Meccanica Magazine n. 4

meccanica magazine
60
ENG
Interview with Sara Bagherifard, winner of the prestigious ERC
Consolidator Grant
Sara Bagherifard won the prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant.
The aim of ArcHIDep, the awarded project, is to develop
a revolutionary system of solid-state deposition to obtain
heterogeneous materials with a hierarchical architecture. Out of
more than 2600 proposed projects, ArcHIDep is one of the two
projects awarded by the @European Research Council submitted by
@Politencico di Milano researchers.
ArcHIDep project goes beyond the state of the art of cold
spray allowing to combine materials of substantially different
characteristics to obtain heterogeneous structures with a
hierarchical architecture.
The aim of the project is to unravel the interaction between dissimilar
phases, identify the variety of acting strengthening mechanisms
and customize their collective contribution to the performance of
the integrated structure.
This will allow to exploit the synergy between compositional
and architectural heterogeneity towards uncharted functional
opportunities and will offer sustainable and efficient solutions,
when necessary to meet multiple conflicting requirements.
How did you come up with the idea of applying for an “ERC
Consolidator Grant”?
The idea of applying for ERC Consolidator Grant was born in the end
of 2020, when due to uncertainties about my academic career at
POLIMI, I decided to go to NTNU in Trondheim for a few months as
an Adjunct Professor. There I had the opportunity to work with Prof.
Filippo Berto’s group who is working on the cutting edge of structural
integrity in AM. Through the presentations and discussions on
possible collaborations and funding acquisitions, I also evaluated
the option of applying for an ERC grant. It is difficult to decide when
the right time is to apply for an ERC Grant but considering where I
stood in my career, I decided that this must be the right moment
for me to try; with the continuous encouragement and support I
received from Mario and Filippo, I got more and more determined.
It took me few good months to elaborate the proposal idea and even
longer to write it down, brainstorm, revise and polish all the details.
I have to say it was an extremely demanding procedure filling any
possible free time I had between the routine academic and teaching
activities. Besides, the support I received from my colleagues and
PhD students I have been directly working with, was essential. I also
would like to thank the support provided by POLIMI research office.
Tell us the story of how and why did you choose to study at DMEC,
At the end of my MSc study at Iran University of Science and
Technology, my MSc supervisor, asked me if I would be interested
in pursuing a PhD. I was quite hesitant at the time, since I was
already working part-time during my master studies in a company
as a Design Engineer and was looking forward to implementing
the theoretical concepts that I had learnt in university in real case
industrial applications. I remember very well when just after my
MSc defense, my supervisor, Prof. Majid Ayatollahi, told me he was
confident I would be a successful researcher and that he strongly
urged me to continue my studies to PhD! I was, of course, humbled
with his kind remarks but still didn’t take the idea seriously.
Few months later, he contacted me with an offer from his Italian
collaborator, Prof. Mario Guagliano of DMEC, who was, at the time,
searching for a PhD candidate. Checking out POLIMI’s website and
Mario’s research profile, I got curious and after talking with Mario
and knowing him and his research line better, I decided to apply for
this PhD position! Although I must admit my main drive was not just
the PhD study, but I was equally thrilled by the idea of living in Italy for
few years, as I always admired the food, the culture!
Winning this grant, what does it mean to you?
The importance of an ERC funding is the freedom it offers in
developing a hypothesis driven proposal. This is something rare, as
unlike ERC-grants, almost all other available national and international
funding schemes impose taking solid steps in directions for which
you already have well-established methodologies and often times,
extensive supporting data. ERC, on the other hand, offers notable
assistance for exploring ideas that would be normally more difficult
to investigate, of course, as long as you have a scientifically valid
plan. Apart from the freedom it offers, this ERC-Co Grant for me is
a recognition of scientific achievements at a critical stage of my
career. It gives me opportunity to consolidate my path, expand my
research area and get access to resources and essential research
ingredients that otherwise would have been inaccessible.
Which are the most challenging elements of this ERC project?
My ERC-Co project is very ambitious, as the high risk-high gain
nature of ERC program entails; so, there will surely be multiple
challenges associated with different phases of the project.
I have already considered possible contingency plans for the potential