Access to renewable and sustainable energy sources, the conservation and protection of the environment, and the ability to ensure an adequate quality of life for a population with an ever-increasing life expectancy are among the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Sustainable development requires the widespread adoption of devices and technologies that reduce the problems associated with polluting emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuels (smog, respiratory problems, global warming), as well as new therapies aimed at improving the quality of life of the elderly population. Materials play a crucial role in the development of new technologies for sustainable development in the energy, environmental, and medical fields. Developing these technologies requires a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary effort involving knowledge of chemistry, physics, materials science, biology, medicine, nanotechnologies, and much more.
The PhD program in Materials for Sustainable Development is strongly oriented toward the study of materials applied in devices for low-environmental-impact energy production and storage, environmental monitoring, and the development of biomedical devices and materials for sensing and diagnostic applications.
Understanding the electronic, structural, and dynamic properties of materials at the nanometric scale may require the use of experimental techniques not available in individual research laboratories but rather at large research infrastructures (LRIs), international laboratories where particularly advanced instrumentation is open to the scientific community, with access granted through peer-reviewed proposal evaluation. The aim of this PhD program is to train experts in the field of materials for sustainable development, with applications in environmental, energy, and biomedical sectors, who can find future employment not only in academia or research but also in industrial and professional sectors.
The PhD program is strongly intersectoral and interdisciplinary, allowing for diverse research activities with the common goal of contributing to sustainable development.
A non-exhaustive list of possible research topics includes (links to the websites of the various faculty members can be consulted for further information):
1. Materials for energy production and storage devices (polymer, solid oxide, and microbial fuel cells; flow batteries; lithium-ion batteries)
2. Materials for sensors for environmental and clinical applications
3. Materials for solar thermal and thermodynamic applications
4. Study of structure–function relationships of materials using advanced spectroscopy techniques
5. Materials for bio-nanotechnologies
6. Materials and devices for diagnostics, restoration, and conservation of cultural heritage
7. Polymeric materials for environmental and biomedical applications
Admission to the PhD program is competitive. The required candidate qualities include a strong inclination toward research, the ability to work in teams, adaptability to a multicultural environment, and a good command of the English language.
Thanks to the numerous international collaborations of the faculty members, part of the doctoral students’ research activities are carried out at qualified foreign universities or research institutions.
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