After graduating in Industrial Engineering and specialising in Materials Engineering, Stefania Minosi first learned about the Leonardo Labs in 2021, while obtaining her PhD in Parma. “For me, it was the perfect opportunity,” she recalls, “because it was the very same research topics on which my studies were focused: materials engineering. So, I decided to dive into this adventure and here I am. The experience in the Labs lasted two and a half years, during which I also had the opportunity to complete my PhD.”
Today, she works in the Aerostructures business area, where she contributes to the development of technological solutions aimed at reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Among the projects she is most closely attached to is the research and development of the recycling of carbon fibres contained in polymer matrix composite materials used in the construction of aircraft parts, based on the pyrogasification process. Once collected, the waste is recycled with the aim of obtaining clean, performing carbon fibres. As Stefania explains, “In addition to being reused internally - not yet for structural components but for equipment - we are now working to put them back on the market as raw material for other industries, which need less performance, such as automotive and drones.”
Thinking back on her own experience, she underlines how one of the main values added by working at Leonardo is the network of people, companies and academic entities one is in contact with on a daily basis. A network that “allows you not only to learn a lot from a technical and theoretical point of view, but also keep your curiosity always burning”.