Researchers/Technologist

© unibz|Alexander Erlacher

Received her M.Sc. degree in Medical Engineering from University of Rome TorVergata (Italy) in 2016. Her master’s thesis focused on developing and testing organic semiconducting polymers and thin films for bio-hybrid interfaces with retinal system to develop Artificial Retina models. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Electronic Engineering in 2020 from University of Rome TorVergata (Italy) with a thesis entitled “Conjugated polymer photosensitive platforms for Artificial Retina and light control of living cells”. During the three Ph.D. years she worked at CHOSE (Center of Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy, Rome) and one year (2nd year of Ph.D.) at University of Surrey (UK) as visiting Ph.D. on the development of an inkjet printed polymeric Artificial Retina (project funded by Lazio Region-TORNOSUBITO program). She won the ITWIIN (Italian Women Inventor&Innovator) Awards-Special Mention MaterialConneXion-Best Innovative woman 2016, and the EIWIIN (European International Women Inventors&Innovators) Special Recognition Award 2017 for ingenious and innovative achievements. 
Dr. Ciocca is currently Assistant Professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy), working in the PRIME Research Group at the Faculty of Engineering. 

© unibz|Alexander Erlacher

Received his B.Sc. degree in Physics in 2015 and subsequently completed his M.Sc. degree in Physics in 2017, both from the Department of Physics within the Faculty of Science at the University of Casablanca, Morocco. He successfully defended his doctoral dissertation to earn his Ph.D. degree in Physics in July 2021 from the University of Ferrara at the Sensor and Semiconductor Laboratory, in collaboration with the Micro Nano Facility at the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento. Following the completion of his doctoral studies, he held positions as a postdoctoral researcher at the Sensing Technologies Lab of the Free University of Bolzano (Italy) from 2021 to 2023 and as a junior university researcher from 2023 to 2024 at the same institution.
Currently, his research interests revolve around the development of electronics on flexible substrates and printing techniques employed in fabricating sensors, devices, and circuits, with a specific emphasis on gas sensors. His work also focuses on integrating these sensors into wearable technologies for various applications, including environmental monitoring, agriculture, and healthcare sectors.

Post-Docs/Research assistants

Michele was born and raised in Foggia, a city in southern Italy, and later moved to Tuscany, where he obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Physics at the University of Pisa. During his studies, he developed a fascination for novel materials, which heavily influenced his choice of topic for his theses. Both of them, in fact, revolved around a multi-scale study of the optical properties of a thermochromic polymeric material, with measurements taken by means of near-field and confocal microscopy. He is now completing his PhD at University College London, as part of the EU Horizon 2020 ITN “Bio-inspired and bionic matErials for Enhanced Photosynthesis” (BEEP), working on a project titled “Exploitation of bio-inspired light-management strategies” under the supervision of Prof Franco Cacialli. The aim of this project is to study marine organisms which have evolved interesting photonic structures and to apply this knowledge to the development of new bio-inspired materials and systems. In 2024, he started working as an assistant researcher at the Free University of Bolzano within the iNEST PNRR project, with the goal of developing fully biodegradable and biocompatible optoelectronic devices to be implemented in harsh mountain environments, which would allow for the use of such devices while minimising their environmental impact and the need to send personnel to retrieve them after they have performed their task.

PhD students

Received his B.Sc. in Physics (Solid-state and Electronics) from the University of Tabriz (2011–2015) and his M.Sc. in Solid-state Physics from Shahid Beheshti University (2015–2018). During his Master’s studies, he worked on the fabrication, characterization, and magnetoresistance of magnetic/non-magnetic multilayer nanowires. After graduation, he worked as a junior researcher in the Nano-Physics and Spintronics Group at Shahid Beheshti University’s Department of Physics and later as a lab assistant until 2023. Beyond his academic pursuits, Javad has significant experience in mechanical design and 3D printing. He has applied this expertise to design and create lab instruments, such as the mechanical components of an ellipsometer.
Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Franco Cacialli at the Faculty of Engineering at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. His Ph.D. project focuses on developing biocompatible, biodegradable, and bioresorbable infrared and near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

External collaborations

Group Name
Faculty
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Prof.