Associate Professor at the University of Bologna since 2014, she carries out her research work in the field of Metallurgy. Her research activity is dedicated to surface engineering of metallic materials as well as to conservation of cultural heritage metals. Presently her research work focuses on the tribological behavior of anti-friction and anti-wear coatings/surface treatments as well as on the development of protective coatings for outdoor monuments. More details on her research activity can be found in the "Research" section of this website, as well as in publications linked to ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9281-6469.
Carla received her 5-Year Degree in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Bologna (110/110 cum laude) in 1993. Her thesis won the “P.Spinedi” Prize for the best thesis in Metallurgy in 1994.
In 1997, Carla got her PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Padua, Italy, with a dissertation on “Surface modifications of metallic materials with innovative techniques: microstructural and tribological characterization”.
From 1997 to 2000, Carla carried out research activities at the Institute of Metallurgy of the University of Bologna as Post-Doctoral Fellow and Laboratory Technician.
From October 2000 to September 2014, she got a permanent position as Researcher in Metallurgy at the University of Bologna.
Carla has been teaching in degree programmes of the School of Engineering and Architecture as well as of the School of Science at the University of Bologna since 2004. For more details, see also the "Teaching" section in this website.
She's presently teaching "Surface Treatments and Coatings for Metallic Materials" (2nd cycle degree programme (LM) in Mechanical Engineering), "Metal Science and Materials Technology with Lab (Module 1 & 2)" (1st cycle degree programme (L) in Chemistry and Technologies for the Environment and Materials).
From 2012 to 2015, she’s been teaching the “Metallography Course” for the Master Course in Metal Conservation & Restoration, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Since July 2014, she has been a Consultant for Training Activities on Conservation of Modern Metals and Coatings at The Getty Conservation Institute (Los Angeles, CA, USA).
Carla has authored more than 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals and more than 200 scientific products published in books and international conference proceedings in the field of metallurgy. She contributed in 2013 to the Encyclopedia of Tribology published by Springer. Her published papers are linked to:
ORCID-ID 0000-0001-9281-6469
Scopus Author ID: 7101640380
WOS ResearcherID: R-3924-2016
She carries out Reviewing activities for the most relevant peer-reviewed international journals, in the field of metallurgy, tribology and surface engineering of metals.
Carla gave invited presentations on tribology and surface engineering of metallic materials at several workshops organized by AIM (Associazione Italiana di Metallurgia, Italian Metallurgy Association) as well as for national and international companies in the field of mechanical engineering. She also gave several key note addresses in the field of cultural heritage metals at national and international conferences and workshops.
Carla is currently serving as member of: Italian Association of Tribology (AIT); Italian Metallurgy Association (AIM) (participating to the “Coatings and Tribology” and “History of Metallurgy” Technical Committees); ICOM-CC (International Council of Museums-Conservation Committee, Working Group “Metals”); Academic Board for the PhD in Health & Technology, University of Bologna; Industrial Research Centre for Advanced Mechanics and Materials (CIRI-MAM), University of Bologna.
Carla has been scientific person in charge and WP leader in several research projects funded by Italian and European Public Institutions (such as the European Commission and the Italian Ministry of Education and Research): for instance, in COLLAPSE (Corrosion of Lead and Lead-Tin Alloys for Organ Pipes in Europe, FP5 2003-06) and in B-IMPACT (Bronze-IMproved non-hazardous PAtina CoaTings, M-ERA.NET 2015-17). She was the Main Proposer for 2 successful applications with Transnational Partners, submitted to the Peer-Reviewing Committee of the SOLEIL Synchrotron facility (Paris, France), beamline ANTARES: (i) “XPS and XRF nanoscale investigation of gilded bronze corrosion” (2015) and (ii) “Outdoor bronze corrosion: nanoscale XPS investigation of protective coating on representative substrates” (2016). She is presently in charge for the UNIBO Research Unit in the PR-FESR 2021-27 project ALERT (Al Alloys for components operating in fatigue and fretting conditions: integrated coatings and surface treatments, 2024-26), coordinated by DTM srl. She's a member of the research teams for UNIBO in the PRIN PNRR 2022 project BIOCOATCH (PI: Prof, Martina Cappelletti, UNIBO) aiming at the development of novel sustainable bioactive coatings to preserve metal surfaces in Cultural Heritage and Healthcare (2023-2025). She also participates in the research activities for Closed Call projects within Spoke 11 "Innovative Materials & Lighweighting" of the National Sustainable Mobility Center (MOST), funded by Next Generation EU (PNRR), namely ALCOM (Aluminium alloy components produced by additive manufacturing: improvement of performance by multilayer coatings) and REOBTAIN (Reusing exhausted vegetable oils for lubricating bolts and threaded joints in the automotive industry). She's a member of the UNIBO research team involved in Spoke 1 "Materials for sustainability and ecological transition" of ECOSISTER (Territorial Innovation Ecosystem of the Emilia-Romagna Region), funded by Next Generation EU (PNRR).
She has been and is presently responsible for several industrial cooperation contracts on surface modification aiming at the reduction of friction and wear in metallic engineering components, funded by private companies.
In all these projects, she carried out tutoring activity for several Junior Researchers, PhD students and undergraduate students. She also served as external examiner for Italian and international examination of PhD students in the field of metallurgy, surface engineering and cultural heritage metals. She acted as project evaluator in national and international calls for competitive projects.
