About

My journey began at the University of Pavia in Italy, where through single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments I studied the elastic behaviour of minerals under high pressure and temperature. During my PhD with Prof. Ross Angel, I helped to further develop elastic Raman thermobarometry, a technique used to determine the pressure and temperature conditions recorded by minerals trapped in diamonds and metamorphic rocks. As part of the ERC TRUEDEPTHS project (PI: Prof. Matteo Alvaro), I integrated three-dimensional finite element models of realistic host-inclusion geometries with ab initio DFT calculations and Raman spectroscopy, producing tools and software that are now widely used worldwide.

After my PhD, I joined the University of Mainz with an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. Working with Prof. Evangelos Moulas and Prof. Thomas Speck, I began tackling a century-old question in the geosciences: How does non-hydrostatic stress influence thermodynamic equilibria? To address this, I developed a molecular-dynamics approach that reveals phase equilibria directly from atomistic behaviour, without assuming any predefined thermodynamic potential.

Since 2023, I have been at the University of Lausanne in the Tectonics and Geodynamics group of Prof. Stefan Schmalholz. Here, I link atomic-scale MD simulations of stressed mineral-fluid systems with large-scale thermohydromechanicalchemical (THMC) models of deformation and reactions in rocks.

Currently, I develop large-domain MD simulations that capture in a physically consistent way the mechanical response of deforming mineral-fluid systems, the evolution of interfaces, and stress-driven reactions. This multiscale approach, which connects atomistic physics with continuum mechanics, provides a powerful framework for understanding how deformation and reactions interact deep inside our planet.

Invited Lectures and Presentations