Get to know Nicolò Maccaferri – New UCMR PI

Nicolò Maccaferri is an Assistant professor at Department of Physics and new UCMR PI at Umeå University.

ImageMattias Pettersson

there is a lot of potential to develop great ideas and interdisciplinary projects together with many researchers

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

“I decided to ask joining UCMR because I would like to expand my knowledge in natural sciences beyond physics and strengthen synergies between established and emerging research areas at Umeå University, e.g., photonics, biochemistry, and structural biology.”

“My expectation is that, by building interdisciplinary bridges between groups working on different areas of natural sciences, we will be able to develop together new cutting-edge ideas which can be later developed and implemented by applying to competitive national and European projects.”

What is your research about?

”We use very short light pulses to excite materials and biological or chemical entities and observe how they behave in time, that is we try to understand their physical, chemical, and biological properties by studying their dynamics. In this way, we can extract important and unknown information about properties of materials and fundamental bio-chemical processes.”

What was it that made you choose to study and work in this field?

”At the end of high school I wanted to do something useful for society in terms of concrete impact on the life of people … physics, and natural sciences in general, looked to be an area which has given - and is actually giving - a lot of answers to people and society, helping to face important challenges. This feeling was strengthened when I was finishing my bachelor’s degree in physics, when instead of looking at the stars or the atomic structure of matter, I thought condensed matter physics could be an effective way to have an impact on society within the duration of my life.”

What is it like to do research at Umeå University?

”Since the beginning, I have felt very welcome and strongly supported by my department and the Faculty of Science and Technology. This nice feeling has not changed, and I think there is a lot of potential to develop great ideas and interdisciplinary projects together with many researchers. The atmosphere of mutual support I heard about before coming here is actually very real because I am seeing and living it every day.”

What is your best advice to younger researchers?

”Do not forget why you chose this path, what gives you purpose… and try to work in places and with supervisors which support you at each stage of your career and want to see you flourish. Be always yourself and kind with the other people. ”

What do you like to do when you do not work?

”At the moment stay with my family, play with my kid and preparing for the arrival of a new one soon … no too much time for myself but I am enjoying every second I pass with them and I would not change it for anything else. When I have the strength, I read a lot. Besides that, I love hiking and cooking.”

Nicolò Maccaferri in the photonic lab together with a colleague.

ImageMattias Pettersson