Modern PhDs, coordination mechanisms and organizational capital: insights from the project SuperProfDoc

Today, modern PhDs speaking at the concerns of business, public administration, organizations and more generally to the society (so called practical, industrial or professional PhDs) are widespread across developed countries such as Denmark, UK and Germany, fully supporting them to tap the potential of technology transfer and bridging the perceived divide between academia and industry. On the contrary, other countries like Italy still face cultural and red tape-related challenges hampering the take off of industrial or professional doctorates, though a few experiences have been set up over the past years. The article offers insights from the project SuperProfDoc which has received funding from the European Commission

Inhomogeneous mechanical losses in micro-oscillators with high reflectivity coating

We characterize the mechanical quality factor of micro-oscillators covered by a highly reflective coating. We test an approach to the reduction of mechanical losses, that consists in limiting the size of the coated area to reduce the strain and the consequent energy loss in this highly dissipative component. Moreover, a mechanical isolation stage is incorporated in the device. The results are discussed on the basis of an analysis of homogeneous and non-homogeneous losses in the device and validated by a set of Finite-Element models. The contributions of thermoelastic dissipation and coating losses are separated and the measured quality factors are found in agreement with the calculated values, while the absence of unmodeled losses confirms that the isolation element integrated in the device efficiently uncouples the dynamics of the mirror from the support system. Also the resonant frequencies evaluated by Finite-Element models are in good agreement with the experimental data, and allow the estimation of the Young modulus of the coating. The models that we have developed and validated are important for the design of oscillating micro-mirrors with high quality factor and, consequently, low thermal noise. Such devices are useful in general for high sensitivity sensors, and in particular for experiments of quantum opto-mechanics

Detection of weak stochastic force in a parametrically stabilized micro opto-mechanical system

Measuring a weak force is an important task for micro-mechanical systems, both when using devices as sensitive detectors and, particularly, in experiments of quantum mechanics. The optimal strategy for resolving a weak stochastic signal force on a huge background (typically given by thermal noise) is a crucial and debated topic, and the stability of the mechanical resonance is a further, related critical issue. We introduce and analyze the parametric control of the optical spring, that allows to stabilize the resonance and provides a phase reference for the oscillator motion, yet conserving a free evolution in one quadrature of the phase space. We also study quantitatively the characteristics of our micro opto-mechanical system as detector of stochastic force for short measurement times (for quick, high resolution monitoring) as well as for the longer term observations that optimize the sensitivity. We compare a simple, naive strategy based on the evaluation of the variance of the displacement (that is a widely used technique) with an optimal Wiener-Kolmogorov data analysis. We show that, thanks to the parametric stabilization of the effective susceptibility, we can more efficiently implement Wiener filtering, and we investigate how this strategy improves the performance of our system. We finally demonstrate the possibility to resolve stochastic force variations well below 1% of the thermal noise

Uno sguardo di prospettiva sui parchi scientifici e tecnologici italiani. Innovazione, apprendimento condiviso, comunità

Obiettivi: Il dialogo tra ricerca e impresa è la cifra distintiva di quei sistemi di innovazione che contraddistinguono i Paesi nei quali economia e società godono di buona salute, o che su questa collaborazione giocano il rilancio della loro economia quando questa subisce battute di arresto o la concorrenza dei mercati emergenti. È nel solco di questa riflessione che si colloca la presente indagine sui parchi scientifici e tecnologici italiani associati ad APSTI, l’associazione parchi scientifici e tecnologici italiani. Metodologia: L’indagine è stata realizzata per tramite di un questionario somministrato ai parchi associati ad APSTI. Risultati: Il contributo offre uno sguardo di prospettiva sui parchi scientifici e tecnologici che hanno preso attivamente parte alla presente ricerca in funzione del ripensamento del loro ruolo dentro logiche di innovazione, apprendimento condiviso e costruzione di una comunità di riferimento. Originalità: Si tratta della prima indagine sistematica sui parchi associati ad APSTI nel tentativo di cogliere le relazioni che legano questi ultimi con i territori di riferimento

I lavori verdi come leva per la transizione energetica? Alcune riflessioni per la politica industriale

La transizione energetica comporterà un processo di trasformazione strutturale delle nostre economie e società nei prossimi anni. Tuttavia, un aspetto parzialmente trascurato dalle politiche industriali per la transizione energetica dei paesi europei è la creazione di lavori verdi, o c.d. green jobs, che comprendono una ampia gamma di impieghi sia nei settori tradizionali, come l’industria manifatturiera, le costruzioni o i trasporti, sia nei nuovi settori emergenti, come quello delle energie rinnovabili o dell’efficienza energetica. Eppure, i lavori verdi potrebbero costituire una leva di policy centrale per i decisori politici, in particolare riguardo alla promozione di nuovi e sostenibili processi economici, industriali e anche sociali legati alla transizione energetica

An ultra-low dissipation micro-oscillator for quantum opto-mechanics

Generating non-classical states of light by opto-mechanical coupling depends critically on the mechanical and optical properties of micro-oscillators and on the minimization of thermal noise. We present an oscillating micro-mirror with a mechanical quality factor Q = 2.6x10^6 at cryogenic temperature and a Finesse of 65000, obtained thanks to an innovative approach to the design and the control of mechanical dissipation. Already at 4 K with an input laser power of 2 mW, the radiation-pressure quantum fluctuations become the main noise source, overcoming thermal noise. This feature makes our devices particularly suitable for the production of pondero-motive squeezing.Comment: 21 pages including Supplementary Informatio