Chiara Trovatello is Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics of Politecnico di Milano from 2025. Coordinator of the QUAN2M Lab, her research group explores the intersection of nonlinear optics, quantum optics, integrated optics and ultrafast spectroscopy leveraging the unique properties of low-dimensional materials, e.g., van der Waals layered materials like transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), to develop compact, efficient platforms for next-generation photonic quantum technologies, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible at the nanoscale.

Bio:

Chiara Trovatello received the Master of Science in Engineering Physics with 110/110 cum laude from Politecnico di Milano (2016). She did her PhD within the Graphene Flagship network under the supervision of Prof. Giulio Cerullo and Prof. Stefano Dal Conte, and received the title of Ph.D. in Physics cum laude from Politecnico di Milano (2020), with a doctoral thesis entitled “Ultrafast Spectroscopy of 2D Materials and Related Heterostructures”. Her research activity focuses on ultrafast spectroscopy and nonlinear optics of low dimensional materials (graphene, TMDs and van der Waals heterostructures).

During her doctoral studies, Chiara visited the University of Wurzburg (March 2018). Additionally, she was awarded a Marie Curie RISE Fellowship to visit Columbia University (March-September 2019). After the Ph.D., she returned to Columbia University as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the group of Prof. P. James Schuck.Among her prizes and grants, the Bernard J. Couillaud Prize was awarded by the Optica Foundation and Coherent Inc. for her contributions in the field of ultrafast optics with 2D materials, and the 2023 Young Investigator Bruno Touschek Award from ISSNAF for her contribution to bridge macroscopic and microscopic nonlinear optics using highly nonlinear layered materials.

In 2023, Chiara Trovatello received the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship to conduct independent research at Columbia University, with the goal of developing and characterizing ultracompact platforms for quantum optics based on layered semiconductors. After the outgoing phase in the US, she will return to Politecnico di Milano, where she is currently Assistant Professor.Chiara Trovatello has delivered >30 invited and contributed talks at leading conferences and institutions, has published >25 scientific papers including several in the highest-impact journals in the field, and has been part of the organizing committee of international conferences, e.g., MRS, CLEO.

Active member of scientific societies: Optica, EPS, SPIE, MRS, APS, IEEE and SIF, Chiara Trovatello was the founder and the former president of the Optica (formerly OSA) Student Chapter of Milano, Founder and Member of the EPS Young Minds section of Milano, and she was organizer of the EPS Career Event at CLEO EU in 2019 and the Photonics Online Meetup Hub of Milano in 2020.

From 2024 she continues her strong mentorship and leadership activity as an Optica Ambassador, a lifetime title she has been awarded by Optica in recognition of all the outreach and mentoring activities she has conducted as founder and former president of the Optica Chapter of Milano and as volunteer within the scientific community. Chiara Trovatello is also a representative on the Mechanical Engineering DEI Committee of Columbia University. Within the Chapter and beyond, Chiara passionately advocates for open science, ethical research, equal representation and opportunities in STEM.

Awards and recognitions:

• 2025 Early Career Board of Nano Letters

• 2025 PIERS Young Scientist Award

• 2024 Optica Foundation Challenge Award

• 2024 Blavatnik Regional Finalist Award for Young Scientists

• 2024 L’Oréal Italia-UNESCO for Women in Science

• 2024 Optica Ambassador

• 2023 ISSNAF Young Investigator Award

• 2022 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow

• 2022 Bernard J. Couillaud Prize

• 2019 Marie Skłodowska-Curie RISE Fellow

Scientific network and main active collaborations:

• P. J. Schuck, D. N. Basov, M. Delor, X. Zhu, X. Roy, Columbia University, USA

• A. Marini, University of L’Aquila, Italy

• L. A. Rozema, P. Walther, University of Vienna, Austria

• A. Alù, City University of New York (CUNY), USA

Mentoring and outreach:

• 2025 - present | Faculty Advisor of the Optica Student Chapter of Milan

• 2024 - present | Optica Ambassador

• 2019 - 2021 | Founder and President of the Optica Student Chapter of Milan