Born in Catania on September 21st, 2001. Currently a Ph.D. student in Physics (XLI cycle) at University of Catania (Curriculum: Nuclear and Subnuclear Physics).
Education
2025: Master’s Degree in Physics, University of Catania, with final grade 110/110 cum laude. Thesis: “Investigating decay of the excited 12C levels by using the CHIMERA multidetector via the 4He + 12C reaction” (Supervisors: Prof. E. Geraci, Dr. G. Cardella, Dr. N. S. Martorana)
2023: Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, University of Catania, with final grade 110/110 cum laude. Thesis: “Studio di reazioni nucleari con fasci radioattivi” (Supervisors: Prof. F. Rizzo, Dr. N. S. Martorana)
2020: Scientific High School Diploma, I.I.S. “Michele Amari” (Linguaglossa, CT), with final grade 100/100 cum laude.
Awards
2020: “Alfieri del Lavoro – Medaglia del Presidente della Repubblica Italiana”.
This prize is awarded each year to 25 Italian students on the basis of the grades obtained during the five years of upper secondary school.
Scholarships
2025: INFN scholarship “Graziano Fortuna e Giovanni Volpini” (BC 27109/2024) for activities for university students related to Master’s thesis work in Physics (not utilized due to overlap with other scholarships).
2024: INFN scholarship “Più Donne nella Fisica” (BC 25913/2023), awarded to 25 Italian female students enrolled in the first year of the Master’s Degree in Physics, based on grades obtained during the Bachelor’s program. Activity carried out at INFN-CT.
2023: INFN scholarship "Esplorando la Fisica Nucleare" (BC 25000/2022 - CSN 3), lasting 15 days, carried out at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud. The activity has concerned "Production and delivery of radioactive ion beams using the in-flight fragmentation technique and the new FRAISE setup at LNS-INFN"
Investigation of the carbon excited states by means of gamma and charged particle detection
The project aims to investigate the properties of the excited states of 12C, studying both gamma and alpha decay channels. This research holds significance in both nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics, as some of these states are involved in the synthesis of carbon in stars. Particular attention will be given to the Hoyle state and to the 9.64 MeV state. Additionally, the project will focus on the search for the population of the Efimov state at 7.45 MeV excitation energy, whose role may also be significant in nuclear astrophysical scenarios.