Rosaria Rinaldi

Biography

Rosaria Rinaldi graduated in Physics at the University of Bari (Italy) on July 1991. During her Phd she worked on the optical and electronic properties of semiconductor quantum wires. She joined the group of Prof. J.Ryan at Clarendon Laboratory of Oxford (U.K) for resonant Raman spectroscopy and time resolved spectroscopy experiments performed on Quantum Wire heterostructures in 1992 and 1993. She joined the group of Prof. Klitzing at Max Planck Institute of Stuttgard for resonant spectroscopy measurements on quantum wires heterostructures in 1992. She got her PhD in 1994. From 1994 she has been working at the Material Science Department of University of Lecce, where she build up the facility for the fabrication of low dimensional structures and photonic structures based on patterned materials. She set up the holographic photolithograpy apparatus and started a new reserch activity based on the scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy of the realized low dimensional structures and devices. In May 1997 she was appointed lecturer in Condensed Matter Physics at the Material Science Department of the University of Lecce. In 1998 R.R. started a new research activity for the realization of optical devices and laser based on self- organized InGaAs quantum dots grown by MOCVD. She joined the new Department of Innovative Engineering (DIE) at the University of Lecce in 1999. In 1999 she was Joint Visiting Faculty Member at the Department of Physics-Virginia Commonwealth University- Richmond - Virginia, U.S.A.She set up the new laboratory of UHV Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy at cryogeninc temperatures at DIE. In January 2001 she was appointed Professor in Condensed Matter Physics at the department of Innovative Engineering of the University of Lecce. In 2001 she set up a Clean-Room for advanced nanoprocessing of materials and realization of nanostructures based on Electron Beam Lithography, Galvanic Electrodeposition of metals and Soft Lithographies. In the mean time she opened a new research line on nano- biotecnology and nano-bio-electronics. In 2002 she set up a small biology laboratory to handle proteins, DNA and cells, which was enlarged in the new buildings of the National Nanotechnology Laboratory, where she currently runs her research. The new bio-lab comprises a cold chamber, a sterile chamber for cell culture, a nano-spotter for bio-chip and microarrays, a confocal microscope, and a complete set up for proteomics. She is actually responsible of the “NEW QUANTUM SYSTEMS” laboratory at DIE and "NANO- BIO-ELECTRONICS" division at the National Nanotechnology Laboratory -INFM-CNR Lecce. The research lines running within both the laboratory and the division represent most of the seeding activity of the National facility lab. NNL. In April 2004 she was confirmed as associate professor. Since 2005 she is the scientific coordinator of the Lecce research unit of Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). Within this unit she does research in the field of nanobioelectronics, tissue engineering, and new cancer therapy based on magnetic nanoparticles. In 2004 and 2005 she was responsible of the joint laboratory NNL- ST- Microelectronics for the research program :“R&D ST platform Lab-on-Chip for molecular diagnostic applications” . On december 2005 she won the "Le Scienze" medal and the President of Italian Republic medal for the results achieved in the field of nanobiotechnolgy. Recently Prof. R.Rinaldi has been started a collaboration with the activity of the European Technology Platform on Nanomedicine. On December 2006 she was appointed full professor at the ISUFI of University of Salento. She coordinates the activity of a research staff of about 35 people, including 3 researchers, 3 post docs, 10 Phd students, 5 graduated students with contracts, 3 under graduated students and 2 technicians. R.R. is author and co-author of more than 200 articles published in peer reviewed international Journals.

Research Interest

The scientific activity of RR is concerned with the study of experimental character, of new materials for the implementation of new functional devices (photonics, optoelectronics and nanoelectronics). The materials studied are basically of two types: a) semiconductor heterostructures and nanostructures of Group III-V and II-VI b) organic materials: polymers, oligomers, molecular crystals and single molecules. This study starts with an analysis of the structural properties of materials through scanning microscopy and electronic and optical properties and develops with the application of such properties to the design and synthesis of optical devices to be incorporated into photonic or optical networks nanoelectronic devices. The optical devices realized and studied are of two types: (i) consistent emitters, based on stimulated heterostructure emission, e ii) optoelectronic modulators, which exploit the nonlinear optical semiconductor properties of quantum data. More recently, RR has started an innovative activity on nanoelectronic devices based on the properties of conducting organic / inorganic and biomolecular hybrid structures and on the manufacture by advanced nanoelectrode and nanoguunced technological processes.