About

I am passionate about science!

But this passion didn’t spark until later in my life. It all began in my final year of high school during a lesson on stellar evolution. The subject captivated me so completely that I knew I had to pursue Physics and Astronomy at university.

Chasing the secrets of the cosmos

And that’s exactly what I did. I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Astronomy in 2006 and a Master’s Degree in Physics in 2009, both from the University of Padua in Italy. In 2007, I also had the opportunity to participate in a summer student programme at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab, USA), which was then home to the world’s most powerful particle accelerator.

However, my true passion remained the cosmos and its mysteries, particularly the elusive gravitational waves — tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time predicted by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

So, shortly after earning my Master’s Degree, I moved to Germany to pursue a Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, the world’s leading research institute in gravitational-wave physics. I earned my Ph.D. in 2013 and was a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and GEO Scientific Collaboration. During my time there, I actively contributed to the first detection of gravitational waves and direct observation of black holes. This groundbreaking discovery led to the members of the LIGO and Virgo collaborations, including myself, being awarded the 2016 Physics Breakthrough Prize. What an honour!

Change to a new life

During those years I realised that science is not only beautiful when it is made, but also when it is communicated. This insight led me to a career shift. So, after teaching Maths and Physics at the Ecole d’Humanité (Switzerland), I pursued a one-year postgraduate programme in science journalism and communication at La Sapienza University in Rome (Italy), completing it in 2017.

Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to science communication. From 2017 to 2022, I worked as a Science Communication manager at ICONS (Italy) and the youris.com European Research Media Agency (Belgium). In this role, I was responsible for the communication and dissemination activities of international, large-scale research projects funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme. Additionally, I contributed to the preparation of project proposals for the EU funding programme Horizon Europe.

Going back to the stars

From May to November 2021, I also did an internship in science journalism at the Department of Communication of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory. This experience perfectly blended my academic background with my passion for science communication! To further hone my science journalism skills, in 2022 I also completed a module on online and media writing at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol, UK).

That same year I joined SpaceTec Partners (Germany) as a Senior Consultant for the space sector. My primary responsibility was managing the Support Office of Copernicus, the Earth Observation component of the EU Space Programme. Additionally, I developed content for corporate communication, producing journalistic articles in various formats that showcased SpaceTec Partners’ consultancy services and their involvement in various international projects.

Moreover, since February 2022 I have been the Deputy Editor in Chief of astroEDU, the open-access platform for peer-reviewed astronomy educational activities operating under the auspices of the Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Latest steps

In June 2023, I joined Science Wave as a Science Writer. My role involves creating engaging science communication content related to astronomy for ESO and the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. The content is primarily for their social media platforms. The goal is to boost the visibility of their scientific, corporate, and outreach activities, especially among the general public. And between April and July 2024, I further honed my skills as a science writer by working as a Storytelling Consultant for the European Environment Agency (EEA). In this role, I created engaging outreach materials for the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS).

Last but not least, I have conducted numerous workshops on science communication for research group coordinators and early career researchers of the Cluster of Excellence QuantumFrontiers.

Professional skills

• Multi-stakeholder, multi-channel and multi-format science communication and dissemination
• Project management and planning
• Design and implementation of editorial plans
• Creation, curation and distribution of scientific editorial contents
• Science journalism
• Knowledge of new and traditional media
• Social media management
• Quantitative impact assessment of communication campaigns
• Strong work experience in European research projects
• International experience: Italy, Germany, Switzerland and USA
• Ability to work in large, international scientific organisations and collaborations: ESO, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)
• Ability to work independently and in a diverse team
• Strong background in Physics and Astronomy
• Teaching and outreach experience
• Event organisation, promotion and management
• Science translation

Computer skills

• Website management with WordPress
• Command of graphic software and tools such as InDesign and Canva
• Video editing with Filmora and iMovie
• Audio editing with Audacity

Languages

• Italian (native)
• English (proficient)
• German (proficient)
• Spanish (proficient)
• French (beginner)