Daniela Comelli
Events
Daniela Comelli
Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Time-Resolved Photoluminescence for the Study of Cultural Heritage
Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and imaging are powerful analytical techniques with applications spanning fields from biology to materials science. Although their use in the study of cultural heritage materials and objects is less well known, they offer unique opportunities for their characterization.
After introducing the principles of the techniques, this seminar will present selected applications to inorganic pigments, paints, and artworks. Particular emphasis will be placed on photoluminescence arising from crystal-defect trap states, whose spectral and temporal signatures provide insight into pigment identification, paint degradation, and physicochemical reactivity, highlighting the contribution of time-resolved photoluminescence to cultural heritage research and conservation.
About the Speaker
Daniela Comelli (born June 30, 1974) received her Master’s degree in Electronic Engineering (1999) and Ph.D. in Physics (2002) from Politecnico di Milano, where she is Associate Professor of Physics since 2011. She leads the ArtIS - Imaging and Spectroscopy for Art research group, focusing on the photophysical properties of organic and inorganic materials relevant in cultural heritage and on the development of advanced spectroscopy and imaging techniques.
Her work mainly focuses on the investigation of crystalline defects and organic compounds through time-resolved photoluminescence and applies hyperspectral and multimodal imaging to the study of complex materials, including semiconductor paints in artworks, plastic design objects and functional materials such as doped TiO₂.
Over the past decade, she has coordinated several nationally and internationally funded projects and established an extensive network of collaborations with major museums, conservation institutes, universities, and large-scale research facilities in Europe and the United States. She has supervised numerous Ph.D., Master’s, and undergraduate students and is co-author of around 150 publications indexed in Scopus (h-index 30).
