FORMATION AND EMPLOYMENTS

!!!FORMATION AND EMPLOYMENTS

Leonardo Ricci was born in Villafranca in Lunigiana (Massa-Carrara), on November 17, 1966.

FORMATION AND EMPLOYMENTS
In 1990 he received the Laurea degree in Physics from the University of Pisa and the Diploma from the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, discussing a thesis, under the supervision of M. Inguscio, about High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy of Osmium Tetroxide.

In 1990 he joined T. W. Hänsch's group in Munich working on an experiment aiming to the realization of a permanent magnetic trap for neutral alkalis.

In 1994 he received the Ph. D. degree (magna cum laude) from the Ludwig-Maximilian Universität in Munich, discussing a thesis ("Eine magnetische Falle für die hochauflösende Spektroskopie", i.e. "A Magnetic Trap for High-Resolution Spectroscopy") under the supervision of T. W. Hänsch.

In 1995 he joined Davide Bassi's group in Trento where (since september 1996) he is working as a Research Assistant (Ricercatore).

RESEARCH ACTIVITY
The research activity of Leonardo Ricci is carried out in the Atomic and Molecular Physics Laboratory of the Physics Department and is devoted to the fields of cold atoms - and in particular the development of trapping systems for neutral atoms -, high-resolution laser spectroscopy and, last but not least, the development of advanced measurement, processing and control systems (hardware and software, including systems relying on neural networks) for applications in the Experimental Research; a main point regarding this last research line is the measurement and control of magnetic fields.

Since the beginning of 2005, pursuing a not-new interest (for example, in 1998, he attended the course "Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function: Approaches from Physics" of the International School of Physics "E. Fermi", organized by the Italian Physical Society - SIF), he is engaged in neuroscience topics; in particular, the role of noise in brain function (eg perception and cognition).

Within this last research framework, he has carried out studies on stochastic resonance phenomena in human perception. His research activity is now devoted to unsolved, physical issues of the Signal Detection Theory, SDT, like the criterion setting dynamics.

He is also actively interested in the History of Physics.

EDITORIAL ACTIVITY
(Since 1992) Reviewer for:
Applied Physics B - Lasers and Optics;
The European Physical Journal D - Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Plasma Physics;
IEEE Sensors Journal.

TEACHING ACTIVITY
Main points of L.R.'s teaching activities are currently: (i) the course of Physics 1 (Elementary Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Optics, for undergraduate Biomolecular Sciences and Technology students); (ii) the course of Laboratory of Advanced Electronics (for students of the "Laurea Specialistica e Magistrale" in Physics); (iii) the course of Psychophysics (for students of the "Laurea Specialistica e Magistrale" in Cognitive Science).

During the years 2006-2007, he was coordinator and teacher for the class of Electronics at the "Scuola di Specializzazione all'Insegnamento Secondario", SSIS, of the University of Trento.

Moreover, during six years (2000-2005), he taught the (iv) course on Quantum Optics for graduate (Ph.D.) students in Physics, and, in 2002, the (v) course on Electricity and Magnetism for undergraduate Telecommunication Engineering students.

He has acted as a supervisor for three Ph.D. thesis and twentytwo "Laurea thesis" works.

Born in Villafranca in Lunigiana (Massa-Carrara), 17 November 1966.

In 1990 Leonardo Ricci received the Laurea degree in Physics from the University of Pisa discussing a thesis, under the supervision of M. Inguscio, about the high-resolution spectroscopy of Osmium Tetroxide.

In 1990 L.R. joined T.W. Haensch's group in Munich working on an experiment aiming to the realization of a permanent magnetic trap for neutral alkalis.

In 1994 L.R. received the Ph.D. (doctor rerum naturalium) degree from the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, discussing a thesis under the supervision of T.W. Haensch.

In 1995 L.R. joined Davide Bassi's group in Trento where he is presently working as a Research Assistant (Ricercatore).