Two ICFOnians win Italy's Rita Levi Montalcini Award for Young Researchers
ICFOnians Dr. Vito Giovanni Lucivero and Dr. Emanuele Distante receive the Rita Levi Montalcini Award
The "Rita Levi Montalcini" Program for Young Researchers offers tenure-track research positions designed to support the independent research programs of young scientists in Italy. This year, ICFO Alumni Dr. Vito Giovanni Lucivero and Dr. Emanuele Distante were among 36 recipients of this competitive fellowship.
Dr. Vito Giovanni Lucivero completed his doctoral studies at ICFO in the Atomic Quantum Optics group, led by ICREA professor Dr. Morgan Mitchell. He defended his thesis, Quantum Metrology with High-Density Atomic Vapors and Squeezed States of Light, in 2016. After three years as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Princeton University, Dr. Lucivero returned to ICFO in 2019 with an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2023, he moved to the University of Bari, where he is now working on establishing his own research group.
“The funded Montalcini project aims at developing novel platforms for lab-on-chip atomic quantum sensing to explore magnetic phenomena and properties at the microscale as well as to integrate atomic sensors with photonic structures. Some of this research is ongoing in close collaboration with Morgan Mitchell's group at ICFO.” Dr. Vito Giovanni Lucivero.
Dr. Emanuele Distante was a PhD student in the Quantum Photonics with Solids and Atoms research group at ICFO, led by ICREA professor Dr. Hugues de Riedmatten. He defended his thesis, A Quantum Light-Matter Interface with Rydberg Polaritons in a Cold Atomic Ensemble, in 2017. He then moved to the Max Planck Institute as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Quantum Dynamics division. After five years in Munich, Dr. Distante returned to ICFO as a La Caixa Postdoctoral Junior Leader Research Fellow.
“Professionally, this is a big boost for a step forward in my career as it allows me to become fully independent. Personally, it enables me to return – after many years of wandering – to my home country, bringing the experience I have accumulated to hopefully contribute to improving the university, research, and scientific system.” Dr. Emanuele Distante.
This prestigious award will allow Dr. Lucivero and Dr. Distante to advance their research in Italy, where they will establish and lead their own research teams.
Congratulations Gianvito and Emanuele on this well-deserved recognition!