Previous to my current appointment, I was a an ISTplus Fellow at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (2020-22) with Prof. Björn Hof and a PDRA in Applied Mathematics at the University of Sheffield (2017-20) with Dr Ashley Willis and Prof. Rich Kerswell FRS (DAMTP U. Cambridge).
In my postdoctoral research, I used tools from dynamical systems theory and statistical physics, combined with high fidelity simulations, to understand how turbulence first arises and is sustained in flows through conduits and to develop control methods to tame it. Using optimisation methods, I studied the phenomenon of forced relaminarisation (i.e. the reverse transition from turbulent to laminar flow) in pipelines, with crucial implications on energy efficiency and sustainable transport.
I hold a Ph.D. in Fluid Mechanics (2016) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, jointly with the A*Star Institute of High Performance Computing in Singapore. My PhD project, supervised by Prof. Ricco and in collaboration with Prof. Xuesong Wu at Imperial College London, was a theoretical and numerical study on aerodynamic boundary layer transition.
I obtained my Bachelor (2010) and Master (2012) degrees in Marine Engineering & Naval Architecture from the University of Genoa, in my hometown in Italy.