On Wednesday 9 October 2024 from 09:30 to 16:30 at the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences of the University of Milan Bicocca, the workshop “Nanoparticles and automatic dust monitoring: instrumental solutions and applications for air quality” organized by XEarPro Srl will be held. The event is open to all interested researchers, technicians and sector specialists.
The program includes oral presentations with specific insights on the topic, and dedicated sessions with demonstration instrumentation to address operational issues related to maintenance, management, use, calibration, QA/QC procedures for measurements.
The event is organized by XEarPro Srl, in collaboration with Centro di Ricerca Interdipartimentale POLARIS, Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Ambiente e della TerraUNIMIB, MUSA (Multilayered Urban Sustainability Action) – Progetto Next Generation EU e PNRR, INTEGRANO – Progetto EU Horizon Europe (GA No. 101138414) and GRIMM AEROSOL TECHNIK.
The workshop will take place at the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences of the University of Milan Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126 Milano. Participation is free, upon registration (max 40-50 participants).
MEETmeTonight, the event dedicated to scientific dissemination during the European Researchers’ Night, returns to Milan. This new edition includes two days of free initiatives open to all ages with stands, talks, workshops and shows.
Heart of the program are the 5 European Missions – adaptation to climate change; fight against cancer; protection of oceans, seas, lakes and rivers; climate-neutral and intelligent cities; soil health – expressed in numerous activities involving professors, researchers and young PhDs.
The event is organized by 5 universities in Milan – University of Milan-Bicocca, University of Milan, Bocconi University, Polytechnic University of Milan and Vita-Salute San Raffaele University – and by formicablu. It is a unique opportunity to get closer to the world of research, science and innovation.
In this context, the POLARIS research centre will be present at the event with a thematic stand at the Science Park in Viale Sarca (near Bicocca Stadium). At the SC06 stand entitled “SMART SENS – test the quality of your environment!” the researchers will show their research activities to the public.
The proposed activity aims to explore the topic of air quality from different points of view. The stand includes various instruments for measuring air pollutants, from scientific-level instruments to low-cost instruments, such as ‘smart’ sensors used by the POLARIS Interdepartmental Centre within the Open-Living lab of the MUSA – Multilayered Urban Sustainability Action project, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, PNRR Mission 4 Component 2 Investment Line 1.5: Creation and strengthening of “innovation ecosystems”, construction of “territorial R&D leaders” (Spoke 1 – Urban Regeneration. City of Tomorrow, WP1).
The public will learn how these instruments work and the main environmental monitoring techniques. Additionally, part of the experience also includes an in-depth look at the effects of these pollutants on our respiratory system.
In the afternoon, researchers from the POLARIS Centre will also be involved in the workshop entitled “What do you breathe in your neighborhood? Understanding the urban environment by walking” organized together with researchers from CEMTET (Research Center on Mobility, Tourism and Territory) which will be held in the U7 building (via Padre Gerardo Beccaro 20).
The workshop, aimed at adults and boys and girls aged 14 and up, offers a collective experience of observing the Bicocca district to explore its accessibility and inclusiveness. You can participate in this workshop in two time slots (14:00-16:30, 16:30-19:00). Sign up to attend: registration is required on Eventbrite at the link. There are 15 spots available for each time slot.
The quality of the air we breathe every day is often influenced by our lifestyle choices, which can determine the release of particles and other pollutants into the atmosphere, with a huge impact on our health.
The activity proposed by the workshop presents an interdisciplinary and interactive approach to explore the topic of air quality from different points of view. The proposal for an itinerant activity aims to collect data on the air quality of the neighborhood, also considering how different sources of pollutants in closed (indoor) and open (outdoor) environments or how mobility choices can affect personal exposure.
XXVI Conference “Methods, Practices, and Policies for the Future of Mobility”
On September 19 and 20 2024, the University of Milan-Bicocca will host the 26th edition of the Conference of the The Italian Society of Transport and Logistics Economists (SIET), entitled “Methods, Practices, and Policies for the Future of Mobility”
The conference is organized by the Department of Economics, Quantitative Methods and Strategy and the Department of Sociology and Social Research.
In this perspective, on Friday 20 September from 11.30 to 13.30 in the De Lillo room the thematic session “Environmental sciences meet Transport Economy: challenges in sustainability promotion and monitoring solutions” will take place, is sponsored by the POLARIS research centre.
The session, chaired by Dr. Simone Caiello and Prof. Luca Ferrero, will delve into the relationship between Mobility and Air Quality, thanks to the contributions of professors and researchers on air pollutants and their implications on health and climate, as well as on the strategies that can be implemented to promote increasingly sustainable mobility and logistics.
The XXVI Conference of the Italian Society of Transport Economics and Logistics (SIET) will be on the September 19-20 2024 at the campus of University of Milano-Bicocca. The conference is organized by the Department of Economics, Quantitative Methods and Strategy and the Department of Sociology and Social Research.
In the multidisciplinary and interdepartmental spirit of the POLARIS Research Centre, a session entitled “Environmental sciences meet Transport Economy: challenges in sustainable promotion and monitoring solutions” was proposed, sponsored by the Centre itself.
Interested presenters should submit an abstract by April 30, 2024, to siet2024milano@gmail.com, indicating “Polaris session” in the subject. Proposals for communications on topics of interest to the Centre will be welcomed. The proposed session will provide a unique platform for a multidisciplinary exchange between experts and academicians from different fields.
Project title: New approach methodologies to assess the biological safety and mechanisms of action of advanced (nano)materials
The project will develop new advanced in vitro models of the lung barrier, exposed at the air-liquid-interface (ALI) with dedicated systems, to better mimicking the physiological conditions of exposure and responses to airborne particles and molecules. The new biological systems, based on the interplay of lung epithelial, endothelial and/or immune cells, also in combination with a 3D bio-printed extracellular matrix will be used to implement an adverse outcomes pathways (AOPs)-based approach to characterize the cytotoxic and proinflammatory effects of new nano(bio)materials and airborne pollutants. The project aims at establishing New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) combining advanced exposure systems, complex predictive biological models and molecular/omics, coupled with morphological approaches. A strong scientific contribution is expected in the fields of environmental toxicology and health and safety assessment of new chemicals and materials.
The PhD project is within the EU project INTEGRANO (Multidimensional Integrated Quantitative Approach to Assess Safety and Sustainability of Nanomaterials in Real Case Life Cycle Scenarios Using Nanospecific Impact Categories), HORIZON CL 4 2023 RESILIENCE 01 22 (GA n 101138414).
Tutor: Paride Mantecca
Supervisors: Maurizio Gualtieri, Laura Russo
The selection for admission to the 40th cycle PhD programme in Converging Technologies for Biomolecular Systems (UNIMIB) is open.
UNIMIB is coordinator of a new Horizon Europe project: INTEGRANO (GA. 101138414).
In line with the current guidelines for Safe and Sustainable by Design – SSbD chemicals and materials, INTEGRANO proposes a general assessment approach based on quantitative evidence to be applied in practice for specific Nano Materials (NMs) design cases.
INTEGRANO ambition is to set the basis for a new paradigm based on standardised frameworks and by creating suitable NMs datasets as well as Nanospecific impact categories of NMs through their Life Cycle Stages (LCS), applied to specific design cases assessment.
12 partners from 8 different countries participate in the hashtagIntegrano Project. This network allows for different expertises and skills within the project, which complement and support each other.
What is the connection between pollution and COVID19?
The POLARIS “Health and Environmental Sustainability” Research Centre has demonstrated how air pollution can play a crucial role in the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the resulting severity of the COVID-19 disease. The study, recently published in the journal Environment International, paves the way for a greater understanding of how atmospheric particulate matter can influence and facilitate the possibility of contracting respiratory diseases transmitted by viruses or bacteria and provides fundamental information to understand how the population responds to the same threat depending on the quality of the environment in which it lives.
To find out more, read the interview with our researchers, edited by the press office of the University of Milan-Bicocca.
Researchers from the POLARIS Interdepartmental Centre attended the European Aerosol Conference 2023 (EAC2023) which was held in Malaga (Spain) from 3 to 8 September.
