News
September 23, 2021
The HAP4MARBLE project has won the ILUCIDARE Special Prize 2021 for excellence in Heritage-led Innovation!
The Jury of the ILUCIDARE Special prizes, awarded within the European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards, noted that: “The HAP4MARBLE technique is replicable and is being tested on a large scale in various locations. There has also been a positive social impact from this project with outreach being undertaken to communities and stakeholders outside of the research community”.
The award ceremony took place at the Fondazione Cini in Venice on Sept 23 2021. A recording of the event can be watched here.
June 11, 2021
The HAP4MARBLE project has been shortlisted for the 2021 edition of the ILUCIDARE Special Prizes, awarded within the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards. The project was selected together with three other projects in the category “Heritage-led innovation”. The final recipient of the ILUCIDARE Special Prize for this category will be announced on September 23 2021 at the European Heritage Awards Ceremony in Venice.
A video illustrating the HAP4MARBLE project is available here, while all the shortlisted projects are shown here.
September 25-26, 2018
Dr. Sassoni took part in the initiative "Science is Wonder-ful!" at the Parlamentarium in Brussels (B), within the "European Researchers' Night" event. Together with Dr. Franzoni, he presented the HAP4MARBLE project to the general public, mostly little school children. Thanks to hands-on-experiments on real decayed marble, the children were made more aware of the importance of our cultural heritage, the risks it is subjected to and the new conservation opportunities developed within the HAP4MARBLE project.
Dr. Sassoni also explained the project goals and achievements during an interview for "Creative Europe". A recording of the interview can be watched here.
August 31, 2018
After 3 amazing years, the HAP4MARBLE project is officially over. :-(
During the fellowship, Dr. Sassoni had the opportunity to live in three different countries, to work with world-leading experts in different disciplines and to start important new scientific collaborations.
At the same time, he had the opportunity to meet amazing new friends and to reunite with old ones, who made him feel like home everywhere he was.
The fellowship was an incredible experience of professional and personal growth, which will continue to bear fruits in the future. Sincere thanks to everyone who was part of this journey... stay tuned for the next step! :-)
August 20-29, 2018
During the RILEM week in Deft (Netherlands), Dr. Sassoni attended the course CSC2I (Corrosion Science & Corrosion Control for Infrastructure), with the aim of widening his expertise on electrochemistry, and took part in several meetings linked to his involvement in the RILEM activity (RILEM TAC, RILEM TC 271-ASC, Board of Editors of "RILEM Technical Letters").
June 7-9, 2018
During the ECSITE conference in Geneve (CH), Dr. Sassoni presented his own research and the funding opportunities offered by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Together with 3 other MSC Fellows, he manned a booth dedicated to the MSCA.
May 24, 2018
The HAP4MARBLE project has been included in the "success stories" section of the European Commisison website.
An article entitled "Invisible coating to protect Europe's priceless marble artworks" has been published, which descrives the project goals and the results obtained so far.
May 18, 2018
Dr. Sassoni won the Best Paper Award in the Materials Science section at "Heri-Tech" (held in Florence, IT, 16-18 May 2018), with the wotk entitled "Photocatalytic hydroxyapatite-titania nanocomposites for preventive conservation of marble".
May 5, 2018
On May 5 218, Dr. Sassoni took part in the inittiative "European Commission Open Doors" in Brussels, Belgium. The event, attracting some 10'000 visitors, is organized yearly by the Eurpean Commission to make the general public more aware of the European Union activities and projects.
Dr. Sassoni presented the research activity carried out within the HAP4MARBLE project and, in general, the funding opportunities offered by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. He also discussed how the Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship impacted his life, both scientifically and personally, during a "Mini Citizens' Dialogue", coordinated by Sophie Beernaerts, Head of Unit, DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. A recording of the dialogue can be seen here.
January 6, 2018
November 10, 2017
Dr. Sassoni was awarded one of the prizes "Marie Skłodowska-Curie Researchers 2017 in Italy", attributed by the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA). The award ceremony took place in Rome (Italy), on occasion of the 150th anniversary of Marie Skłodowska-Curie's birth. The event, organized by the MCAA, jointly with the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR) and the European Commision, was aimed at highlighting the impact of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions on the researchers' career and discussing the recruting policies adopted by Italian Universities to attract Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellows.
September 29, 2017
After the previous experience in 2016, Dr. Sassoni took part to the 2017 edition of the EU-funded event "La Notte dei Ricercatori" (Researchers' Night) in Bologna (IT), by organizing the initiative "A water drop hollows a stone… or not? New strategies for the conservation of decayed historical marbles thanks to the mineral constituting our teeth and bones", in collaboration with Dr. Franzoni and Dr. Graziani.
He guided about 30 people throught the Monumental Cemetery in Bologna, showing significant cases of decayed marbles and explaining (also through on site demonstrations) that the new treatments developed within the HAP4MARBLE project have the potential to be the key for successful marble conservation.
September 1, 2017
After working for 6 months in Gottingen (Germany) with Prof. Siegfried Siegesmund, on September 1 2017 Dr. Sassoni moved to Bologna (Italy) for the final phase of the HAP4MARBLE project.
In Bologna he will work for 12 months on the possible electrodeposition of HAP for marble conservation and on field tests of the novel formulations of the HAP-tretament, in collaboration with Dr. Elisa Franzoni.
March 29, 2017
During the ACI convention in Detroit (USA), Dr. Sassoni received the Gustavo Colonnetti medal for 2017. The medal is awarded by RILEM to researchers of less than 35 years, who have made an outstanding scientific contribution to the field of construction materials and structures.
Dr. Sassoni was invited to give a lecture entitled “Phosphate-Based Treatments for Conservation of Stone".
A recording of his lecture can be watched here.
March 1, 2017
After working for 1.5 years in Princeton (USA) with Prof. George W. Scherer, on March 1 Dr. Sassoni moved to Gottingen (Germany) for the next phase of the HAP4MARBLE project.
In Gottingen he will work for 6 months with Prof. Siegfried Siegesmund to investigate the ability of the newly developed formulations of the HAP treatment to arrest bowing of marble slabs.
February 25, 2017
Dr. Sassoni was invited to give a lecture at the New York Microscopical Society. He presented the latest results of his researcher giving a presentation entitled "Focused ion beam microscopy (FIB-SEM) provides new insights on inorganic treatments used for conservation of marble artworks".
February 4, 2017
Dr. Sassoni has been selected to receive the Gustavo Colonnetti medal for 2017 from RILEM (International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures).
This highly selective distinction is awarded to researchers of less than 35 years, who have made an outstanding scientific contribution to the field of construction materials and structures.
Dr. Sassoni has been invited to present his work on the 29th of March 2017 in Detroit at the ACI (American Concrete Institute) convention and and to write a letter about his work in the journal "RILEM technical letters".
February 1, 2017
A story about the research that Dr. Sassoni is carrying out in collaboration with Prof. George Scherer has been posted on the Princeton University website.
The story, by Jeanette Beebe for the Office of Engineering Communications, is entitled "Keeping it together: Invisible coating preserves iconic stone structures threatened by decay".
September 30, 2016
Dr. Sassoni took part to the EU-funded event "La Notte dei Ricercatori" (Researchers' Night) in Bologna (IT), by organizing the initiative "A water drop hollows a stone… or not? New strategies for the conservation of decayed historical marbles thanks to the mineral constituting our teeth and bones", in collaboration with Dr. Franzoni and Dr. Graziani.
He guided about 30 people throught the Monumental Cemetery in Bologna, showing significant cases of decayed marbles and explaining (also through on site demonstrations) that the new treatments developed within the HAP4MARBLE project have the potential to be the key for successful marble conservation.
September 9, 2016
Dr. Sassoni won the 1st prize for the Best Poster at the "13th International Congress on Deterioration and Conservation of Stone" (held in Paisley, UK, 6-10 September 2016), with his poster entitled "Consolidation of sugaring marble by hydroxyapatite: some recent developments on producing and treating decayed samples".
May 5, 2016
Dr. Sassoni won the 2nd prize for the Best Poster in the category "Graduate Students/Postdoctoral Researchers" at the event "Princeton Research Day" held at Princeton University, with his poster entitled "Can the mineral constituting our teeth and bones help us preserve our monuments? The HAP4MARBLE project".