User:A.Romani

User data
Name	Alessia Romani
Affiliations	Department of Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" - Politecnico di Milano
Nationality	Italy
Languages	Italian, English, German, French
Registered	2022
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Resume[edit | edit source]

Alessia Romani is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at Politecnico di Milano (Italy), Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta". She obtained her Ph.D. in Design (Cum Laude) in 2024 from Politecnico di Milano, Design Department, working at the intersection between design research and materials engineering for additive manufacturing and circular economy.

Through her research experience as a Research Fellow (2019-2024), she had the opportunity to merge design research and materials engineering, gaining expertise at the intersection of the two disciplines. Since 2017, Alessia has been part of +LAB, the 3D printing lab of Politecnico di Milano, and she joined the Materials Experience Lab after the beginning of her Ph.D. path in 2020. Previously, she received her BSc in Product Design in 2015 from Politecnico di Milano, and she obtained her MSc in Design & Engineering in 2018 (full marks) from the same university with a thesis focused on the codesign of Open Source 3D printed customized assistive technology developed at +LAB. During her studies, she also worked as a designer in the household appliances and textile fields.

She collaborates as a teaching assistant and co-supervises the MSc thesis of the two disciplinary fields (MSc in Design & Engineering, BSc and MSc in Materials and Nanotechnology Engineering). Moreover, she has authored publications in peer-reviewed journals, participated in international conferences and exhibitions, and organized workshops focused on 3D printing, materials, sustainability, and design. She is also a reviewer for international journals and conferences in the fields of sustainability, additive manufacturing, materials, and design.

Links and contacts: Google Scholar • Research Gate • Linkedin • OrcID • Publons • Instagram

Research interests and work[edit | edit source]

Her main research interests focus on the interdisciplinary connection between Design, Materials, and Additive Manufacturing. Alessia aims to bridge design and engineering through the lenses of materials and digital technologies. Also, she is interested in design strategies and approaches to additive manufacturing (i.e., Open Source, Distributed Recycling for Additive Manufacturing); new materials, finishing, and expressive-sensorial qualities for design and additive manufacturing; parametric and computational design; design for sustainability and circular economy.

Research projects[edit | edit source]

Alessia is and has been actively involved in design and materials engineering research projects connected to industrial supply chains, circular economy, additive manufacturing, and product design, such as:

2023-Present - Solaris MICS - Made in Italy Circolare e Sostenibile Italian PNRR Extended Partnership from NextGenerationEU fundings - Circular and Sustainable Made in Italy - Spoke 4 Funded project;
2023-Present - PRIN FutureVal-PPE Italian PRIN Funded project from MIUR - FUnctional Technology Unlocking REcycling and VALorization of Personal Protective Equipment;
2020-2024 - Circularity by Design, Materials, and Additive Manufacturing Ph.D. research in Design conducted at the Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" and Design Department of Politecnico di Milano;
2019-2022 - H2020 FiberEUse Horizon 2020 EU Funded project - Large scale demonstration of new circular economy value-chains based on the reuse of end-of-life fiber reinforced composites - Grant Agreement N. 730323-1;
2017-2023 - +Ability projects Codesign projects of 3D Printed and/or Customizable Assistive Technology (NNCF, +MANI, Cicatrici projects) funded by Italian companies and institutions (Roche S.P.A., Fausti ZPT, Fondazione Il Bullone);

Research experience[edit | edit source]

06/2023-Present - Research Fellow on Solaris MICS PNRR and FutureVal-PPE PRIN projects (Postdoctoral Research Fellow from 04/2024) Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy)
09/2022-03/2023 - Visiting Ph.D. candidate on Distributed Recycling for Additive Manufacturing at FAST Lab Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western University (London, Ontario, Canada)
06/2022-05/2023 - Research Fellow on Codesign of assistive technology for rheumatic diseases (+MANI project) Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy)
02/2022-05/2022 - Post-graduate MSc researcher on thermoplastic polymers from post-industrial scraps for circular economy Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy) and INSTM (Firenze, Italy)
11/2020-03/2024 - Ph.D. candidate in Design Design Department and Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy)
02/2019-20/2022 - Research Fellow on H2020 EU FiberEUse project. Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy)
06/2018-02/2019 - Post-graduate MSc researcher on design and 3D printing for rheumatic diseases. Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy) and INSTM (Firenze, Italy)
05/2017-04/2018 - MSc student research thesis on codesign and 3D printing for rheumatic diseases and cancer treatments. Design Department and Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy)

Ph.D. Research[edit | edit source]

Circularity by Design, Materials, and Additive Manufacturing: Fostering sustainable and circular materialities enabled by additive manufacturing

Supervisor: Prof. Marinella Levi (Politecnico di Milano) - Co-supervisor: Prof. Valentina Rognoli (Politecnico di Milano)

New circular economy models should be investigated to reduce the human impact on Earth. Design practices, materials, and digital technologies play a crucial role in this change, and a wider range of circular materials and design strategies should be implemented. Nevertheless, their exploitation in the design practice is still challenging, and designers are not always aware of these possibilities. At the same time, the potential applications of these materials and their experiential aspects are scarcely considered in the conventional development process. Her Ph.D. research explores the interconnections between design, materials, additive manufacturing, and circular economy. At a later stage, the goal is to foster the knowledge and use of new sustainable circular materials and strategies in the design practice by developing new experiential tools.

The first case study focused on 3D printable materials and new applications from recycled glass and carbon fibers, such as dismantled wind turbines. The experimental activities were led within the H2020 FiberEUse EU project, resulting in new materials, applications, and a first version of the "Materials and Product Library System" (https://fibereuselibrary.com/). The second case study, the RepMat project, deals with recycled polymers and biomass waste from artisanal and industrial contexts, expanding their use through 3D printing. In this case, the activities have been carried out together with studios, makerspaces, and research labs. Part of the experimentation was conducted at FAST lab (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada). Other materials, applications, and a new version of the experiential library are currently under development. In short, her Ph.D. research contributes to redefining the concept of "materials libraries" for sustainability toward a more system-oriented perspective, aiming to conceptualize a replicable and customizable experiential process at glocal scales (https://repmatlibrary.github.io/).

Teaching experience[edit | edit source]

2019-Present - Teaching Assistant, Tutor, or Guest Lecturer at Politecnico di Milano

A.Y. 2023-2024 BSc in Product Design (Courses: Design for Sustainability, Materials for Design), MSc in Design & Engineering (Course: Final Project Work), MSc in Integrated Product Design (Course: Product Development Studio), MSc design degrees (Elective course: Sustainable and Circular Materials for Design)
A.Y. 2022-2023 - BSc in Product Design (Courses: Design for Sustainability, Design Fundamentals), PhD program in Design (Tutoring activities)
A.Y. 2021-2022 - BSc in Product Design (Courses: Design for Sustainability, Materials for Design), MSc in Design & Engineering (Course: Final Project Work), MSc in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology and MSc in Biomedical Engineering (Course: Materials and technologies for 3D bioprinting)
A.Y. 2020-2021 - BSc in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology (Course: Design and Technology Laboratory), MSc in Design & Engineering (Course: Final Project Work)
A.Y. 2019-2020 - MSc in Design & Engineering (Course: Final Project Work), MSc in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology (Course: Advanced Organic Coatings), Master in Green chemical technologies for the production of materials from biomasses (Course: Technologies and Properties of Bio-based composites)

2020-Present - MSc Thesis Co-supervisor at Politecnico di Milano

Ongoing - 1 student (Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology)
2024 - 1 student (Design & Engineering)
2023 - 2 students (Design & Engineering)
2022 - 4 students (Design & Engineering), 1 student (Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology)
2021 - 1 student (Design & Engineering), 1 student (Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology), 1 student (Dentistry and Dental Implantology at Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)
2020 - 1 student (Design & Engineering)

Publications[edit | edit source]

Journal Articles[edit | edit source]

Romani, A., Perusin, L., Ciurnelli, M., Levi, M. (2024). Characterization of PLA feedstock after multiple recycling processes for large-format material extrusion additive manufacturing. Materials Today Sustainability, 25, 100636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtsust.2023.100636
Duarte Poblete, S.S., Romani, A., Rognoli, V. (2024). Emerging materials for transitions: A taxonomy proposal from a design perspective. Sustainable Futures, 7, 100155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2024.100155
Paramatti, M.*, Romani, A.*, Pugliese, G., Levi, M. (2024) PLA feedstock filled with spent coffee grounds for new product applications with large-format material extrusion additive manufacturing. ACS Omega, 9, 6, 6423–6431. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c05669
Romani, A., Levi, M., Pearce, J.M. (2023). Recycled polycarbonate and polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene feedstocks for circular economy product applications with material extrusion additive manufacturing. Sustainable materials and technologies, 38:e00730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2023.e00730
Romani, A., Caba, S., Suriano, R., Levi, M. (2023). Recycling Glass and Carbon Fibers for Reusable Components in the Automotive Sector through Additive Manufacturing. Applied Sciences, 13(10):5848, https://doi.org/10.3390/app13105848
Rattan, R. S., Nauta, N., Romani, A., Pearce, J. M. (2023) Hangprinter for Large Scale Additive Manufacturing using Fused Particle Fabrication with Recycled Plastic and Continuous Feeding. HardwareX, 13, e00401, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2023.e00401
Romani, A., Suriano, R., Levi, M. (2023) Biomass waste materials through extrusion-based additive manufacturing: a systematic literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 386, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135779
Romani, A., Paternoster, L., Gastaldi, G., Levi, M. (2022) Patient-specific palatal obturator prosthesis from DICOM files through low-cost 3D printing: A case study. Materials Today: Proceedings, 70, 106-112, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.08.553
Romani, A., Tralli, P., Levi, M., Turri, S., Suriano, R. (2022) Metallization of Recycled Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymers Processed by UV-Assisted 3D Printing. Materials 15, 6242. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15186242
Romani, A.*, Casnati, F.*, Ianniello, A.* (2022) Codesign with more-than-humans: toward a meta co-design tool for human-non-human collaborations. European Journal of Futures Research, 10(17), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40309-022-00205-7
Romani, A., Mantelli, A., Tralli, P., Turri, S., Levi, M., Suriano, R. (2021) Metallization of thermoplastic polymers and composites 3D printed by Fused Filament Fabrication. Technologies, 9(3), 49, https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies9030049
Romani, A., Rognoli, V., Levi, M. (2021) Design, Materials and extrusion-based Additive Manufacturing in Circular Economy Contexts: from waste to new products. Sustainability, 13, (13):7269, https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137269
Mantelli, A., Romani, A., Suriano, R., Levi, M., Turri, S. (2021) Direct Ink Writing of Recycled Composites with Complex Shapes: Process Parameters and Ink Optimization. Advanced Engineering Materials, 23, (9):2100116, https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202100116
Mantelli, A., Romani, A., Suriano, R., Diani, M., Colledani, M., Sarlin, E., Turri, S., Levi, M. (2021) UV-Assisted 3D Printing of Polymer Composites from Thermally and Mechanically Recycled Carbon Fibers. Polymers, 13, (5):726. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13050726
Romani, A., Mantelli, A., Suriano, R., Levi, M., Turri, S. (2020) Additive Re-Manufacturing of Mechanically Recycled End-of-Life Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymers for Value-Added Circular Design. Materials, 13, (16): 3545. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13163545

Book Chapters[edit | edit source]

Mantelli, A., Romani, A., Suriano, R., Levi, M., Turri, S. (2022) Additive Manufacturing of Recycled Composites. In: Colledani, M., Turri, S. (eds) Systemic Circular Economy Solutions for Fiber Reinforced Composites. Digital Innovations in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22352-5_8
Romani, A., Suriano, R., Mantelli, A., Levi, M., Tralli, P., Laurila, J., Vuoristo, P. (2022) Composite Finishing for Reuse. In: Colledani, M., Turri, S. (eds) Systemic Circular Economy Solutions for Fiber Reinforced Composites. Digital Innovations in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22352-5_9
Romani, A., Prestini, F., Suriano, R., Levi, M. (2022) Material Library System for Circular Economy: Tangible-Intangible Interaction for Recycled Composite Materials. In: Colledani, M., Turri, S. (eds) Systemic Circular Economy Solutions for Fiber Reinforced Composites. Digital Innovations in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22352-5_18

Conference Papers[edit | edit source]

Romani, A. (Accepted). Redefining Materials Libraries through circular, distributed, and participative approaches. FRID 2023 Proceedings of the Italian National Forum of Design PhDs
Casnati, F.*, Ianniello, A.*, Romani, A.* (2024). Provocation through narratives: new speculative design tools for human-non-human collaborations. In: Bosoni, G., Di Stefano, E., Iannilli, G., Matteucci, G., Messori, R., Trocchianesi, R., Zanella, F., editors. Multidisciplinary Aspects of Design. Design! OPEN 2022. Springer Series in Design and Innovation, vol. 37, 747-755. Springer. https://+doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49811-4_71
Romani, A., Rognoli, V., Levi, M. (2023). Speculative tinkering on circular design materials through 3D printing. In: Vaes K., Verlinden, J., editors. Connectivity and Creativity in times of conflict, 317-321. Academia Press. https://dx.doi.org/10.26530/9789401496476-063
Romani, A., Rognoli, V., Levi, M (2023). Materials Libraries: designing the experiential knowledge transfer through prototyping. In: Ferraris, S., Rognoli, V., Nimkulrat, N., editors. EKSIG 2023 - From Abstractness to Concreteness: experiential knowledge and the role of prototypes in design research, 398-411. Politecnico di Milano. ISBN 9788894167436 https://www.eksig2023.polimi.it/#proceedings
Romani, A., Levi, M., Rognoli, V. (2023). Sustainable Development Goals Enabled by Additive Manufacturing: A Design Perspective. In: Duarte, E., Di Roma, A. (eds) Developments in Design Research and Practice II. Senses 2021. Springer Series in Design and Innovation, 31, 382-397. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32280-8_27
Romani, A., Mattiuzzo, F., Levi, M., (2023) Design for and with visual impairments through 3D printing: a case study from the covid-19 pandemic. In: Gambardella, C. (eds) Proceedings of Beyond All Limits - International Conference on Sustainability in Architecture, Planning, and Design, 564-570. DADI_Press. ISBN: 978-88-85556-23-2. https://beyondalllimits22.com/proceedings/
Romani, A., Consonni, C., Levi, M. (2022) Improving User Experience of Assistive Technology Through Codesign and 3D Printing: A Case Study from Cancer Treatments. In: Stephanidis, C., Antona, M., Ntoa, S., Salvendy, G. (eds) HCI International 2022 - Late Breaking Posters. HCII 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1654. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19679-9_57
Ianniello, A.*, Romani, A.*, Casnati, F.* (2022) Technology toward more-than-human symbiosis: Critical reflections from the design perspective. 25th International Academic Mindtrek conference, Association for Computing Machinery, 158-166, https://doi.org/10.1145/3569219.3569379
Romani, A., Levi, M. (2021) Indirect 3D Printing of recycled glass fibres from end-of-life products: towards a design engineering approach to circular design. In: Schnitzer, H., Braunegg, S. (eds) Proceedings of the 20th European Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production. 515-530. Verlag der Technischen Universität Graz, Graz. https://doi.org/10.3217/978-3-85125-842-4-10
Romani, A., Levi, M. (2020) Parametric Design for Online User Customization of 3D Printed Assistive Technology for Rheumatic Diseases. In: De Paolis L., Bourdot P. (eds) Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Computer Graphics. AVR 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 12243. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58468-9_14
Romani, A., Orlando, G., Convertino, R., Zappalà, F., Baldassin, R., Pisu, M.G., Lorè, A., Digioia, S., Brambilla, E., Marcato, G., Agresta, I., Basciu, F., Fausti, V., Ravalli, G., Mantelli, A., Levi, M., Donati, C. (2019). CoDesign, Stampa 3D e Medicina per la Progettazione di Prodotti personalizzabili d'Uso Quotidiano. In: Reumatismo, 71:286-93. Società Italiana di Reumatologia (SIR), Rimini. (Invited)
Romani, A., Mantelli, A., Levi, M. (2019). Circular Design for Value-Added Remanufactured End-of-Life Composite Material via Additive Manufacturing Technology. In: Segalàs, J., Lazzarini, B. (eds) Proceedings of the 19th European Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production – Circular Europe for Sustainability: Design, Production and Consumption, Book of Papers (1): 491-512. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona.

Poster/Oral Abstracts[edit | edit source]

Romani, A., Riccardi, G., Guida, L., Florio, C., Mascolo, L., Levi, M. (Accepted, 2024). Valorizing scraps from the leather industry through additive manufacturing: Direct Ink Writing and nonplanar slicing for personalized products in the watch sector. 14th Conference INSTM on Materials Science and Technology 2024.
Romani, A., Giudici, F., Apicella, A., Dintcheva, N.T., Infurna, G., Incarnato, L., Levi, M. (Accepted, 2024). Characterization and comparison of virgin and recycled polypropylene filament feedstocks for Fused Filament Fabrication 3D printing. 14th Conference INSTM on Materials Science and Technology 2024.
Romani, A., Rognoli, V., Levi, M (2023). Fostering circular materials within the design practice: materials and product library system. In: Lazet, A., editor. Design for Adaptation Cumulus Conference Proceedings Detroit 2022, 862-863. Cumulus. ISBN 978-94-0149-676XX. https://cumulusassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CumulusDetroit2023_Proceedings.pdf