Occupation

Professor of Chemical Engineering

Organisation

Heriot Watt Unversity, Edinburgh

What made you get involved in this area of work?

At school I greatly enjoyed science and maths: I was excited at the possibility of explaining how things work. I always wanted to have a career in a challenging field, where I could actively be involved in developing new materials and new processes. I wanted to see the tangible results of my work; I liked to think that my work could make a difference: I always wanted to be an engineer. I enjoyed chemistry: I had great fun to the possibility of creating new products, by starting from simple molecules and combining them together. I liked to interact with people, to work in team and to travel: a career in chemical engineering could give me all of these. When I started, chemical engineering was less known than it is today: the challenge of working in a field in continuous evolution excited me greatly.

Could you give a brief history of your career to date?

I am a Chemical Engineer trained in Italy and the US. I got my first degree (MEng) at the University of Naples (Italy) and my MA and PhD at Princeton University (US). After my PhD, I went back to Naples as a Lecturer. When I moved to the UK, in 1995, I joined the Chemical Engineering Department at Nottingham University as a Reader; in 1999 I was offered the Chair of Chemical Engineering at Heriot Watt University becoming the first female Professor of Chemical Engineering in Scotland and the second in the UK.

At Heriot Watt Unversity, I was appointed Head of Chemical Engineering in 2002 (being the first Academic Head in the newly formed School of Engineering and Physical Sciences), a position that I held for 5 years. In 2006 I was awarded the prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering, Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship.

I have been visiting Professor at Louisiana State University in the USA and at the Université Claude Bérnard in Lyon, France.

What are you responsible for in your job and what do you like best about it?

Academic work consists mainly of three parts: research, teaching and administration. When I was head of department I spent a large amount of my time doing administrative work which, I must say, I did not enjoy so much. These days I am back to teaching and research, with little administrative work. I spend about 5 hours every week lecturing and the remaining time is devoted to research with a bit of administration. I travel quite a lot (my friends say that the BA lounge is my second home!): I serve on a number of committees; among others I am a member of the Chemical Engineering Accreditation Committee and the Chair of the Forum of Heads and Professors of Chemical Engineering. I am an active member of the Engineering Professor Council (EPC), where I contribute to the Admission Working Party looking at enhancing mathematics and science provision in high school as well as attracting more students into the SET disciplines. I am a founder member and the Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering working group on "The Teaching of Engineering Ethics"; the group is very active in supporting the teaching of engineering ethics, for examples through producing support materials for teachers and workshops.

The best part of my work is doing research, working with my students at elucidating fundamental scientific problems: when we have a problem and we do not know the solution, looking for a possible solution and finding it is extremely exciting. I also enjoy studying new areas, having the possibility to start research in fields that I only partially know. I am challenged by trying to find the solution of technological problems that, I know, can make a difference in people lives. Working in various areas is exciting; I am convinced that science, engineering and technology can advance only by considering them in a holistic fashion that does take in great consideration the societal aspect of all our activities. I am deeply and strongly convinced that scientists and "technical" people should have also a humanistic knowledge.

Another important component of my job is teaching; at present I am very interested in developing the teaching of ethics for engineers which I think it is a very important aspect of engineering practice, often neglected.

What is a typical day like?

When I do not travel, I am at my office at about 930-1000. I am not a morning person. My day is spent in meeting my colleagues, preparing and giving my lectures, seeing my students. I try to have a couple of hours during the day when I can read technical papers, write proposals for new research and write papers about my own research. However, I start to do "real" research, contributing novel ideas, only after 4pm. This is usually the time when the department becomes very quiet and I like to concentrate and think about science when nobody is around in the silence of my office. Also, my brain works better later in the day. I don't go home early, I like to have a late dinner -as all Italians! I do not have a big lunch, usually a soup eaten at my desk while I browse the web. However, I like to take a short break after lunch when I go to have an espresso with a colleague. It is a nice social event that I enjoy greatly.

What challenges have you faced in your career and how have you overcome them?

The major challenge has been working for a PhD in the USA with very little (almost non-existent) knowledge of the language. This does not affect only the work, but also the social life and interacting with peers. Isolation is not a good ingredient to succeed in research. I had a very tough time and had to work extremely hard: Princeton was a very competitive environment and I had to work twice as hard as my colleagues just because I could not understand English! Then I had the challenge to work in countries different from the one where I was born and grew up. The major challenge has been to understand the new culture, the cultural background and the different education system. There is nothing more wrong that approaching a different culture with the parameters of your own culture. I have always tried to behave in accordance with the cultural background of the country where I live, without, however, denying that I am Italian. I strongly believe that only openness and diversity can bring to innovation and interaction between diverse cultures is paramount.

Another challenge has been to show how an engineer can work in collaboration with cognate disciplines and different ones, as medicine, for instance.

Do you ever make mistakes? How do you deal with that?

I always make mistakes! I am very self-critical and I always question what I do. I have a couple of basic rules to deal with my mistakes: recognise that I have been wrong and try to be open about that; apologise when needed and then move forward. Mistakes of the past should only be remembered to avoid the same mistake in the future. "Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum" -to make mistakes is human, to continue to make mistakes is diabolic!

What is your greatest achievement?

I am very proud of being completely integrated in my work and in my field despite the original cultural differences. My work is recognised internationally. I have won a number of honours and awards: I was made Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana in 2007 (a recognition equivalent to OBE) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2006. However, I do consider my greatest achievement the first paper I published: I started to do research as an undergraduate, in Italy, and my first scientific paper, published in the most respected Chemical Engineering journal (AIChE), is based on my undergraduate work.

What is your favourite book / TV Programme?

I do not watch TV - and this means that I spend quite some time reading. I just love books. I do not have a single favourite book. As a teenager I read classical Italian novels: the work by Primo Levi made a strong impression on me. I suggest everyone to read his "The Periodic Table" where he combines scientific meditation and philosophy. He was a chemist by training ("I am a chemist by conviction"), and after the war managed a paint factory before becoming a full-time writer. His work is amazing and the man was amazing: he showed how science and humanism go hand in hand.

My non-fiction favourite book is the original writings by James Clerk Maxwell (my hero and a Scotsman!). Recently I was given a book entitled "Proofs from the books" about mathematical proofs: I like to entertain myself with a proof every now and then, depending on my mood.

Is there any advice you would give students entering your career?

Be curious, investigate. Try to be confident in your abilities and do not feel ashamed to ask. We spend the majority of our life at work: enjoy every thing you do. Try to understand what really interests you: I still feel happy on Monday morning when I go back to work. Our work is anything but repetitive -and this makes it challenging and exciting.