About
Born in 1998, I am an aerospace engineer who graduated with honors from University of Pisa. Currently, I am involved in projects surrounding satellite systems, robotics, Deep Learning (AI) and artificial intelligence.
When I was a young kid, I used to scribble big numbers and draw pictures of the solar systems. I think the decisive moment in my career path was reading the book “Men of Mathematics” by Eric Temple Bell. Bell characterized the mathematicians he featured in his book as a variety of different kinds of people, not at all saints. He emphasized that they were human, with very human flaws: some were crooks, some were thieves, and many of their mathematical achievements were certainly not fueled by altruistic motives. Many of them were quite unscrupulous and not very clever. And still they managed to do great mathematic. So, this told to a kid:- “If they can do it, why can't you?”. From that point onward, my commitment to pursuing my passions stemming from childhood has been unwavering.
Background
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2020 — 2022Graduated with honors (GPA: 4.0 / 4.0)
Thesis: "Navigation of Sounding Balloons with Deep Reinforcement Learning "
Relevant modules:-
Electric Propulsion
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Rocket Propulsion
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Spacecraft Structures
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Space Systems
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Spaceflight Mechanics
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2017 — 2020Relevant modules:
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Fluid Dynamics
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Aeronautical Engines
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Applied Thermodynamics
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Aeronautical Systems
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Aerospace Manufacturing
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Projects
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System Engineer
I conducted studies and research on plasma generation and air breakdown through laser pulses.
Realized neural networks for semantic segmentation of hyperspectral images.
Involved on GCAP (Global Combat Air Programme) Tempest project.
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Navigation of Sounding Balloon with Deep Reinforcement Learning
I made an atmospheric balloon controller through Deep Reinforcement Learning that can triple the performance in flight so far. sounding balloons. Sounding balloons are aerostat mechanisms that offer a multitude of cost-effective solutions for various applications such as surveillance, communication, and atmospheric research. My findings were published in a scientific journal and presented at the MetroAeroSpace IEEE 2023 Conference. My controller allows for sounding balloons to stay in areas up to 50 km in the sky for up to 60 hours, surpassing any existing sounding balloon performance to date.
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PETRA (Asteroid Mining Prospector)
PETRA (Prospector for Estraction of Terrestrial-like Resources from Asteroids) is a prospecting space mission for near-earth asteroids. I carried out the pre-phase A study and satellite design, together with a team of 8 people. After more than 10 months of work, the project successfully passed the phase.
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Gridded Ion Thruster Simulator
With the guidance of electric propulsion luminary Mariano Andrenucci, I developed an open-source PIC (Particle-in-cell) simulator for Gridded Ion Thrusters for different magnetic field configurations. The simulator has been shown to produce results consistent with Langmuir's theory.
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SLS Intertank
With three other engineers, I performed a structural analysis of elements of the Space Launch System, with specific attention to the intertank. We utilized semi-analytical and FEM (Finite Element Method) methods in our a posteriori analysis.
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Controlling computers with my hands
During the summer of 2016, I became passionate about infrared lights and I understood how these, through the use of an appropriately modified computer camera, together with a LED, could allow me to accurately control my computer. I wrote my algorithm in Microsoft's VB.NET and used Arduino for the hardware platform.
Click to watch! -
Turn my closet into a touchscreen
I had always dreamt of waking up and finding the weather forecast displayed on a controllable surface, like in some futuristic movie. In 2016, I attempted to turn my IKEA closet into a touchscreen surface.
Click to watch!