SolidLight and Lumnora awarded at Switch2Product
Two startups born from research at the Department of Physics have received important recognition as part of Switch2Product, the Politecnico di Milano entrepreneurial empowerment program designed to enhance scientific results through entrepreneurial training, incubation, and access to a network of corporations and investors.
The two startups awarded
SolidLight is the result of the CERAPH (Ceramic Photonics) project led by Nicola Coluccelli, associate professor, and Marco Polastri, doctoral student, both from the Department of Physics.
The project develops ultra-stable photonic platforms based on 3D-printed high-performance ceramics. Through advanced ceramic manufacturing, monolithic photonic modules are designed that enable the creation of compact laser cavities, frequency combs, and sensing devices capable of maintaining high performance even under harsh operating conditions.
In this way, CERAPH offers a scalable solution for industry and space agencies, which require reliable, customizable, and compact photonic systems. This research activity led to the proposal for the SolidLight startup.
Lumnora, on the other hand, is a spin-off of the Polytechnic University of Milan and the National Research Council (CNR), founded by a group of researchers from the Department of Physics: Petra Paiè, Andrea Bassi, associate professors, and Giulio Coccia, research fellow. Francesca Bragheri (CNR) is also part of the team.
The startup designs next-generation imaging flow cytometers that integrate a proprietary optofluidic chip with artificial intelligence-based analysis. The goal is to make the characterization of extracellular vesicles (EVs) accessible, scalable, and usable, opening up new perspectives for diagnostics, monitoring, and personalized medicine.
The award consists of a financial contribution and support for the industrial development of the technology.
This result confirms the quality of the Department of Physics' research and its commitment to technology transfer to the industrial world.