I got my MSc in Mechanical Engineering in the Politecnico di Bari with a Thesis on the role of quot;A priori inequalities in nonlinear elasticity quot;. Since then I developed a strong interest for the theory of Elasticity and, more in general, for Continuum Mechanics, for the theory of Phase Transitions, for Electroactive Materials and more recently for Growth, both in biological materials and in more general non-biological frameworks. I did my PhD in the University of Pisa in this subject, on the modelling of quot;Material and phase transitions in biological membranes quot;. During this period Ispan style=line-height: 1;spent some months at Cornell University(NY) and Carnegie Mellon University(USA) and  span style=line-height: 1;I worked on a new model for the nonlinear elastic behavior of the lipid bilayer, the shell of cells, that accounts for thickness variations. 

My research is focused on the modelling of material behavior at the intersection of Con- tinuum Mechanics with Nonlinear Elasticity, Biology and Electromagnetism. More specif- ically I work on Growth, Morphogenesis and Patterning in biological materials, on the mechanical behaviour of Cell Membranes, on the modeling of damage and healing phenomena in Rubber Materials, on the theory of Finite Elasticity with a specific focus on the mechanics of thin bodies, on Electroelasticity of soft actuators and en- ergy harvesters. My principal research interest is currently an ambitious and far-reaching project to develop a mechanical theory for 3D Printing of biological materials.

Here at University of GalwayI am Lecturer of Applied Mathematics in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences.More in detail I teachhave taught in the past 10 years: mp191Mathematical Methods I(24h)mp120Engineering Mechanics (36h)mm140Mathematical Methods for Engineering I (18h)mp236 Mechanics I (24h)mp365 Fluid Mechanics (24h)mp410Nonlinear Elasticity(24h)ma2101 Mathematical and Applied Mathematics II (18h)ma2102Mathematical and Applied Mathematics II (18h)