The Department of Physical Sciences, Earth, and Environment (DSFTA) at the University of Siena is a meeting point of disciplines that combine their efforts seeking new strategies to mitigate the impact of some of the major issues of our time.
Our planet is in danger due to the increasingly power-hungry anthropogenic activities and consequent overheating. The complexity of these problems calls for a multi-disciplinary approach.
On the one hand, we need to study the environmental changes, their dynamics, and their impact on biological systems and on the territory. On the other hand, new technologies and instruments have to be developed to gain a better understanding of the causes of the problems and identify countermeasures. The spin-off from the basic research in the "hard sciences", such as physics and engineering, can open new horizons and suggest innovative solutions.
The multi-disciplinarity of these initiatives is driven by the expertise and know-how of DSFTA researchers and technicians. Our research teams include biologists, chemists, geologists and physicists.
The Research activities of the DSFTA include:
- for the physical sciences: aerospace applications with instruments operating on the International Space Station or satellites; the development of innovative sensors with applications in various fields (e.g., in experiments in space and at accelerators, in biomedical and agri-food, in energy storage and transport, in charged and neutral radiation imaging for cultural heritage, and in anthropology); electronics, lasers and quantum optics; high-precision mechanics; "big data" (simulations and data analysis); theoretical studies on quantum computing;
- for the geological sciences: characterization and monitoring of natural hazards (e.g.: seismic, hydrogeological and anthropogenic); development of digital cartography to identify and enhance knowledge and management of land, geo-resources, and artistic-cultural heritage (e.g.: mapping of the territory with drones equipped for hyper-spectral and geo-radar analysis, analysis of SAR data from satellites); participation in the Antarctic research program;
- for the environmental sciences: understanding and parameterising complex natural systems and the influence of climatic factors in ecology and pollutants in ecotoxicology; study of indicators and bio-indicators to assess the sustainability of systems and processes; environmental monitoring studies (with a focus on marine monitoring with research aimed at assessing the impact of marine litter and microplastics on Mediterranean biodiversity and with a particular focus on endangered species such as cetaceans and sea turtles); sustainable management of natural resources and land, carbon-neutrality, food chemistry.
In addition, investigations in the field of Paleoanthropology, Prehistoric Archaeology and Paleo-environment in the framework of numerous international collaborations with publications in highly prestigious international journals.
A brief overview of current DSFTA research activities includes:
(i) Continuation and refinement of long-standing projects. We mention just a few examples such as the "Plastic Busters" project in the field of marine pollution by plastic materials; the European H2020 projects "Build in Wood" in the environmental field and "CleanHME"; the "Blue Deal" project for clean energy production; the Calorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) mission on the International Space Station (funded by JAXA, ASI and NASA) and the MAGIC/CTA (funded by INFN) experiment in the field of Astroparticle Physics (Astroparticle Physics), with on-orbit and ground-based instruments, respectively;
(ii) other research activities started recently including the project "Last Neanderthals" funded by the EU as a Synergy Advanced Project, the green project "Counteracting Pollinator Decline" for an assessment of the environmental sustainability of pesticides and development of bee-friendly agro-ecological strategies, the green project "Organic Functionalization of Graphene for Hydrogen Storage Applications" for the development of three-dimensional graphene matrices for the storage and transport of hydrogen;
(iii) recent areas of research under development, including: the development of ultra-high spatial and temporal resolution radiation sensors; laser photoionization; optical magnetometry; nanostructures and new materials for energy storage and transport; the study of the problem of nano-plastics in marine or polar environments; the identification of new methodologies to asses the presence and effects of microplastics on both edible and endangered species; the aging of nanopolymers; the development of Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs), with ample potential for intra- and inter-departmental multi-disciplinary interaction.
Technology Transfer
Of particular importance are the technology and knowledge transfer activities to the production system and to public institutions for the prevention of natural risks and sustainable management of resources. The latter are being developed through the promotion of academia-industry collaborations, with the creation of joint laboratories and, where possible, the creation of new spin-offs, in order to strengthen a close connection between research and applications in the productive chain and to support innovation.