global Employer Survey 2024: QS potrebbe contattare gli interessati via email entro i primi mesi del 2024, invitandoli a partecipare alla survey. Le risposte verranno lette in maniera aggregata per costruire gli indicatori di Employer Reputation che figurano nel QS World University Rankings. Register at this link

Find this and many other articles in MAP, the magazine of Politecnico di Milano Alumni, coming out very soon! Want to support the project and receive the Magazine at home in hard copy? Donate here!

2023: a year of celebrations and award-winning politechnic alumni and projects worldwide

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2023 was a year of achievements for Made in Italy by Politecnico di Milano. On this page we have compiled a list of awards and recognitions. Please let us know if we are missing any!

FEBRUARY

  • Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli — born in Italy, Californian by adoption (he teaches at the University of California, Berkeley), and an alumnus of Politecnico — is among the world's leading experts in computer science. We only mention Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli's recent achievements, including the prestigious BBVA Foundation “Frontiers of Knowledge Award”.
  • Professor Amalia Ercoli Finzi, the “comet lady”, was officially awarded the prestigious Hubert Curien Prize.
Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli
Donatella Sciuto e Amalia Ercoli Finzi

MARCH

Chiara Giovannini e Fedele Cavaliere, con il loro team di studenti dell’ASP_crediti Michele d’Ottavio – Politecnico di Torino

APRIL

  • 7 Alumni in the Forbes 30 Under 30 ranking: 7 Alumni nella classifica Forbes 30under30: Leonardo Bertelli — 26 years old — Science category; Camilla Cecilia Conti — 28 years old — Manufacturing & Industry category; Rachele Didero — 26 years old — Consumer Technology category; Alessandro Fanni — 29 years old — Science category; Lisa Iannello — 26 years old — Healthcare category; Francesca Madonini — 27 years old — Science category; Guido Putignano — 20 years old — Science category
  • A project submitted by professors Massimo Ferrari and Claudia Tinazzi from the Department of Architecture, Construction Engineering and the Built Environment were awarded the top prize at the Piranesi Prix de Rome et d'Athènes 2022-23.

MAY

  • Professor Andrea Castelletti, from the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, has been named the national winner for Italy in the first edition of the Frontiers Planet Prize. This prize was created to recognise the best research published in the last two years in the field of sustainability science.

JUNE

PoliMove a Monza 2023
La “1000-MAD”

JULY

Giulio Cerullo
Margherita Maiuri

AUGUST

  • The Italian team won the prestigious Hack a-Sat competition, organised by the US Department of Defence. The (achieved) objective: to breach the computer security of a satellite. Congratulations to the Mhackers, led by professor Mario Polino from the Department of Electronics Information and Bioengineering
  • Gaia Letizia Civardi, PhD student at the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, was awarded a prestigious Amelia Earhart Scholarship

SEPTEMBER

  • Professor Alfio Quarteroni, from the Department of Mathematics, accepted the prestigious ICIAM Lagrange Prize in Tokyo. This prize is awarded every four years by the International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics to mathematicians who have made exceptional contributions to the field of applied mathematics throughout their careers. Professor Quarteroni was awarded for his “groundbreaking contributions that have had a significant impact on the field of mathematics”.
  • Subrata Ghosh, from the Department of Energy, was awarded the Diamond and Carbon Materials Early Career Research Award
  • Francesco Pierri, researcher at the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering won the SIGKDD 2023 Outstanding Dissertation Award – Runner Up
Bazzicalupo e Mangiarotti
Alfio Quarteroni

OCTOBER

Marzia Bolpagni
Lucia Chierchia
Bianca Maria Colosimo
Massimo Roj
Grazia Vittadini

NOVEMBER

Budd-e
Alberto Guadagnini
Patricia Viel

DECEMBER

  • Professor Enrico Tronconi from the Energy Department at Politecnico di Milano has won one of the three prizes of the Air Liquide Scientific Challenge with his innovative proposal to use electricity to produce hydrogen. He will now be able to develop his project and turn it into a market-ready technology
  • Sofia Scataglini, a former student of Biomedical Engineering and who now works as a lecturer at the University of Antwerp, was presented the Premio del Presidente per la Giornata delle Marche. Her research work focuses on design for health and human care; she collaborates with a number of institutions and founded the group Digital Human Modeling by Women, which is dedicated to supporting women working on STEM subjects.
  • Ddpstudio, founded by Alumni Lorenzo de Bartolomeis, Gabriele Diamanti and Filippo Poli, receives the 13th National Innovation Award Prize of Prizes for Hannes, the "bionic hand"
  • The year begins and ends with professor Amalia Ercoli Finzi being awarded the Ambrogino d'oro 2023 by the mayor of Milan.
Sofia Scataglini
Enrico Tronconi

Professor Alberto Guadagnini wins the prestigious Darcy Medal 2024

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«Ho sognato tante volte di ricevere questo premio, uno tra i più prestigiosi a livello internazionale nel campo dell’idrologia. Anzi, a essere sincero non l’ho solo sognato, ci ho anche pensato spesso, in particolare mentre assistevo alle lecture plenarie di coloro che sono stati premiati prima di me». Alberto Guadagnini, vicerettore per la ricerca al Politecnico di Milano e docente di Idraulica presso il Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, ammette che aggiudicarsi la Medaglia Henry Darcy 2024 dell’European Geosciences Union era una delle sue massime ambizioni. «Parliamo dell’organizzazione leader in Europa nel settore delle scienze della terra, planetarie e spaziali», dice il professore, che riceverà fisicamente l’importante riconoscimento durante l’Assemblea Generale dell’EGU, in programma dal 14 al 19 aprile prossimi a Vienna – anche se la notizia è già ufficiale. «Quando mi è stato comunicato che mi avrebbero assegnato la Darcy Medal, credevo fosse uno scherzo. Poi ho capito che era tutto vero e mi sono emozionato tantissimo: sono molte le tappe del percorso ultratrentennale – iniziato nel 1991 – che mi ha condotto sin qui, eppure mi sono reso conto di quanto il mio mestiere, lungi dal venirmi a noia, non abbia smesso di appassionarmi. Questo premio, oltre a essere un grande riconoscimento, è una grandissima responsabilità: ora mi sento ancora più motivato a portare avanti le linee di ricerca avviate negli ultimi anni».


THE PHYSICAL LAWS OF THE UNDERGROUND
Themes range from stochastic hydrology to multiphase flow and transport, from underground water and energy resources to reactive transport. "Basically, I deal with groundwater and, in this case, with the qualitative status of aquifers at large scales, that is, at the scale of individual cities or regions, and with the use of energy resources in the subsurface. Conventional and unconventional resources, where by unconventional I mean, for example, hydraulic fracturing and gas extraction. In this context, one of the underlying questions is: how much impact can an intervention related to energy resources in the subsurface - from geothermal to gas to hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide storage - have on the quality of aquifers whose water can be used for drinking purposes, that is, for drinking, or for agricultural irrigation or industrial purposes?" It is easy to see how relevant such studies are to environmental policies and to the desired ecological transition, since responsible resource use and preservation of water quality are key to ensuring a healthy and sustainable environment. "One of the points of emphasis," Guadagnini explains, "is to quantify the possible risks associated with groundwater contamination and, if a contamination event occurs, to seek remediation, that is, to figure out what to do to restore good groundwater status. But how? I personally


COSA ACCADE NEL CUORE DELLA TERRA? CE LO DICE LA PROBABILITÀ
L’idea è che la ricerca di base sia essenziale alla ricerca applicata, ragion per cui Guadagnini si è approcciato alla seconda senza tralasciare la prima, ossia quella da cui era partito a inizio carriera. Se non si portasse avanti la ricerca di base, quella applicata non avrebbe più idee e concetti nuovi da sfruttare per le proprie indagini mirate, in ultima istanza, alla risoluzione di problemi concreti e reali. E vale anche il contrario, visto che a sua volta la ricerca applicata può favorire la scoperta di nuovi fenomeni e stimolare ulteriormente quella di base. È un ciclo virtuoso. Entrando nel dettaglio degli studi specifici del professore originario di Verona, classe ’64, questo ha significato, in primis, partire dalla conoscenza della fisica di base sui mezzi porosi, vale a dire suoli o sistemi artificiali quali, per esempio, membrane e affini, concepiti ad hoc grazie alle tecnologie più avanzate. «Anche la nostra pelle è un mezzo poroso, sia chiaro, semplicemente io mi occupo di altre tipologie di mezzi porosi», precisa lui, che si è successivamente focalizzato sullo sviluppo di schemi teorici di tipo probabilistico. «Uno degli aspetti affascinanti dei sistemi idrici sotterranei è che sono ricchi di processi fisici, dal flusso di fluidi – non importa si tratti di sola acqua, di mix di acqua e gas, di acqua e idrocarburi o altro – all’interazione del terreno con i composti chimici disciolti all’interno di questi fluidi, composti che provocando tutta una serie di reazioni geochimiche possono finire per trasformare completamente la natura del sistema. A me interessava studiare non solo la natura di quei processi fisici, ho anche cercato di identificare questi ultimi mediante un’appropriata formulazione matematica e di comprendere come impiegare i dati così raccolti nella realtà all’interno di modelli previsionali. È qui che, visto che non si possono avere così tanti dati su ciò che accade a mille o duemila metri di profondità, interviene lo sviluppo di modelli teorici costruiti considerando il concetto di probabilità, che ci fornisce una misura della possibilità che un evento si verifichi».
RICERCA PER LA SOSTENIBILITÀ E LA TRANSIZIONE ECOLOGICA
Nel concreto, si potrebbe avere bisogno di calcolare la probabilità che in un terreno la concentrazione di una data sostanza superi un determinato livello, provocando effetti nocivi sull’ambiente. Oppure, in caso di contaminazione intorno a un pozzo da cui si estrae acqua potabile da distribuire alla popolazione, potremmo dover verificare dopo quanto tempo l’effetto contaminante potrebbe ripercuotersi sulla qualità dell’acqua estratta dal pozzo stesso. Sono solo due esempi, i progetti di ricerca che ha coordinato Guadagnini sono numerosi: si va dall’analisi delle aree di influenza dei pozzi di emungimento sotterraneo all’identificazione di modalità di protezione delle sorgenti idriche naturali, dallo studio dell’effetto combinato dei cambiamenti climatici e delle attività antropiche sulle risorse idriche sotterranee all’indagine relativa al modo in cui l’anidride carbonica immagazzinata nel sottosuolo possa influenzare quest’ultimo e la preservazione dell’acqua. «Le applicazioni della ricerca sono potenzialmente infinite. Parlando di transizione ecologica, stiamo anche studiando alcuni contaminanti emergenti che sono di fatto prodotti farmaceutici: attualmente sono alla guida di un progetto europeo connesso alla propagazione nelle acque sotterranee di particolari fluidi di contrasto usati nelle risonanze magnetiche. Questo perché tali contrast media agents, pur essendo innocui per l’organismo, quando vengono espulsi e finiscono nell’ambiente possono dare luogo a prodotti il cui effetto non è ancora chiaro».
Diplomato al liceo classico e poi iscrittosi a Ingegneria Civile «perché ho sempre provato una forte attrazione per la matematica e le scienze applicate», Guadagnini afferma che per far fronte alla forte competizione nel suo settore servono «il talento individuale, tanto impegno e un ecosistema che sostenga le attività di ricerca». Da questo punto di vista «le infrastrutture e le opportunità che offre il Politecnico di Milano sono eccezionali – osserva –, a partire dalla vitalità dell’ambiente per arrivare alla possibilità di sviluppare ricerche in completa autonomia, anche creando laboratori sperimentali supportati dall’Ateneo». E aggiunge: «Non c’è intervento dell’uomo sull’ambiente che non comporti rischi. Per come la vedo io, è importante essere consapevoli di quei rischi e saperli quantificare includendo l’incertezza associata al nostro livello di comprensione. Così che poi si possa procedere con lo sviluppo di nuove tecnologie ed eventualmente, a livello politico, compiere valutazioni informate per affrontare le sfide che di volta in volta ci si presentano davanti nel mondo reale».

New sensors to be mounted on trains to safeguard bridges and railways

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Politecnico is at the top of the world rankings of universities also thanks to the frontier scientific research it carries out in its laboratories. The protagonists of this Italian record are the approximately 3,500 scientists and researchers of Politecnico. Among the hottest topics are obviously those related to the systemic transformation towards climate neutrality; and then, the world of digital, space exploration, life sciences, the movements embraced by the New European Bauhaus, the new frontiers in the study of matter... In particular, young researchers inject new life into the research system and grow innovative scientific strands. Politecnico invests in activities aimed precisely at encouraging young scientists of excellence to join in. Among many, this year we welcome twelve new young researchers who are among the best of their generation. They are here at Politecnico di Milano thanks to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fellowship programme. Let us introduce them... in alphabetical order.

CHARIKLEIA STOURA deals with the characterisation of roughness in railway tracks on the basis of vibration data from trains in service. Currently, in order to monitor the structural condition of bridges, visual inspections are carried out or measuring devices are installed directly on the bridges, and this system that involves high costs and a large number of man-hours. Stoura aims to develop a methodology using low-cost sensors to be installed on trains in service, which travel over all the bridges of the railway network at frequent intervals, collecting data in a continuous and systemic manner. This is a type of monitoring that aims at complete digitisation and digitalisation of railway infrastructure maintenance. This, in turn, can provide valuable information and promote informed decisions regarding the regular maintenance of railway systems and optimal operating conditions (e.g., train speed).

Read more: all Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) researchers in 2023 on MAP 12

Three Polimi designers win the 13th National Innovation Award

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The Hannes artificial hand is part of a robotic-derived prosthetic system conceived and developed by the joint IIT - INAIL Rehab Technologies laboratory. Today, Politecnico di Milano’s Alumni Lorenzo de Bartolomeis, Gabriele Diamanti and Filippo Poli have received the ‘Premio dei Premi’ (Prize of the Prizes) for Hannes, which is the result of their industrial design work. The team had already won the ADI Innovation Award and the 27th Compasso d'Oro award for industrial design for this same device, which stands out not only for its high level of innovation but also for the beauty and formal balance of its design. Find out more at this link

Through study and hybridisation between various disciplines, the prosthetic hand is characterised by a mix of proportions, postures and ergonomics that make it extremely functional and harmonious with the patient's body. The final design was achieved thanks to a continuous iteration with the technical, clinical and robotic expertise of researchers from Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and Centro Protesi; the trial process involved clinicians and patients from the early stages of the project.

The prize giving ceremony was held on 19 December 2023 at CNR (National Research Centre) in Rome, in the presence of Minister for Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo and Minister for Universities and Research Anna Maria Bernini. The National Innovation Award 'Prize of the Prizes' was established by the Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of 7 April 2008, by concession of the President of the Italian Republic, at Fondazione COTEC, to celebrate the National Innovation Day. The aim of the Prize is to recognise and highlight each year the innovative capacity of companies, universities, public administrations and individual inventors, also in order to foster the growth of the culture of innovation in Italy.

The best of italian design, made in Polimi.

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The ADI DESIGN INDEX 2023 brings together the best products and services from all sectors of Italian design, selected each year by ADI as a pre-selection for the Compasso d'Oro Award, the oldest and most prestigious industrial design award in the world, held every two years.

This year, 238 projects "made it" and entered the INDEX 2023. Together with the selection for 2022, they will complete a particularly important series of events: the preparation for the XXVIII edition of the Compasso d'Oro, which will be held in 2024 to mark the 70th anniversary of the award, which was born in 1954 from an idea by Politecnico alumnus Gio Ponti, thanks to the support of Rinascente.

STUDENTS’ PROJECTS

Design is a special discipline. There are big names, stars and masters who populate this Olympus, but creativity is unpredictable and it is not uncommon for even the very young to be admitted to this pantheon. In particular, the Targa Giovani is the prize that the Compasso D'Oro jury reserves for young designers who enter projects, self-productions, studies or research that are the subject of a thesis or final examination. Of the 19 projects selected for the 2023 edition, eight come from the School of Design of the Politecnico di Milano.

Discover them here https://dipartimentodesign.polimi.it/it/news/219

In an interview with Interni Magazine, Professor Francesco Zurlo notes: "Among the 19 selections for Targa Giovani there are few traditional associated products and a lot of research and experimentation. Professor Zurlo is Dean of the School of Design at the Politecnico di Milano and a member of the Scientific Committee of the ADI Permanent Design Observatory, the body responsible for selecting product candidates for the INDEX. In the interview, he highlights two particular elements of this edition: sustainability and inclusiveness, leitmotifs of contemporary Italian design and polytechnic thinking.

DOZENS OF POLITECNICO ALUMNI AMONG DESIGN EXCELLENCE

The School and Department of Design are also represented in the overall selection with projects, products and research. They were joined by many alumni, designers and planners who presented individual or, more often, collaborative works. Increasingly, design is tackling complexity in a collaborative and interdisciplinary way. Not just beautiful objects, as we are often used to thinking of design: a beautiful lamp, a chair or a dress; there are also designer objects, but among the selections of the ADI Design Index 2023 are many service design projects, for social and communication, editorial projects, online platforms and applications. It is a snapshot of a growing trend that highlights the role of design as a discipline that reforms and innovates processes and interprets the classic combination of form and function.

We tried to track down all the designers, alumni of the Politecnico di Milano, involved in the ADI Design Index 2023. We sifted through all the projects and found more than 50 of them, some as protagonists and some as sidekicks. But surely we must have missed some of them. We are counting on the Alumni Community, as always, to fill this gap. We should also remember that design is a collaborative discipline par excellence, which is why the objects and projects we present are often the work of several hands.

With that necessary disclaimer, let's see what this snapshot of contemporary design has to offer.

Design for Living is traditionally the largest category.

  • ALINE⠀a series of high-tech but hand-finished taps designed by designer Marco (Architecture alumnus 1976)
  • CABANON, which interprets the original spirit of the sauna, designed by Rodolfo Dordoni (Architecture alumnus 1979), who died in August 2023.
  • Dordoni also made GHISAㅤa collection of aluminium radiators.
  • Ilaria Marelli (Architecture alumnus 1997) presents COMO, a collection based on the theme of outdoor fire, developed on the basis of single-material products that are easy to dispose of at the end of their useful life.
  • Designed by Antonio Citterio (Architecture alumnus 1975) ESOSOFTis a collection of modular seating.
  • ICON⠀by Marcello Ziliani (Architecture alumnus 1988), is a collection of adaptable and enveloping seating.
  • INGIRO, by Lorenzo Damiani (Architecture alumnus 1999), is a shower system that can be positioned anywhere and operated with the touch of a foot; ⠀
  • LEVA, a handle with minimal visual and environmental impact, is by Park Associati, a studio founded by Filippo Pagliani (Engineering PhD alumnus 2008) and Michele Rossi (Architecture alumnus 1991).
  • Piero Lissoni (Architecture alumnus 1985) takes up the theme of seating with⠀ MJNA,
  • As does Alessandro Stabile (younger, 2007 graduate of Poli in Industrial Design) with OTO CHAIR and TACO.
  • Lissoni also brings us POCHETTE, an armchair designed for adaptability.
  • The REEF armchair, by Michele Menescardi (Industrial Design alumnus 2004), has been designed with an eco-sustainable and circular approach in every component.
  • OPTICAL TRIPS, is a collection of tiles by Meneghello Paolelli Studio, founded by 2004 alumni Marco Paolelli (Product Design) and Sandro Meneghello (Industrial Design).
  • Patricia Urquiola (Architecture alumnus 1989) presents the SIMOON⠀collection of tables made from recycled Murano glass.
  • Designed by Paolo Belloni (Architecture alumnus 1993), the WALL BOX BE-T is a home charging station and its sister WALL BOX BE-D (in the Design for Work category).
  • A place of honour goes to Lighting Design, which we open with CHIAROSCURA, a floor lamp that experiments with the functional enhancement of the luminator to emit only indirect light upwards. It was designed by Alberto Meda, a designer born in 1945 who graduated in mechanical engineering from the Politecnico di Milano in 1969.
  • Paolo Rizzatto (born in 1941 and graduated in Architecture in 1965) presents FIGAROQUA FIGAROLÀan unconstrained lighting system inspired by the traditional candle lamp.
  • MINI GEEN-A, by Ferruccio Laviani (Architecture alumnus 1986) reinterprets the reading lamp.
  • Also by Dordoni, NILE is a lamp-sculpture whose composition of volumes explores the balance between opposites.
  • In the field of Design for Mobility, we can mention THEFALCON, a 3D-printed bicycle by Romolo Stanco (Architecture alumnus 2000);
  • SP110by Lissoni, a boat born from research into technologies with low environmental impact (SP stands for Smart Performance);
  • V100 MANDELLO, a motorcycle designed for Piaggio's 100th anniversary, equipped with adaptive aerodynamics and bearing the stamp of Marco Lambri (Architecture alumnus 1998).

We open the Design for Work category

  • JOVENA® by Studio Volpi, whose many alumni include Patrizio Cionfoli (Industrial Design alumnus 1999): it is a medical device made up of a trolley with a unit that, through special handpieces, allows different treatments: non-invasive microsurgery, diathermy and contraction combined in a single radio frequency source to reach the muscles and deepest layers.
  • KSA is a family of high-volume industrial systems using Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) technology to replace more polluting electroplating processes in sectors such as automotive. It was designed by Lorenzo De Bartolomeis (Industrial Design 2005).
  • ⠀ PERFECT BREATH, a contribution by Giuseppe Modeo (Architecture alumnus 2006), is an air filtration device that prevents the accumulation of bacteria and mould.
  • CANCELLATO UNIFORM by Diletta Cancellato (Fashion Design alumnus 2012) in the Design for the Person category, is a clothing line for young and old that combines craftsmanship with new 3D knitting technologies: clothes that can adapt to any physique, age, gender and physical ability.
  • ECO+ RACE CAR, a range of toy cars for children aged 12 months and over, is the result of a collaboration with Bice Dantona (Communication Design alumnus 2011).
  • Lorenzo Palmieri (Architecture alumnus 1993) presents NEMO, an upright piano with a curved front.
  • VENUSIA is a jewellery collection designed by Elena Salmistraro (Industrial Design alumnus 2008).
  • For food design, we have FARFALLA, a nutcracker designed in 1998 by Enzo Mari and as yet unreleased (Enzo Mari);
  • LAVAZZA TINY ECO, for which we mention Angelica Rella (2015 Product Design alumnus)
  • PIETRO GRINDERS, a coffee grinder by Valerio Cometti (2001 Mechanical Engineering alumnus).
  • In the category Design of Materials and Technological Systems: IDRO ROYALE, a single-component water-based finish by Raffaella Mangiarotti (Alumna Architettura 1991);
  • MATHERA, a panel produced using only end-of-life wood, by Diego Grandi (Architecture alumnus 1999);

Let's get out of the tangible with the Service Design:

  • ESPERTO RISPONDE, created with the help of Giacomo Flaim (Communication Design alumnus 2019), is a service of the Il Sole 24 Ore that allows readers of the newspaper to ask questions on tax and legal matters directly to experts in the field.
  • The Dotdotdot studio, founded by Laura Dellamotta and Giovanna Gardi, 2002 architecture graduates, 2003 industrial design graduate Fabrizio Pignoloni and researcher Alessandro Masserdotti, has produced the FONDAZIONE LUIGI ROVATI PLATFORM, a digital system designed for the Foundation's new art museum.
  • NEXI PLANET CARE NEXI PLANET CARE is a service available through the Nexi Pay app that helps raise awareness of sustainable purchasing choices: we mention it because Nexi's CEO is Paolo Bertoluzzo, Management Engineering alumnus of 1990, and given the times, it seemed important.
  • Speaking of SOSTENIBILITÀ 10 E LODE is a deck of 96 cards designed as a team building tool on corporate sustainability by Nicoletta Crisponi (Industrial Design alumnus 2011)..
  • In Design for Social, SHERLOCK, CONCIERGE INCLUSIVOis an object intended for the severely visually impaired, which allows them to acquire information about tourist sites through audio descriptions: how a room is organised, where the sockets are, how the bathroom is laid out, etc. It is the work of the Hackability collective, which we mention because its founder is an alumnus. Francesco Rodighiero, Industrial Design 2003.
  • In the category Ricerca per l’Impresa we can find the BESTIARIO DI INTELLIGENZA ARTIFICIALEa book for adults and children that tells the story of artificial intelligence through the stories of eight imaginary creatures, by Francesca Fiocchi (Industrial Design alumnus 2008)
  • CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE HUB, a personnel selection process based on design thinking, by Amploom (company founded by Serena Leonardi, Product Service System Design alumnus 2013);
  • COLLABORATION MAXIMIZER, a collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières by Roberta Tassi (Communication Design alumnus 2008): a new working model for a humanitarian NGO;
  • And finally POLARIS®, an infographic creation designed by Lorenzo De Bartolomeis to define the continuous search for a working method in a group.

202 SCIENTISTS AT POLI IN THE WORLD'S TOP RANKINGS

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This has been established by a list of the World's Top 2% Scientists, a global ranking of the most productive scientists prepared by Stanford University in collaboration with Elsevier and the "Scopus” database of the world's scientific research. The ranking is the result of a bibliometric analysis, a discipline that uses mathematical and statistical techniques to analyse the quantity, quality and diffusion of publications within scientific communities. The authors analysed data relating to around 8 million researchers from universities and research centres throughout the world.

Among them, approximately 204,000 scientists stood out for their scientific authority and currently represent the best 2%. Approximately 5,700 of these work (or have worked for the majority of their careers) in Italy, 202 of whom at Politecnico di Milano. Compare the downloadable data using this link

Calculations were performed using all Scopus author profiles as of 1 October 2023. Scientists are classified into 22 scientific fields and 174 subfields, from acoustics to zoology. The citations and the relative h-index, an index that measures the productivity and scientific impact of an author, based on both the number of publications and the number of citations received are evaluated for each researcher. A composite indicator is then calculated for each researcher that focuses on relevance, rather than simply the number of publications, and includes information on co-p authorship and author positions (single, first, last author). Finally, each profile is analysed and compared with the others using advanced machine learning techniques to produce comparable results across scientific areas.

THE 203 POLITECNICO SCIENTISTS IN THE TOP 2% IN THE WORLD

Aerospace and aeronautics, analytical, organic and inorganic chemistry, nuclear and chemical engineering, materials, mechanical engineering and transportation, applied and general mathematics, applied physics, artificial intelligence, automotive engineering, biomedical engineering, building and construction, business and management, civil engineering, hardware and computer architecture, design, electrical and electronic engineering, energy, environmental engineering, geology and geomatics, industrial engineering and automation, telecommunications, optics, optoelectronics and photonics, polymers, software engineering, strategic, defence & security studies, urban and territorial planning. These are the fields in which Politecnico di Milano researchers are among the best in the world. They are:

Tommaso Agasisti, Economics | Andrea Aliverti, Respiratory System | Edoardo Amaldi, Nuclear & Particle Physics | Francesco Amigoni, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Gianfranco Angelino, Energy | Danilo Ardagna, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | M. Astolfi, Energy | Sara Bagherifard, Materials | Piero Baraldi, Strategic, Defence & Security Studies | Luigi Barazzetti, Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Luciano Baresi, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Giuseppe Baselli, Biomedical Engineering | Stefano Beretta, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Alberto Berizzi, Energy | Andrea Bernasconi, Materials | Luca Bertolini, Building & Construction | Giorgio Besagni, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Luigi Biolzi, Building & Construction | Fabio Biondini, Civil Engineering | Sergio Bittanti, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Daniele Bocchiola, Environmental Engineering | Cristiana Bolchini, Computer Hardware & Architecture | Gabriella Bolzon, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Andrea Bonarini, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Benedetto Bozzini, Energy | Francesco Braghin, Automobile Design & Engineering | Marco Brambilla, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Angelo M. Brambilla, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Elisabetta Brenna, Organic Chemistry | Matteo Bruggi, Applied Mathematics | S. Bruni, Automobile Design & Engineering | Enrico Cagno, Energy | Roberto Camagni, Urban & Regional Planning | Stefano Campanari, Energy | Roberta Capello, Urban & Regional Planning | Edoardo Capello, Materials | Antonio Capone, Networking & Telecommunications | Valter Carvelli, Materials | Siro Casolo, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Carlo Cercignani, Fluids & Plasmas | Stefano Ceri, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Giulio Cerullo, Optics | Sergio Cerutti, Biomedical Engineering | Federico Cheli, Automobile Design & Engineering | Vittorio Chiesa, Business & Management | Paolo Chiesa, Energy | Pasquale Ciarletta, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Lorenzo Codecasa, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Patrizio Colaneri, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Marcello Colledani, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Pierluigi Colombi, Materials | Massimo G. Colombo, Business & Management | F. Colombo, General Mathematics | Bianca Maria Colosimo, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Claudia Comi, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Stefano Consonni, Energy | Alberto Corigliano, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Dario Coronelli, Civil Engineering | Sergio Cova, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Loredana Cristaldi, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Rinaldo Cubeddu, Optics | Gianpaolo Cugola, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | A. Cuoci, Energy | Gabriele D’antona, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Gianluca D’Errico, Energy | Florian Daniel, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Carlo De Michele, Environmental Engineering | Sandro De Silvestri, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Giuseppe Della Valle, Optics | Luigi T. DeLuca, Aerospace & Aeronautics | Ali Gökhan Demir, Materials | Marco di Prisco, Building & Construction | Giorgio Diana, Civil Engineering | L. Dozio, Materials | Lorenzo Fagiano, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Roberto Sebastiano Faranda, Energy | Tiziano Faravelli, Energy | Liberato Ferrara, Building & Construction | Alessandro Ferrero, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Giancarlo Ferrigno, Biomedical Engineering | Marco Finazzi, Applied Physics | Pio Forzatti, Physical Chemistry | A. Frassoldati, Energy | Piero Fraternali, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Carlo Albino Frigo, Biomedical Engineering | Alfonso Fuggetta, Software Engineering | Maurizio Stefano Galimberti, Polymers | Pietro G. Gambarova, Civil Engineering | Fabio Ganazzoli, Polymers | Franca Garzotto, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Filippo Gazzola, General Mathematics | Carmelo Gentile, Civil Engineering | Carlo Ghezzi, Software Engineering | Massimo Ghioni, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Marco Giglio, Materials | Giuseppina Gini, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Giancarlo Gioda, Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Antonio Giuffrida, Energy | M. Grasselli, General Mathematics | Gianmarco Griffini, Polymers | Gianpiero Groppi, Physical Chemistry | Mario Guagliano, Materials | Alberto Guardone, Aerospace & Aeronautics | Andrea Virgilio Guarnieri, Geological & Geomatics Engineering | D. Ielmini, Applied Physics | Hamid Reza Karimi, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Andrea L. Lacaita, Applied Physics | Guglielmo Lanzani, Applied Physics | Pier Luca Lanzi, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Paolo Laporta, Optics | Alberto Leva, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Sonia Leva, Energy | Salvatore Levantino, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Luca Lietti, Physical Chemistry | Maria Pina Limongelli, Civil Engineering | Giorgio Locatelli, Energy | Stefano Longhi, Optics | Marco Lovera, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Giovanni Lozza, Energy | Elena Lucchi, Building & Construction | Ennio Macchi, Energy | Giuseppe Macchiarella, Networking & Telecommunications | Paolo Maffezzoni, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Vittorio Magni, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Giulio Maier, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Luca Mainardi, Biomedical Engineering | Erfan Maleki, Materials | Flavio Manenti, Energy | Ezio Manzini, Design Practice & Management | Giampaolo Manzolini, Energy | Stefano Mariani, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | M. Marseguerra, Energy | M. Martinelli, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Pierangelo Masarati, Aerospace & Aeronautics | Emilio Matricciani, Networking & Telecommunications | Domenico Mazzeo, Energy | Marco Mehl, Energy | Stefano Valdo Meille, Polymers | Andrea Mele, Organic Chemistry | Andrea Melloni, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Pierangelo Metrangolo, Organic Chemistry | Francesco Migliavacca, Biomedical Engineering | Gabriele Milani, Civil Engineering | Francesco Minisci, Organic Chemistry | Massimo Morbidelli, Chemical Engineering | Francesco Morichetti, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Luca Mottola, Networking & Telecommunications | G. Natta, Polymers | Michele Norgia, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Roberto Nova, Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Angelo Onorati, Energy | A. Pandolfi, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Roberto Paolucci, Strategic, Defence & Security Studies | Vittorino Pata, General Mathematics | Achille Pattavina, Networking & Telecommunications | P. Pedeferri, Energy | Antonio Pedotti, Biomedical Engineering | Paolo Pennacchi, Design Practice & Management | Giancarlo Pennati, Biomedical Engineering | Barbara Pernici, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Roberto Piazza, Fluids & Plasmas | Luigi Piegari, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Antonio Pifferi, Optics | Luigi Piroddi, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Claudio Maria Prati, Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Manuela Teresa Raimondi, Biomedical Engineering | Eliseo Ranzi, Energy | Alberto Redaelli, Biomedical Engineering | Giuseppe Resnati, Organic Chemistry | Pier Giorgio Righetti, Analytical Chemistry | F. Rocca, Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Paolo Rocco, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Matteo C. Romano, Energy | Renzo Rosso, Environmental Engineering | M. C. Rulli, Environmental Engineering | Giuseppe Sala, Materials | Carlo Samori, Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Sergio M. Savaresi, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Marco Scaioni, Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Fabio Scardigli, Nuclear & Particle Physics | Riccardo Scattolini, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Umberto Spagnolini, Networking & Telecommunications | Matteo Strano, Materials | O. Svelto, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Alberto Taliercio, Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Maria Cristina Tanzi, Biomedical Engineering | Paola Taroni, Optics | Stefano Tebaldini, Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Tullio A.M. Tolio, Industrial Engineering & Automation | Francesco Topputo, Aerospace & Aeronautics | Massimo Tornatore, Networking & Telecommunications | Alessandro Torricelli, Optics | Alberto Tosi, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Enrico Tronconi, Physical Chemistry | John Rodney Turner, Building & Construction | Marco Valente, Civil Engineering | Maurizio Vedani, Materials | Carlo Vercellis, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Stefano Zanero, Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Franco Zappa, Optoelectronics & Photonics | Giuseppe Zerbi, Chemical Physics | Enrico Zio, Strategic, Defence & Security Studies

Sensors and 'self-healing' materials to protect cultural heritage

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Politecnico is at the top of the world rankings of universities also thanks to the frontier scientific research it carries out in its laboratories. The protagonists of this Italian record are the approximately 3,500 scientists and researchers of Politecnico. Among the hottest topics are obviously those related to the systemic transformation towards climate neutrality; and then, the world of digital, space exploration, life sciences, the movements embraced by the New European Bauhaus, the new frontiers in the study of matter... In particular, young researchers inject new life into the research system and grow innovative scientific strands. Politecnico invests in activities aimed precisely at encouraging young scientists of excellence to join in. Among many, this year we welcome twelve new young researchers who are among the best of their generation. They are here at Politecnico di Milano thanks to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fellowship programme. Let us introduce them... in alphabetical order.

NIKI TROCHOUTSOU deals with cultural heritage at risk. She tells us: "Earthquakes, armed conflicts and climate change threaten the structural integrity of cultural heritage and, consequently, our identity. Structural modernisation is crucial for protecting the built heritage and ensuring its resilience. Current repair systems may fail prematurely and their long-term performance is not guaranteed, thus continuous and costly monitoring is needed to prevent jeopardising safety. My project will develop new-generation fabric-reinforced mortar and self-sensing systems that can 'feel' the damage and heal the cracks with no human intervention”.

Read more: all Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) researchers in 2023 on MAP 12