Spotlight: Gloria Guidetti
Gloria Guidetti first worked as part of the Graphene Flagship as a PhD student at the University of Bologna, Italy. Since then she has taken a job as a Development Engineer at Tetra Pak, the world’s leading food processing and packaging solutions company, where she helped the company join the Graphene Flagship as an associate member.
Graphene Flagship: Tell us about your early work in the Graphene Flagship?
The first time that I worked with graphene was when I started my PhD in Chemistry in 2014, at the University of Bologna. I quickly realised the value of graphene and its potential as an enabler for breakthrough technologies in multiple sectors from biomedicine to electronics.
The work that I carried out during my PhD opened doors for me to become an Academic Delegate for the University of Bologna within the Graphene Flagship project. This allowed me to connect with the highest-level research centres and also to get in contact with big companies across various industry sectors such as Nokia, ABB and Ericsson.
As the only female researcher for the University of Bologna with a Graphene Flagship responsibility, I also became a representative within the Women in Graphene project which addresses gender equity issues in European research environments.
Graphene Flagship: When did you join Tetra Pak and what was your role?
I joined Tetra Pak in 2018 as part of the Future Talent program after my PhD in graphene technology. From the great experience I had with the collaboration in the Graphene Flagship as a facilitator in the development and industrialisation of graphene as soon as I joined Tetra Pak, I was pleased to be presented with the opportunity to once again explore the potential applications of graphene.
My responsibility now is to lead opportunities scouting for packaging material and equipment. Day to day, this includes lab testing, production of prototypes, internal discussion with engineers and, of course, exploring graphene applications, building knowledge networks and forums, both across the company and externally as well.
Overall, one of the most important aspects of my work is exploring the potential of new materials with regard to the food industry and how it can help to advance food safety and quality for the food and beverage it contains.
The Graphene Flagship is a very good starting point for exploring these breakthrough innovations that we expect from graphene.
Author bio
Graphene Flagship
Bringing together 118 academic and industrial partners in 12 research and innovation projects and 1 coordination and support project, the Graphene Flagship initiative will continue to advance Europe’s strategic autonomy in technologies that rely on graphene and other 2D materials. The initiative, which builds on the previous 10-years of the Graphene Flagship, is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. The 2D-Experimental Pilot Line, addressing the challenges of upscaling 2D material production processes for the semiconductor industry, is another key component of the Graphene Flagship eco-system.