Giorgio Rizzo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
12 July 2024, 15:00 – 16:00
Engineering, Building A – “Aula Dini”
Bio:
Giorgio Rizzo received his Master’s Degree in Molecular System Chemistry at the University of Palermo in 2017 dealing with natural products, optimizing the extraction and identification procedure of scopolamine and other tropane alkaloids directly from vegetal sources used in the pharmaceutical industry. He received his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Bari, focused on chemical-physical modification of biopolymers for high-tech applications, such as cellulose, starches, alginates, wool proteins, with a particular interest in silk fibroin extracted from Bombyx mori cocoons, developing bioinspired derivatives in the field of superhydrophobic materials, lanthanide-doped fibres and in the field of supported catalysis. His activity also spread in advanced synthetic methodologies using unconventional chemical processes to obtain chiral compounds using natural sources. Currently, he is a postdoc associate at the MIT in Boston (USA) at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in the group of Prof. Benedetto Marelli. His work is focused on agrotechnical improvements for plantations to face climate changes, incipient desertification and high salinity of soils by using new-generation fertilizers and technologies based on natural biomaterials, mainly focused on chitin and chitosan bioderived polymers.
His research activities and collaborations also involve European projects (MISTI Spain) and in situ trials with the University Mohamed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) in Morocco.
INFO: maurizia.seggiani@unipi.it
