Dr. Federico Mazzei

I graduated in Physics at the University of Florence in 2003 with a thesis entitled: "Determination of the elemental concentration of the aerosol in Florence using the PIXE and PIGE techniques and new instrumental developments of the measurement set up". I collaborated with the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Tuscany on my thesis work. We studied pollutants in atmospheric aerosols using IBA techniques (PIXE and PIGE) at the INFN section of Florence's KN3000 accelerator. The data we collecte d was processed using statistical analysis to identify the primary sources of atmospheric particulate matter. During my study, I also designed and tested new instrumental developments for the measurement set up. These included a proton deflector that improves detector performance and a system capable of measuring the charge flowing on the target by detecting the protons of the back scattered beam from the extraction window. Additionally, I tested new X ray detectors in PIXE measurements, Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) detectors, as an alternative to Si(Li). In 2007, I earned a PhD in Physics from the University of Genoa by completing a thesis titled "Characterization of atmospheric aerosol sources: an open field experiment." In this research, I worked on a new receptor model called PMF (Positive Matrix Factor ization) to identify and characterize the sources that contribute to particulate matter and their profiles. The samples were analysed using the ED XRF technique at the FISA laboratory of the Physics Department of the University of Genoa and using the PIXE and PIGE technique at the TANDETRON accelerator of the INFN section of Florence. The analysis was conducted on both daily and hourly samples. In the thesis, I developed a new methodology based on the combined use of hourly samplers and optical particle counters. This approach gave information on the size distribution of the elements present in the atmospheric aerosol or information on the contri bution of each polluting source on specific size classes. Since 2009, I have been working as an application specialist at TQ Technologies for Quality. For 12 years, I held the position of a technical salesman of scientific instruments for industrial quality control. My responsibilities included organizing demonst rations and personally taking care of installation and instruction. During this period, I also served as the project leader for five research and development projects referred to in Article 3 of the Legislative Decree of 23 December 2013 No. 145. In December 2020, I partnered to establish Bowman Europe srl, which deals with the development of XRF methods and assists local distributors in meeting customer analysis needs throughout Europe. In November 2021, I was hired by Bowman Italia Srl as an application specialist and service manager for ED XRF instrumentation. My responsibilities included analysing galvanic thicknesses, metal alloys, and solutions in Italy. In April 2023 I am RTD A at the Department of Physics Sector FIS/07 Applied Physics During my training I acquired technical skills in various analysis techniques such as: IBA (PIXE, PIGE, PESA) Handling and preparation of chemical substances and solutions; X ray fluorescence (ED XRF, WD XRF); Gas chromatography; NMR; Chemical physical analyses on petroleum products (cold tests, distillation, fire and flash points, etc...), cement , minerals, plastics, and soils; FTIR; Thermogravimetry; Simulated distillation systems; Vapor pressure analysis.