LCN Researcher Dr Michela Florinda Picardi has been awarded an ‘Italy Made Me’ prize. They are awarded to Italian early-career researchers, who received part of their education in Italy and work in the UK in the ERC domains of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Social Sciences & Humanities. The awardees are selected by the Italian Embassy scientific council on the basis of research excellence.
Michela was awarded her Italy Made Me 2020 prize at the Italian embassy in London this week for her innovative research related to the polarisation and angular momentum of light at the nanoscale.
I am extremely proud of this award. It recognises, at the same time, the excellence of the formation I had the privilege to get in my home country and the amazing research we do at King’s. Initiatives like this make me realise how important it is to be able to identify the places in the world where our potential can best be expressed while never forgetting our roots and how our origins shape and define us. Dr Michela Florinda Picardi
Michela is inspired to work in this field for two main reasons. The first is the beauty of surprising and unexpected phenomena. She finds it striking because of the simple elements involved: shining a light on a tiny object and witnessing counterintuitive effects take place. The second reason is that the field is very applied, and it has almost immediate connections to feasible technological implementations. She feels that she is shaping the future of technology with her research, from medical applications to novel computers, monitors, cars to spaceships!
Prof. Carla Molteni, AISUK president and member of the Italian embassy scientific council, said; “Italy Made Me awards are an important recognition for the role of outstanding early career researchers in advancing scientific progress in a variety of disciplines and fields; they also recognise the importance of international mobility for research excellence. The quality of the applications was very high, which made the selection difficult and further highlights the merit and future potential of the awardees’
I am extremely proud of this award. It recognises, at the same time, the excellence of the formation I had the privilege to get in my home country and the amazing research we do at King’s. Initiatives like this make me realise how important it is to be able to identify the places in the world where our potential can best be expressed while never forgetting our roots and how our origins shape and define us.
