Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra

Graduated in Geological Sciences at the University of Rome "la Sapienza" in 1990, PhD in Earth Sciences in 1994, Researcher from March 1999 at the Department of Earth Sciences (DST), University of Rome "la Sapienza", from January 2005 Associate Professor and since November 2016, Full Professor at DST. He has been member of several committees, panels, commissions acting at the University of Roma “La Sapienza”, some of them elective, with governing, managing and organizing function. Head of the Department of Earth Sciences of Sapienza from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2019, he has authored ca. 250 among articles, chapters and congress communications. He has been member of both the Organizing and Scientific Committee of several congresses, schools and meetings.

Training 

• 1990 Degree cum laude in Geological Sciences at the DST of the University of Rome "la Sapienza" discussing the thesis entitled " Synthetic Sodalite Na8[Al6Si6O24]Cl2: calculation of the IR active bands and structure refinement by the Rietveld method"
• 1991 Winner of the competition for a ministerial three-years project (Ph.D. Grant "Earth Sciences" University of Rome "la Sapienza")
• 1991 Winner of the competition for a ministerial three-years project (Ph.D. Grant "Chemical Sciences" University of Roma "La Sapienza").
• 1994 PhD in Earth Sciences defending the thesis entitled: "Crystal-chemistry of the cancrinite-group minerals" 

 
Professional experience

•  1991-1992 Visiting Scientist - Depts. of Geology and Chemistry, Arizona State University, USA.
• 1994-1996 Post Doc - Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa
• 1998-1999 Head of the X-ray diffraction Lab. CTG S.p.A., Italcementi group, Bergamo
• 1999-2004 Researcher - University of Rome "la Sapienza"
• 2005-2016 Associate Professor - University of Rome "la Sapienza"
• 2016- present Full Professor - University of Rome "la Sapienza"

Research Topics

1. Mineral fibers, asbestos and NOA: structure characterization and crystal chemistry, reactivity and toxicity
2. Zeolitic and pseudo-zeolitic minerals
3. Natural pigments and materials relevant to cultural heritage 
4. Thermal stability and phase transitions of minerals
5. Crystal chemistry and systematic mineralogy
6. Ab-initio structure determination and structure refinements from XRPD of inorganic and organic compounds 

 
Awards and honors

• 1992 NATO travel grant International School of Crystallography: Modern Perspective in Inorganic Crystal Chemistry
• 1994 Prize of the Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia (SIMP) for the best Italian Ph.D. thesis of the year in the mineralogical field
• 1997 European Mineralogical Union Travel Grant: Modul'97
• 1997-present Active Member of the International Center for Diffraction Data (I.C.D.D.) (first Italian)
• 1998 Ugo Panichi Prize of the Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia (SIMP) as the best Italian young researcher in the mineralogical field 1996-1998.
• 2003 NATO Travel Grant. International School of Crystallography: High Pressure Crystallography.
• 2008 Balliranoite (IMA 2008-065: Chukanov et al. 2010 Eur. J. Mineral. 22, 113)
•  

Institutional roles

• 2010-present In-charge of the Rectoral laboratory "Fibers and inorganic particulate". 
• 2012-present Member of the board of Directors of the CNIS Research Center.

Memberships

• SIMP, AIC, EGU

Active Research Project 

• 2019-2023 - Prin Project 2017: “FIBRES: a multidisciplinary mineralogical, crystal-chemical and biological project to amend the paradigm of toxicity and cancerogenicity of mineral fibres”; Project manager of the Sapienza University of Rome Research Unit - Department of Earth Sciences

Editorial Activities

•  1996-present: Reviewer for ca. 30 international journals in the fields of: mineralogy, materials sciences, crystallography, structural chemistry, chemical-physics, spectroscopy and thermal analyses.
• 2016-present: Editor-in-Chief of Periodico di Mineralogia