Meet Nicolò Maccaferri – UCMR’s new Principal Investigator

There is great potential here to develop great ideas and interdisciplinary projects with many researchers

Why do you want to join UCMR? What are your expectations?

– I decided to join UCMR because I would like to broaden my knowledge in the natural sciences beyond physics and strengthen synergies between existing and emerging research areas at Umeå University, for example photonics, biochemistry, and structural biology.

– I expect that by building interdisciplinary bridges between groups working in different scientific fields, we can come up with pioneering new ideas that can be developed later by applying to competitive national and European projects.

What is the subject of your research?

– We use very short light pulses to excite biological or chemical substances and entities to observe their behavior over time, that is, we try to understand their physical, chemical and biological properties by studying their dynamics. In this way, we can obtain important and previously unknown information about the properties of materials and basic biochemical processes.

What made you choose to study and research this topic?

– At the end of high school, I thought I wanted to do something useful to society in terms of a tangible impact on people’s lives… Physics and science in general seemed to be a field that offered – and in fact provides – many solutions to challenges for people and our society. This feeling was reinforced when I finished my undergraduate degree in Physics, when I thought, rather than looking at stars or atomic structure, that condensed matter physics might be a good way to see the impact of my research on society while I was alive.

What is it like doing research at Umeå University?

From the very beginning, I felt very welcome and strongly supported by my department and the Faculty of Science and Technology. This beautiful feeling has not changed and I think there is great potential here to develop great ideas and interdisciplinary projects with many researchers. The atmosphere of mutual support that I have heard of is

What is the best advice for young researchers?

– Don’t forget why you chose this path, what gives you purpose…and try to work in places and with supervisors who support you at every stage of your career and want to see you thrive. Always be yourself and be kind to others.

What do you like to do when you are not working?

– Right now, I’m with my family, playing with my baby, preparing for the arrival of a little sibling… Not a lot of time for myself, but I enjoy every second I spend with them and wouldn’t like it any other way. When I can, I read a lot. Besides, I love hiking and cooking.