POLONI, ROBERTA

Place and date of birth: Macerata (Italy), March 4, 1979

Citizenship: Italian

Email: roberta.poloni@simap.grenoble-inp.fr – roberta.poloni@gmail.com

Work Address: Science et Ingénierie des MAtériaux et Procédés

1130 rue de la Piscine – BP 75 – F-38402 ST MARTIN D HÈRES CEDEX

Work Experience

Since 10/2014: CNRS Researcher at SIMaP in Grenoble. I study new materials (metal-organic frameworks, ionic liquids, and zeolites) for carbon capture using first-principles.

06/2013-07/2014: Associate CNRS Researcher (non permanent) at SIMaP in Grenoble.

02/2010-11/2012: Postdoc within a Energy Frontier Research Center postdoctoral fellowship and joint appointment at (1) the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of Chemistry in Prof. Berend Smit’s group and (2) the Molecular Foundry (LBNL) in Dr. Jeffrey B. Neaton’s group. Ab initio methods applied to the following topics:

  1. Engineering of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for CO2 capture: ligand and metal substitution; amine functionalization; structural flexibility;
  2. Study of binding mechanism for physisorptive and chemisorptive processeses.
  3. Study of London dispersive forces in carbon capture by using van der Waals density functionals.
  4. Development of classical force-field from first-principles methods (MP2 and DFT) to study carbon capture by metal-organic frameworks exhibiting open metal centers.

11/2007-12/2009: Postdoc at the Laboratory of Electronic Structure of Materials at the ICMAB (Institut de Ci`encia de Materials de Barcelona, Spain). DFT-based methodology:

  1. Developement of an efficient computational approach based on the Virtual Crystal Approximation and DFT to determine the atomic structure of crystals with substitutional disorder. Work in collaboration with Dr. Jorge ́Íniguez (ICMAB), Prof. Alberto Garcıa (ICMAB) and Prof. Enric Canadell (ICMAB);
  2. Elastic and strain-induced properties of functional oxides (e.g. Giant Magneto-Resistance compounds) in collaboration with Dr. Jorge ́I ̃niguez.
  3. Structural and electronic transformation of liquid Ge and Si under high temperature and high pressure conditions by Ab-initio Molecular Dynamics. In collaboration with Prof. Eduardo Hern ́andez (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Spain).

Education

01/09/2004–31/10/2007 (PhD diploma delivered on 15/05/2008): Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the University Lyon 1 (France) at the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France) in the absorption beamline (BM29).

Supervisors: Prof. Alfonso San Miguel (University Lyon 1) and Dr. Sakura Pascarelli (ESRF).

Thesis title: Heavy alkali metal-intercalated fulleneres under high temperature and high pressure conditions: Rb6C60 and Cs6C60.

2003–2004 : M. Sc. (“Laurea”) in Physics (University of Camerino, Italy), with grade 110/110 summa cum laude.

Supervisors: Prof. Andrea Di Cicco (University of Camerino) and Dr. Simone De Panfilis (ESRF).

Thesis title: Liquid gallium in confined droplets under high temperature and high pressure conditions by EXAFS spectroscopy.

1999–2003: B. Sc. in Physics at the University of Camerino with grade 110/110 summa cum laude.

1994–1998: Liceo Scientifico G. Galilei, Macerata.