I am a senior machine physicist at the FERMI Free Electron Laser facility at Sincrotrone Trieste. I earned my PhD from the Università di Firenze in 2007 and completed a specialization in optics at the Istituto Nazionale di Ottica in 2022. Before moving to Trieste in 2005, my research focused on the control and synchronization of chaotic systems, including laser systems.

At Sincrotrone Trieste, I joined the Storage-Ring FEL team, where I carried out experimental activities for the development and application of the FEL at Elettra. I contributed to the Conceptual Design Report (CDR) of the FERMI project, launched in 2006, and since 2009 I have led the FEL studies group. In this role, I have played a key part in extending FERMI’s tuning range beyond the original 10 nm limit.

As a member of the FERMI commissioning team, I oversaw FEL studies and experiments while also coordinating facility operations. In 2016, I proposed an experiment to demonstrate Echo-Enabled Harmonic Generation in the soft X-ray spectral region; this experiment was successfully carried out in 2018 in collaboration with international partners.

From June 2020 to October 2021, I worked at DESY on the FLASH2020+ project, which aimed to enhance the capabilities of FLASH by introducing new options, including external seeding. During this period, I served as project leader. I subsequently returned to FERMI, where I am part of the team responsible for FEL operations and regularly participate in advanced user experiments that exploit the facility’s unique features. Since 2022, I have also been leading upgrade activities to extend the FERMI tuning range down to 2 nm.

I have co-authored more than 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, many as corresponding or lead author, and have presented my work at numerous international conferences and workshops. In recognition of my contributions to seeded FELs, I received the International FEL Prize in 2019. I also serve as a reviewer for several scientific journals and research institutions.

My CV is available here

List of publication availble here.