CV in brief
Degree in chemistry from the University of Milano (1989).
PhD in theoretical chemistry from the University of Bristol, UK (1993).
Post-doctoral assistant (1993-1997), assistant professor (1997-2007) and associate professor (2007-2018) at the Politecnico di Milano.
Full professor of chemistry at the Politecnico di Milano since 2018: department web page.
Member of IUPAC’s Polymer Division, Subcommittee on Polymer Terminology and Subcommittee on Polymer Education.
Representative of the Politecnico di Milano within the board of the IT-SIMUL node of CECAM.
Teaching
I have taught chemistry-related courses at all levels, including:
– introductory chemistry for first-year engineering students
– advanced chemistry for master students in materials engineering
– molecular simulation methods, for both master and PhD students
– polymer physics for PhD students
I have also been a proponent and organizer of several courses introducing Politecnico’s PhD students to technical writing on Wikipedia.
Research
Philosophy. Study complex systems using the simplest possible model (but not simpler!). Use the computer to gain a solid physical understanding, in addition to numbers.
Areas. I am interested in the application of theoretical concepts and computational methods (statistical mechanics, molecular dynamics, quantum chemistry) to materials, especially polymers and other forms of soft matter. More specifically:
– Molecular simulation of polymer interfaces and nanocomposites: rubber elasticity and reinforcement, polymer-mediated adhesion and friction.
– Structure and modeling of materials for organic electronics: self-assembly, charge transport and change separation in organic photovoltaics.
– Structure and molecular motions in polymer electrolytes and ionic liquids: cross-validation and interpretation of diffusion data from NMR spectroscopy.
I also am interesting in promoting the application of molecular simulation methods to engineering problems, as a co-organizer the MolSimEng series of workshops.
Publications
I have published about one hundred research papers. See my google scholar page for an up-to-date list.