Biomedical Methods / De Gruyter STEM (ePub)

__Alessandro Podestà (AP) holds a PhD in Materials Science and since 2015 he is associate professor at the Department of Physics "Aldo Pontremoli" of the University of Milano, Italy. AP has published about 100 papers on international peer-reviewed journals (H-index 30, complete bibliographic record with metrics at: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/rid/E-6568-2010; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4169-6679). In 2012 AP obtained the National Academic Qualification (ASN) to apply for Full Professor positions in Experimental Physics of Matter (02/B1).

Since 1999, AP is active in the field of characterization of physical and chemical properties of systems and interfaces at the nanoscale by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) techniques. AP leads the AFM group of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces (CIMaINa) of Università degli Studi di Milano. The research activity of the AFM laboratory developed over the years under the guidance of AP since its foundation in 1999, along two parallel but strongly interconnected tracks: the development of experimental techniques and protocols based on atomic force microscopy, and the application of such protocols to the study of nanostructured systems and interfaces. The synergistic combination of research and development activities related to atomic force microscopy has always characterized the scientific approach of AP within the Physics Department and CIMAINA @UNIMI; this expertise has been enhanced at European and international level in funded research projects and in commissioned research activities.

The main activities of AP are the following:

1. Development of Atomic Force Microscopy techniques for the study of systems and interfaces at the nanoscale: metrology of nanometer-sized objects (proteins and nanoparticles); nanomechanical characterization of soft matter systems; force spectroscopy; production and calibration of AFM probes.

2. Study of