I am extremely proud of this award. It recognises, at the same time, the excellence of the formation I had the privilege to get in my home country and the amazing research we do at King's. Initiatives like this make me realise how important it is to be able to identify the places in the world where our potential can best be expressed while never forgetting our roots and how our origins shape and define us.
Dr Michela Picardi
24 September 2021
King's Physicist Dr Michela Picardi awarded 'Italy Made Me' 2020 prize
Michela was awarded the prize in recognition of the excellence and innovation of her research.
The 'Italy Made Me' prize is awarded by the Italian Embassy’s scientific council to Italian early-career researchers based in the UK, who received part of their education in Italy and who work in the domains of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Social Sciences & Humanities.
Michela is a Research Associate based at the Photonics & Nanotechnology group within King’s Department of Physics. Her research investigates the properties of light at the nanoscale, which is when light interacts with extremely small structures (one nanometer being a million times smaller than a millimeter).
The properties and behaviour of light change drastically when it interacts with miniscule structures, and Michela’s study of these changes is furthering understanding of the potential use of photonics as a replacement for electronics in future technologies. Developments in the field have the potential to result in faster, cheaper and greener innovations in new nanotechnologies, circuitry and communication platforms.
Commenting on receipt of the award, Michela said: