Fiorenzo VINCENZO
INTRODUCTION
I am a theoretical astrophysicist working at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Catania.
Before moving to Italy, I held an academic post at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom as lecturer in astrophysics and — before that — postdoctoral research positions at research intitutes in the United States and in the United Kindgom.
In my research studies, I like to adopt and develop continuously different methods, tools, and mathematical/numerical formalisms with my collaborators to have a physical model that can explain what we observe in the Milky Way and extragalactic systems.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
The main questions driving my research can be summarised with the following themes, that are all intertwined with one another in my scientific work.
(i) Galaxy formation and evolution: unveiling the physics processes behind the formation and evolution of galaxies in the cosmos, starting from the Milky Way and its dwarf spheroidal galaxy satellites to the population of galaxies in the Local Universe and at higher redshifts.
(ii) Chemical evolution: studying the origin of the observed chemical abundances in the stars and interestellar medium of galaxies.
(iii) Stellar nucleosynthesis: shedding light on the nucleosynthesis of chemical elements.
(iv) Stellar evolution and stellar population synthesis.
EMPLOYMENT
03/2025 - present Assistant Professor (RTDB) in Astrophysics, Cosmology and Space Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Catania, Italy
01/2022 - 02/2025 Lecturer in Astrophysics, School of Natural Sciences, University of Hull, United Kingdom
10/2019 - 12/2021 Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Physics, Ohio State University, United States of America
01/2019 - 09/2019 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
01/2017 - 01/2019 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
EDUCATION
01/2014 - 04/2017 PhD in Physics, University of Trieste, Italy
09/2010 - 07/2013 MSc in Physics, University of Trieste, Italy
09/2006 - 10/2009 BSc in Physics, University of Trento, Italy
AWARDS AND PRIZES
2024 Feltrinelli Giovani Prize for Astronomy, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy
The Italian National Academy of Sciences (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei) awards these prizes annually (each worth 50000€) to recognise the achievements of Italian scholars under the age of 40 for their results of outstanding originality, independence and international significance, thus contributing, even in a future perspective, to strengthening Italy‘s scientific position.
FELLOWSHIPS
10/2019 - 12/2021 CCAPP Fellowship, Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, Ohio State University, United States of America
SUPERVISION OF PHD STUDENTS
Lyra Hawkins, Ryan Alexander, Aaron Rowntree, Dr Kate Womack (graduated in 2024)
TEACHING ADMIN RESPONSIBILITIES
09/2023 - 02/2025 Director of Studies for Physics, BSc and MPhys in Physics, University of Hull, United Kingdom
TEACHING SCHOLARSHIP
09/2022 - 03/2024 Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, University of Hull, United Kingdom
TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
2024/2025 Physics I, Mechanics and Thermodynamics, BSc in Computer Engeneering, University of Catania, Italy
2021/2022 - 2024/2025 Matter at Extremes, Magnetism, Superconductivity, Nuclear and Particle Physics, BSc and MPhys in Physics, University of Hull, United Kingdom
2024/2025 Astronomy and Optics, BSc and MPhys in Physics, University of Hull, United Kingdom
2022/2023 - 2023/2024 Gravitation and Astronomy, BSc and MPhys in Physics, University of Hull, United Kingdom
2022/2023 - 2023/2024 Stellar Structure and Evolution, BSc and MPhys in Physics, University of Hull, United Kingdom
MEMBERSHIP/FELLOWSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES
2024 Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom
2024 Centro Interdisciplinare Linceo Giovani (Young Academy of Italy), Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy
2020 American Astronomical Society, United States
2018 International Astronomical Union
2018 European Astronomical Union, France
2017 Royal Astronomical Society, United Kingdom