Me in a nutshell
What I do
I currently live and work in Turin (Piedmont, Italy), where I am assistant professor at the Polytechnic University of Turin. I hold a master degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Naples Federico II (2003), and a doctoral degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich ETH (2009). I have (co-) authored over 50 publications with over 30 peer-reviewed articles in major international journals, 1 invited peer-reviewed book chapter (1st name), 15 international conference proceedings, 2 books (1 on Amazon and 1 on ETH-repository) and 5 patents on advanced electro-mechanical devices for automotive purposes. My scientific interests include: methods for the speed-up of complex dynamical systems, nanotechnology for thermal engineering, thermal storage, heat transfer at micro- and nano-scale, solar energy. I have introduced novel computational approaches to automatic simplification of dynamical systems with large number of degrees of freedom. This new class of approaches include the Relaxation Redistribution Method (in: Chiavazzo et al. Phys. Rev. E 2011; Chiavazzo et al. Phil. Transc. Royal Soc. A 2011) and its local and linearized version in: Chiavazzo J. Comp. Phys. 2012. I have taught several courses at the University level on heat transfer, applied thermodynamics and combustion. In 2013, I have been awarded a Fulbright research grant spent at Princeton University, where my project "A systematic approach to complexity reduction and detection of intrinsically good observables for chemical and biochemical systems" has been one out of six funded proposals in a pool of more than seventy other projects from all disciplines at a national level. Main scientific collaborations are with scientists from: Princeton University, MIT (Boston - USA), ETH-Zurich, Houston Methodist Research Institute (Houston - USA), Paul Scherrer Institute - PSI (Villingen, Switzerland), Imperial College (London - UK). For more details on my activities, you are very welcome to visit the web site of my research group, as well as to browse in my scientific publications and patents.
Roots
In the region of Campania (southern Italy), you can find places which are suspended between thousands of years of history and breathtaking landscapes. Beside the magic appeal of the modern cities of Naples and Salerno, here, for instance there is the unique opportunity of walking in the ancient town of Pompei, just as Romans could enjoy it two thousand years ago. There are cities that tell you about Magna Graecia such as the ancient Poseidonia (now Paestum) or Elea (now Velia), with their great inhabitants (Parmenides and Zeno - just to quote a couple) who influenced western thought and civilization. If you feel that such historical heritage causes a chill running down your spine (as it does to me!), well then you can always take a rest at the Amalfi and Sorrento coast. I had the privilege of being native of this magic land.
More
My soulmate is Marianna with whom I am happily married since a year. I have given voluntary assistance to invalid and old people. I have a strong interest in politics, while among my hobbies there is gardening with medium skills in the field practices of pruning and grafting of fruit trees. I occasionally practice jogging and swimming. Camillo is the name of my adorable dachshund.
The hollow men
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
T. S. Eliot
