Guest speakers

Anna Vedda is a full professor of Experimental Physics of Matter at the Department of Materials Science of the University of Milano-Bicocca. Her principal fields of research concern the functional properties of scintillating materials for medical applications and high energy physics experiments. During her career, she has investigated various types of pure and rare-earth doped systems like scintillating glasses, crystals, optical ceramics, and nanomaterials.

She has published more than 260 papers in international journals and referred international conference proceedings, one book, and she is co-author of one patent. At present her publications have received 5900 citations and her h-factor is 38. She acts as referee of several scientific journals and was responsible for both national and international (H2020, NATO, INTAS) research projects.

Dr. Vedda is member of the scientific committees of ICDIM/EURODIM, LUMDETR, and “SiO₂, Advanced Dielectrics and Related Devices” international conference series.

She is a member of the Academic Senate, deputy director of the Department of Materials Science and member of the Department board. She is also a member of the scientific board of the Doctorate in Materials Science and Nanotechnology of the University of Milano-Bicocca.

Moreover, Dr. Vedda serves as delegate of the University, core partner in the Knowledge Innovation Community on Raw Materials (KIC-RM) supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT); she is also a member of the KIC-RM International Education Committee.

Originally from Great Wyrley in the West Midlands of England, Alex completed his BSc in 2012 at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire. During his time at Leeds he was bitten by the research bug while working with Prof. Terry P. Kee in the prebiotic chemistry of phosphorous. In a departure from seeking the origin of life, Alex moved to Windsor, Ontario in 2013 to study solid state molecular machines with Prof. Stephen J. Loeb at The University of Windsor. Graduating with his PhD in 2018, Alex was concerned about his employability considering his lack of publications, visa status, being a millennial, and lack of understanding when something should be taken seriously. Deciding to stay in Canada and after a wide employment search, Alex found employment as a crystallographer and solid-state chemist in the Research & Technology (R&T) group at Apotex Pharmachem Inc. in Brantford, Ontario.

His research in the R&T group involves the solid-state chemistry of active pharmaceutical ingredients and their impact on generic pharmaceutical intellectual property. This work involves a multi-disciplinary team of crystallographers, crystal engineers, organic chemists, analytical chemists, chemical engineers and patent agents. Outside of pharmaceuticals Alex’s research interests are the chemistry of mechanically interlocked molecules, metal-organic frameworks, topology, cocrystals and firing X-rays at things.