Coordinate, develop, finalize, and approve policies, procedures, guidance, and templates within the knowledge management system covering business processes and functions of the Office of Clean Energy Transitions.

Supported the execution, review, and selection of applications to the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C) Program.

Contractor for the US DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office with Boston Government Services (BGS LLC).I support the creation, negotiation, execution, and monitoring of Funding Opportunities, with a specific focus on research & development awards to start-ups and large companies creating and commercializing new technologies spanning the entire value chain of the solar industry. I am the technology manager of a $60M portfolio of hardware and software projects, technology evolution studies, as well as projects aimed at creating new investment funds and business models generating innovative pathways to bring new capitals to the solar space. I am also the SBIR-STTR Office Portfolio Manager. I oversee all office-wide SBIR-STTR program, ensure alignment of topic development and award selection with office goals, monitor awards progress and impact. In addition, I lead an office effort to use data-driven statistically-rigorous methodologies to measure the impact of government funding as well as external variables in the success of start-ups in the solar space.

Licensee & OrganizerTEDxCatania | TEDxCataniaWomen | TEDxCataniaSalon | TEDxCataniaStudio

I joined Stanford University as a PostDoctoral Scholar in the group of Prof. Mark Brongersma. My research project focuses on improving the existing solar cells and make them cheaper and a real alternative to traditional energy sources. My project here is funded by 3Sun / Enel Green Power / ST Microelectronics. Publication output:Superabsorbing, artificial metal films constructed from Semiconductor NanoantennasNanoLetters 16, 3801 (2016)Broadband Antireflection Coatings Employing Multi-resonant MetasurfacesACS Photonics 5, 4456 (2018)Invited talk:Transparent Conductive Oxides: a new material platform for optoelectronic, plasmonic and photovoltaic, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Catania & EPS Young Minds Catania chapter & OSA Catania chapter (January 8th, 2014)Conference participation:- BAPVC meetings Spring/Fall 2013, 2014, 2015 - MRS Fall meeting 2014 – Boston, MA (USA) Oral presentation- MRS Spring meeting 2015 – San Francisco, CA (USA) Oral presentation- MRS Fall meeting 2015 – Boston, MA (USA) Oral presentation- MRS Spring meeting 2016 – Phoenix, AZ (USA) Oral presentationLeadership formation:- Admitted at Adventures in Design Thinking: A d.school Experience class offered by the Stanford Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (Summer 2015)- Admitted at the full time Stanford Ignite program by the Stanford Graduate School of Business (Summer 2015)- Admitted at "The Improviser’s Mindset" class offered by the Stanford Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (Summer 2014)- Negotiation skills class, offered by the Stanford Office of Postdoctoral Affairs- Future Faculty Seminar INDE/CTL231 class, offered by the Stanford University- iRite/iSpeak course, offered by the Stanford Office of Postdoctoral Affairs- Stanford future leaders: Mentoring Workshop, offered by the Stanford Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

Our motto is: Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done, because he wants to do it (D. Eisenhower). We learn all the persuasion and communication techniques by practicing on real-world case scenario and learning by examples. Selected by the Director of the Stanford Interdisciplinary Life Science Communications as a facilitator for a scientific pitch training workshop for 3rd year Stanford grad students.Selected by the Associate Director of Curriculum Development of the Stanford School of Medicine Career Center as a facilitator for the class INDE231A - Academic Interviews: Workshop and Clinic (Fall 2014)Mentor at StartX - Stanford start-up accelerator

Selected as group facilitator for the "Management Matters" class organized and offered by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Stanford University. Management Matters is one of several VPGE workshops designed to help graduate students develop a range of skills needed in any professional environment. Offered in Winter 2016, Management Matters consists of three sessions focused on managing people: working with different communication styles; setting expectations; and giving and receiving feedback. As a facilitator, I am responsible for a group of attendees during break-out sessions. These sessions include participatory activities involving challenging scenarios and developing strategies for effectively managing people at various levels of an organization.

Moving technology form the research lab to everyday life. This is my goal.I was admitted in the Stanford iFarm program during Winter 2014. The Stanford Innovation Farm Teams Project seeks to improve success and overall efficiency of the commercialization of Stanford-owned inventions while providing an educational experience to iFarm Team participants. Participation in the iFarm Team Project provides individuals with a unique educational experience and opportunity to network in highly competitive industries. Together with my other teammates, we will select one of the Stanford-owned technology and move it to a commercialization stage.

TEDxSSC - Dall'eccezione alla regola (From the exception to the rule)Leading the entire organization of a TEDx event (100+ guests, 20+ speakers, 18 organizingteam members, $20k budget).TED is a world-wide recognized brand ensuring high quality talks, speakers and ideas. As a President of the SSC Alumni Association, along with the Student Association and the academic leaders, we decided to bring TED experience in our institution and community through TEDxSSC. In fact, many of the TEDx values match our institution values (interdisciplinarity, fostering new ideas, spreading innovation and creativity). TEDx mission is to communicate the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. We want to demonstrate how uncommon ideas and people (the exceptions) can make a real difference, change the world and set a new standard for our everyday life. We have chosen an extremely fascinating theme: “Dall’eccezione alla regola” (“From the exception to the standard”). Our speakers will be unheard local voices as well as known personalities. We will select our list of speakers choosing those people that can tell their personal story as an example of something first considered an exception, then becoming a new standard.

I strongly believe in the give-back idea. I hold my current position also because of my education. This is because I decided to get involved in my Alma Mater Alumni association.Who we are150+ alumni of a high-excellence education institution within the University of Catania (Scuola Superiore di Catania). The institution acceptance rate is very low (less than 5%). It provides a full scholarship for all the college years, including lodging in an historical campus (Villa San Saverio). Very high grade average and strict deadlines are required to maintain the scholarship. Attendance of complementary advanced classes is required, along with a research thesis at the end of the scholarship (in addition to the standard school curriculum). As alumni, we contribute to the education of the current students, create a network of diverse experiences and skills, proudly represent the best output of our Alma Mater.My role and responsibilitiesAs a President, I run and lead the organization of all the events and activities; I interact with the academic and students representatives; I organize an yearly fund-raising campaign to support the Association activities; I interact with all the alumni members to involve, motivate, and support their active participation; I am the administrator of the Association website, Facebook and LinkedIn groups, Twitter and YouTube accounts.During my tenure, I was proud of being the founder and first organizer of TEDxSSC, a major successful event organized by the Association and still running; to have established a mentor program (I am mentor of two current students); to have established and funded a competitive award to recognize the best students in the school and reward their commitment and early career; to have promoted, negotiated and established a Digital Marketing Lab in charge of the entire school communication strategy (the lab is run by the Alumni Association and recognized by the school for credits).

Research projects funded by Air Force OSR and DARPAPublication output:Deep-UV optical gain in AlGaN-based GRINSCHOptical Materials Express 5, 809 (2015)Effect of indium in AlGaN MQWs for the development of deep-UV laser structures in the form of GRINSCHPhysica Status Solidi A 213, 1165 (2016)Photonic–Plasmonic Coupling of GaAs Single Nanowires to Optical NanoantennasNanoLetters 14, 2271 (2014)Size-dependent second-harmonic generation from gold nanoparticlesPRB 89, 125414 (2014)Photonic-Plasmonic coupled Nanoantennas for Polarization-controlled Multispectral NanofocusingOptics Letters 38, 4861 (2013)Enhanced second harmonic generation from InAs nano-wing structures on siliconNanoscale 5, 10163 (2013)Development of AlGaN-based GRINSCH deep UV emitters by Molecular Beam EpitaxyJournal of Vacuum Science and Technology B 31, 03C117 (2013)Generation of second harmonic radiation from sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride thin filmsAPL 102, 141114 (2013)Vertical III-V V-shaped membranes epitaxially grown on a patterned Si[001] substrate and their enhanced light scatteringACS Nano 6, 10982 (2012)Rare-earth doped Si-rich ZnO for multiband near-infrared light emitting devicesAPL 101, 191115 (2012)Sub-250nm light emission and optical gain in AlGaN materialsJAP 113, 013106 (2013)Polarization Properties of Deep-UV Optical Gain in Al-rich AlGaN StructuresApplied Physics Express 5, 032103 (2012)Nanopatterning of silicon nanowires for enhancing visible photoluminescenceNanoscale 4, 2863 (2012)Sub-250nm room-temperature optical gain from AlGaN/AlN multiple quantum wells with strong band-structure potential fluctuationsAPL 100, 061111 (2012)Conference proceedings:International Conference on One dimensional NanomaterialsThe International Conference on Surface Plasmon PhotonicsBulletin of the American Physical SocietyFrontiers in Optics (FiO) – Novel Silicon Waveguides and Nanophotonics (FM4E)CLEO: Science and Innovations

Research project:Growth and characterization of Si and Ge nanowires, funded by Centro Siciliano di Fisica Nucleare e Struttura della MateriaPublication output:Temperature dependence and aging effects on silicon nanowires photoluminescenceOptics Express 20, 1483 (2012)Quantum confinement and electroluminescence in ultrathin silicon nanowires fabricated by a maskless etching techniqueNanotechnology 23, 075204 (2012)Book / Book chapter:Silicon Nanowires Light Emitting Devices at Room Temperature in Nano-Optics for Enhancing Light-Matter Interactions on a Molecular Scale – Di Bartolo, Baldassare; Collins, John (Eds.)Springer (2013), ISBN: 978-9400753129

PhD in Physics, cum laudeThesis title: Growth, properties and processing of group IV semiconductor nanowiresTutor: prof. Francesco PrioloPublication output:Kinetics of Si and Ge Nanowires Growth through Electron Beam EvaporationNanoscale Research Letters 6, 162 (2011)Heteroepitaxial growth of Ge nanowires on Si substratesInternational Journal of Photoenergy 2012, 782835 (2012)Ion beam-induced bending of silicon nanowiresPhysica E 44, 1074 (2012)Nanoscale amorphization, bending and recrystallization in silicon nanowiresApplied Physics A 102, 13 (2011)Invited paperHeteroepitaxial growth and faceting of Ge nanowires on (111) Si by electron beam evaporationElectrochemical and Solid State Letters 13, K53 (2010)Influence of O contamination and Au cluster properties on the structural features of Si nanowiresThin Solid Films 518, 2562 (2010)Control of growth mechanisms and orientation in epitaxial Si nanowires grown by electron beam evaporationNanotechnology 20, 135601 (2009)Book / Book chapter:Growth, properties and processing of group IV semiconductor nanowiresVDM Verlag Dr. Muller (August 4, 2011), ISBN: 978-3639375763Conference participation:E-MRS Fall Meeting 2010 – Warsaw (PL) September 13-17, 2010 Oral presentation, Symposium EInternational School on “Materials for Renewable Energies” – Erice (TP, Italy) May 28 – June 2, 2010 Poster sessionE-MRS 2009 – Strasbourg (F) June 8-12, 2009 Oral presentation, Symposium INODE International Summer School – Cortona (AR, Italy) July 1-5, 2008 Poster sessionXV International Winter School on “New Developments in Solid State Physics” – Bad HofGastein (Salzburg, AT) February 18-22, 2008XIII National School of Materials Science – Bressanone (Bz, Italy) September 30 – October 9, 2007 Poster sessionXV International conference on “Ion Beam Modification of Materials” – Taormina (ME, Italy) September 18-22, 2006 Poster session

http://www.matis.imm.cnr.it