Born in Asti in 1980, I received my PhD at the Physics Department of Politecnico di Torino in 2009 with a thesis on spintronic devices, where I exploited quantum confinement in metals to perform information processing via the electron spin channel. I obtained a full professor habilitation (Solid State Physics) and associate professor habilitation (Electronics) in 2017. The post-doctoral research period was first held at Politecnico di Torino, Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, in the analysis of transport properties of nanocomposite materials, subsequently at the Center for Space Human Robotics of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Torino, dealing with the development of sensors and materials for space exploration, then at the Center for Sustainable Future Technologies with a pioneering study on the generation of electricity from waste heat using functional liquids, and finally at the Soft Bioinspired Robotics group in Genova with the development of the first ever liquid cybernetic system. During the years I worked as Visiting Researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, United States of America) in 2015 and 2016, at the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics (Halle, Germany) in 2017, at the Unconventional Computing Laboratory of the University of the West of England (Bristol, United Kingdom) in 2018 where I am Visiting Professor, as of 2021.
My current interest is the study of cybernetic systems, particularly those that can be described through holonomic analogies, such as liquids, through which I am developing autonomous robots capable of perceiving the external environment, generate energy for self-powering, store data and perform rudimentary calculations. Some of the most recent achievements are: an electrically programmable liquid analog memory, a liquid artificial neural network, a liquid reservoir computer, all within the European project whose I am coordinator, endowed with € 3.5 million funding from the European Innovation Council.
I also created an infrastructure for the analysis of the electrome of a natural ecosystem in a real environment, the Paneveggio forest (Predazzo, TN), finding hints of quantum correlation between plants. This revolutionary study bridges the gap between synthetic cybernetic systems and ecosystems.
Since 2019 I am in the top 2% scientists (applied physics, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000384). I have been the organizer of symposia at conferences of global importance, both in Europe and in the United States. I am Vice Chair of the physics panel at the Research Executive Agency of the European Union. I am listed in the register of Innovation Managers of the Ministry of Economic Development and a member of the Italian Physical Society and the Italian Magnetism Association. In parallel with the research activities, I founded two spin-off companies: Politronica in 2008 and Polìpo in 2016. The first raised about € 6M of capital for industrial development and managed a distributed factory (industry 4.0) for digital manufacturing, focused on 3D printing using FDM technique for zero marginal cost production. The second developed a chemical process for the production of biodegradable plastics from renewable resources and received the European Union Seal of Excellence and funding through the SME instrument. Both companies won important awards at national and European level.
I deal with natural vinification of Barbera d'Asti in my free time and holistic arts.
Two mottos from my personal collection: “Imperare sibi maximum imperium est” “Non quia difficilia sunt non audemus, sed quia non audemus difficilia sunt”.
