Published Jan. 30, 2025, 4:14 p.m.
Important recognition for STAR researcher
Mario Ferraro, a STAR Research Infrastructure researcher, has been offered a direct appointment by the University of Calabria.
Mario Ferraro, a young Calabrian physicist specializing in nonlinear optics and a researcher at the Department of Physics and the STAR Research Infrastructure, has received a direct call offer from the University of Calabria.
Ferraro will lead a new cutting-edge laboratory to be established at the Department of Physics, funded through the grant awarded for his project Specialty Optical Fibers Thermodynamics (SOFT). The project's goal is to study the propagation of light in special optical fibers developed with innovative materials, such as biodegradable polymers and soft glasses.
The laboratory will be the first in Italy dedicated to polymer optical fibers and one of the few research centers focusing on soft glass fibers. It will be equipped with two drawing towers for the production of special fibers, whose optical properties will be characterized at the STAR research infrastructure using advanced techniques such as X-ray scattering, computed tomography, and small-angle scattering. Over the past three years, Ferraro has refined the use of these methodologies, making a significant contribution to the development of STAR's expertise. The research will also make extensive use of artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on neural networks, to analyze the dynamics of light propagation in these fibers.
Ferraro's direct call—backed by a curriculum featuring numerous collaborations with European research institutes—is part of a broader strategy by the University of Calabria to enhance talent and promote excellence in scientific research. In addition to being an important recognition of his work, this designation will help expand the research and innovation prospects of the Department of Physics and strengthen STAR’s role as a key infrastructure in the fields of advanced materials science and technology.