Meccanica Magazine n. 4

key difficulties. Among the main challenges that I expect to tackle,
I believe isolating the contribution of various acting strengthening
mechanisms when dealing with heterogeneous materials without
yet having a full understanding of their bonding state would be
particularly tough. I also expect complexities associated with design
optimization considering the problem of dimensionality. Indeed, the
exceptionally wide range of variables that I can play with in ArcHIDep
has the potential to be a double-edged sword! All that said, I am
looking forward to deal with these challenges.
So, after winning this ERC Consolidator Grant, what’s next?
I would like to continuously increase the impact of my research and
I hope this project will give me the momentum I need for that. I am
very excited about starting a new area of research, training young
scientists, establishing this topic as a long-lasting research line for
my team.
What piece of advice would you give to a young researcher?
What I think is surely worth considering for a successful academic
career is to have passion for what you do, enjoy doing it and don’t
get disappointed although academia can be a quite tough and
challenging environment sometimes; stay focused and have a
theme around which to base your research. It is very important to
build up solid knowledge in your field of interest, but at the same
time do not miss the opportunity of participating in multidisciplinary
projects; these can advance your creativity and help you look beyond
the bench.
meccanica magazine
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