Research interests
To date, we largely interpret the processes that take place in the Earth’s lithosphere in terms of phase equilibria under hydrostatic conditions. In my research I study how phase equilibria are affected by the non-hydrostatic stress that develop in the Earth during mineral and rock deformation. This is achieved by combining molecular dynamics and continuum mechanics simulations, in a project that brings together expertise from the Institute of Geosciences and the Institute of Physics in the M3ODEL Institute for multiscale modelling at JGU.
I am also interested in the use of the elasticity of minerals to constrain the P-T conditions of metamorphic processes and diamond genesis through elastic geobarometry. My research goes from the quantification and analysis of the residual strains and stresses of inclusions, to the development of physical models for elastic barometry that include the complex geometry and the elastic anisotropy of minerals in rocks.
Education/career
| 2020-now | Postdoctoral researcher, JGU, Mainz |
| 2019-2020 | Postdoctoral fellow, ERC starting grant Truedepths (P.I. Prof. Matteo Alvaro), University of Pavia, Italy. |
| 2016 | Visiting Scholar, University of Nevada Las Vegas, USA. |
| 2015-2019 | Ph.D. in Earth Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy. Thesis “Development of computational mechanics methods for geobarometry of non-ideal host-inclusion systems”. Advisors: Prof. Maria Chiara Domeneghetti, Prof. Ross Angel. |
| 2013-2015 | M.Sc. in Applied Geology, University of Pavia, Italy. Thesis: “Non-linear elastic geobarometry: methods and applications” |
| 2010-2013 | B.Sc. in Geology, University of Pavia, Italy. Thesis: “Inclusions in diamonds: new thermoelastic parameters for pyrope” |
Awards
| 2019 | Best Ph.D. thesis award - Italian society of mineralogy and petrology (SIMP) |
| 2018 | Travel Grant - EGU Galileo conference “Exploring new frontiers in fluids processes in subduction zones” (Leibnitz, Austria) |
| 2016 | Outstanding PhD Student Award – International Mineralogical Association (IMA) |
| 2016 | Travel Award – Minerals journal |