Research Team

Rita Asquini (rita.asquini@uniroma1.it) received the M.Sc. degree in Electronic Engineering (cum laude) in 1998 from University of Rome "Roma Tre" (Italy), and the Ph.D. degree in Electronic Engineering in 2002 from "Sapienza" University of Rome (Italy). From 1998 to 2000, she worked for Telecom Italia (now TIM) as a Network Engineer on Service Assurance of Communication Networks. In 2017 she obtained the National Scientific Qualification for Full Professor in Electronic Engineering. Currently, she is Associate Professor in Electronic Engineering with the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications in "Sapienza" University of Rome, where she has been Assistant Professor from 2008 to 2015 and Research Fellow from 2002 to 2008. She is Deputy Director of the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications in Sapienza University of Rome. She is currently Professor of Applied Electronics, Photonic Microsystems, Optoelectronic Sensors, and Electronic Systems for Mechatronics. From 2019 (ongoing) she is an elected member in the Academic Senate (Governance) of Sapienza as Associate Professors delegate from 12 Departments and the School of Aerospace Engineering (representative of about 340 Professors), and she has been recently re-elected for a new mandate (2022-2025). From 2013 to 2015 she has been an elected member in the Academic Senate (Governance) of Sapienza as Researchers delegate of 12 Departments (about 300 Researchers). She has been General Chair of the 41st "PhotonIcs & Electromagnetic Research Symposium" PIERS 2019 held on 17-20 June 2019 in Rome. She is Founder and President of ARAPhEE -  Association for the Research Advancement on Photonics and Electronic Engineering, a non profit scientific and cultural association. Her main research interests include modeling, fabrication, and characterization of guided-wave as well as free-space optoelectronic devices with liquid crystals and polymers, realized with ion-exchange glass waveguides, SU8 waveguides, with liquid crystals planar structures, and silicon 2D structures for linear and non-linear photonic devices. She studied the spectral and temporal response in electro-optical waveguide switches, integrated Bragg reflectors, filters and add-drop multiplexers, with liquid crystals and composites. Other research interests include high efficiency, low-cost solar cells, based on hetero-structures in amorphous/crystalline silicon technology, mechatronic systems for the automation and control systems in space and satellite fields and microcontroller programmable electronic circuits and systems. She is and has been PI of national and international research projects. She attended numerous national and international conferences, many of them as invited speaker. She is author and co-author of more than 200 scientific publications, and co-inventor of a U.S. patent.

Alessio Buzzin (alessio.buzzin@uniroma1.it) received the M. Sc. degree in Electronic Engineering and the Ph.D. in Information and Communication Technologies in 2021, both at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). Since December 2021, he has been a Post-Doc Researcher at the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics, and Telecommunications (DIET) in Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). He is currently a member of the DIET Strategic Committee. Since 2023, he has been teaching the course "Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)" for the Master’s Degree in Electronic Engineering and Nanotechnology Engineering. His scientific interests include developing compact optoelectronic Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) solutions for health, food and environmental monitoring; micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems for advanced surgery and tissue engineering; and UV sensors based on surface acoustic waves (SAWs) for harsh environments. He is a reviewer for international journals including IEEE Photonics Journal, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Scientific Reports, Sensors, Micromachines, and Photonics. He has authored more than 50 papers published in international journals and conferences. 

Badrul Alam (badrul.alam@uniroma1.it) received the M.Sc. degree in Electronics Engineering in 2014 and the Ph.D. in Mathematical Models for Engineering, Electromagnetism, Nanosciences in 2018, both at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). In 2014 and 2019 he was Tutor for lectures in physics for B.Sc. students in electrical, biomedical, management and computer engineering at Sapienza University of Rome; in 2018 and 2019 he was a laboratory Lecturer for the M.Sc. course of "Optical Devices" in Telecommunications at Polytechnic of Bari (Italy). He was a Post-doc researcher at Polytechnic of Bari as a responsible of the research activity in "Design, Fabrication and Characterization of Plasmonic Nano-Antennas for Wireless Optic on-Chip Communications" developed in the context of the national project "Wireless Network On Transistor -WiNOT" funded by Ministry of Instruction, University and Research (MIUR). From 2020 (ongoing) is Post-doc researcher at the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications in "Sapienza" University of Rome (Italy). His research interests include optical integrated circuits, plasmonics, wireless optical communication on chip, FRET sensors, and implementation of optical machine learning schemes. 

Mario Papa (papamario2@gmail.com) is an aerospace engineer with experience in research and industry, specialized in Earth observation, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence. He is currently working as an Earth Observation Engineer at GEO-K S.R.L. in Rome, managing national and international projects and developing new algorithms from satellite data. He earned a PhD in Information and Communications Technologies from the University of Rome "La Sapienza," where he worked on radiometric image simulations and museums microclimate monitoring. He has experience in using and designing air quality measurement systems for both indoor and outdoor environments in various research projects. He collaborated with EUMETSAT as a visiting scientist, developing software for the geolocation of satellite data. He has a research collaboration for the development of multisensor instrumentation with the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics, and Telecommunications at Sapienza University.

Nicolas Hanine (nicolas.hanine@uniroma1.it) earned his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Brescia in March 2020 and his Master's degree in Nanotechnology Engineering from Sapienza University of Rome in October 2023. From March 2023 to October 2023, he worked on his Master's thesis at the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications (DIET), focusing on the design, fabrication and characterisation of biosensor components. Histhesis, titled “Integration of single-photon SPAD detectors in waveguide systems” reflects this work. In November 2023, Nicolas Hanine commenced his PhD in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at Sapienza University of Rome, funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) RESTART project, with the goal of developing integrated photonic devices for applications in telecommunications.

Lorenzo Giannini (lorenzo.giannini@uniroma1.it) earned his Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering in October 2020 and his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in March 2023, both from Sapienza University of Rome. From November 2022 to March 2023, he undertook an internship at the Department of Information, Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering (DIET), during which he worked on his Master's thesis. His final project focused on the development of a micro-electromechanical device, titled "Design and development of a selective yielding articulated nano-manipulator." In June 2023, he started his PhD in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at Sapienza University of Rome, aiming to develop microsystems for healthcare applications. 

Michela Baiocchi (michela.baiocchi@unrioma1.it) earned a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Engineering in October  2021 and a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology Engineering in January 2024, both cum laude from Sapienza, University of Rome. In 2023, she completed the Excellence Program provided by her Master's degree with a research project based on fabrication and characterization of materials for nanoelectronics. From September 2023 to January 2024, she worked on her Master's thesis at the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications (DIET) of Sapienza. Her project, titled “Space-borne LiDAR photodetectors for Earth observation”, focused on the performance analysis of photodetectors used in space-borne LiDAR missions for Earth observation and on the characterization of an innovative photodetector, the SPAD (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode). In 2024, she was involved in a research fellowship at DIET with the aim of studying the feasibility of implementing a SPAD array in a future spaceborne LiDAR. In November 2024, he began a Ph.D. in ICT at Sapienza University of Rome, focusing on SPAD devices and systems for spaceborne LiDAR applications.

Angelica Focardi (angelica.focardi@uniroma1.it) earned a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Engineering in December 2021 and a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology Engineering in October 2024 cum laude, both from Sapienza, University of Rome. In 2024, she completed the Laurea Minor in Green Technologies as part of her Master's program, completing two additional exams and developing her Master's thesis in the field of green technologies. From March 2024 to October 2024, she worked on her Master's thesis at the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications (DIET) of Sapienza. Her project, titled “Development of micro and nanophotonic structures for the detection of emerging microcontaminants in water”, focused on the study, design and fabrication of optical waveguide systems in the field of optical biosensors for the detection of microcontaminants in water. In November 2024 she began a Ph.D. in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at Sapienza, University of Rome, starting a collaboration with National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV) to study the effects of clouds and aerosols on the radiation balance and on the Arctic climate by means of remote sensing techniques.

Alessia Mannetta (alessia.mannetta@uniroma1.it) earned a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Engineering in November 2019 and a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology Engineering in May 2023, both from Sapienza, University of Rome. From December 20222 to May 2023, she worked on her master’s thesis at Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications (DIET). Her project, titled “Photonic waveguide devices for sensing applications”, focused on the study, design and fabrication of optical waveguide systems for applications in the field of optical biosensors. In November 2023 she began a Ph.D. in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at Sapienza, University of Rome, working on the development of photonic devices for biosensing, a National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) project funded by the National Quantum Science and Technology Institute (NQSTI).

Marco Fanelli (marcofanelli0298@gmail.com) earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in March 2021 and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in July 2024, both from Sapienza University of Rome. From December 2023 to July 2024 he worked on his Master’s thesis at the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications (DIET) of Sapienza. His project, titled “Design and development of an electronic integrated system with low-cost sensors for measurement of indoor wind fluxes and air quality” was focused on the development of a multisensor system for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). He currently holds a research fellowship at DIET with the goal  of continuing the development of systems for IAQ monitoring. He obtained a research fellowship at DIET with the aim of continuing the development of systems for air quality monitoring. 

Samuele Farinelli (SamueleFarinelli@hotmail.com) earned his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering in December 2021 and his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in May 2025, both from Sapienza University of Rome. From November 2024 to May 2025, he worked on his Master's thesis at the Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications (DIET) at Sapienza. His final work, titled “Mechanical Design of the Housing for Electronics and Experimental Validation of a Low-Cost System for Three-Dimensional Airflow Measurement and Indoor Environmental Quality Monitoring”, focused on the engineering and optimization of an integrated system equipped with low-cost sensors for indoor air quality monitoring. He is currently holding a research fellowship at DIET, continuing the work carried out during his Master's thesis project on electronic systems for environmental applications.