The NextGenerationEU NPRR 2022 programme funds PhD scholarships (academic year 2022/23) at the University of Florence, with operational headquarters at the CNR-INO Research Unit at LENS (European Laboratory of Non Linear Spectroscopy), Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), starting from January 1st, 2023.

The deadline for application is on November 10th, 2022, at 12.00 (Rome time). Detailed information on the application is available at https://www.unifi.it/p12246.html

We are especially looking for candidates applying to 4 PhD scholarships funded by Infrastructural Projects at CNR-INO and connected to the International Doctorate in Atomic and Molecular Photonics Course at LENS (Coordinator Prof. Diederik Sybolt Wiersma):

Project EBRAINS Italy
“Development of imaging systems for the study of the neural activity of mouse models in social interaction” (1 scholarship)
Profile: the candidate will tackle the study of the effects of social interaction on the brain of waking animals with freedom of movement, using advanced neuroimaging tools, based on football imaging. The ideal candidate should have some experience in working with animals and/or a background in physics/engineering / biotechnology.
Scientific Responsible: Prof. Francesco Saverio Pavone

Project IPHOQS
“Photonics for molecular sensing” (3 scholarships)
Profile: candidates with minimal previous competence in one of the following topics
– Development of photonic experimental set-ups in the spectral region from near to far infrared.
– Use of optical resonators, quantum cascade and interband lasers (QCL and ICL), parametric optical oscillators and other nonlinear generation techniques.
– Use of continuous (CW) and ultrafast (fs) laser sources also for the generation of frequency combs for frequency metrology applications.
– Experimental set‐ups to overcome the limit of classical noise: “squeezed” light and “entanglement” between modes for quantum technologies and very high sensitivity spectroscopic set‐ups.
– Applications to manipulation and precision physical measurements in atomic and molecular samples under ambient to ultra-cold temperature conditions (nanoKelvin).
Scientific Responsible: Dott. Paolo De Natale

Moreover, we highlight also 2 scholarships funded by the University of Florence always connected to the International Doctorate in Atomic and Molecular Photonics Course at LENS (Coordinator Prof. Diederik Sybolt Wiersma):
Project EBRAINS Italy
“Monitoring of central and peripheral nervous system with biometric sensors during social interaction”, (1 scholarship)
Profile: The candidate will be involved in the collection of biosignals in human subjects, including ElectroEncephaloGram (EEG), ElectroDermal Activity (EDA), Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Pupillometry, to study the effect of social interaction on multimodal biological signals in human subjects. A background in biomedical engineering/cognitive science and previous experience in biometric measurements and programming for the development of high-resolution microscopic image processing pipelines for mapping the human and mouse brain are preferential criteria.
Scientific Responsible: Prof. Francesco Saverio Pavone
Progetto SEE-LIFE
“Image analysis and system management of a fluorescence microscope on large-scale volumetric samples”, (1 scholarship)
Profile: The selected candidate will develop customized software applications to successfully integrate various fluorescence microscope features and controls on large-scale volumetric samples. Furthermore, the PhD project will also focus on data management, in particular: image post-processing, archiving, automatic segmentation of neuronal characteristics (e.g. soma, fibers, etc.) using artificial neural networks and sharing of large datasets produced during acquisitions. Programming experience is a preferential criterion.
Scientific Responsible: Prof. Francesco Saverio Pavone