Presentation of the research at DiSC

The Department of Chemical Sciences (DiSC) has an internationally recognized leading role in the development of interdisciplinary aspects of chemical sciences extending toward the fields of biology, physics, engineering, agriculture and medicine, with research projects, supported by Italian and European funding, characterized by strong inter-sectorial and interdisciplinary features.DiSC has a prominent role in the field of molecular sciences for health, alternative energy sources, catalysis, sustainable chemistry, sensors and biomedical diagnostics as well as teranostics, with researches exploring several dimensional scales, from molecules to supramolecular structures to materials. In the years between 2012 and 2017, DiSC affiliates have published 1186 scientific articles; 50% of these papers have been classified in the first quartile (Scopus); 59% of the DiSC tenured faculty possesses an H-index ≥ 20, 20%  ≥30.  The high quality of the research is proved by the Department’s numerous high rankings: the DiSC was ranked second among the Chemistry departments of major Italian Universities in the VQR 2011-14 and holds a high position in various international rankings: according to Nature Index 2017, the DiSC, among Italian chemical departments with 100 ISPD, boasts the highest scientific production quality (www.natureindex.com). The Chemical Sciences area of Padua ranks first in Italy and 116th in the world in the Field Based Ranking 2016-17, while it holds second place in Italy for TopUniversities 2017.DiSC is the  Host Institution of 4 ERC grants and it  houses a rich instrumental park, state of the art both in the synthesis and in the chemical-physical, structural and functional characterizations (www.chimica.unipd.it/en/research/research-facilities-disc).  Several collaborations with companies are currently active at DiSC and three spin-off companies have been created since 2011.  In the last three years, DiSC has housed more than 40 research fellows, grant fellows and PhD students working on applied research projects funded by industrial partners, research institutions and foundations.DiSC provides a wide educational offer, able to train professionals and researchers in the main fields of chemistry. The three Master Degree courses share a the teaching laboratory instrumental park that has few analogues in Italy and which is one of the key draws of the training offer, as it allows students to gain individual direct experience on instrument use already as part of their courses.  The two SM and SIMN PhD courses, while offering advanced training paths in all areas of the chemical sciences, are focused on modern applications for energy, biomedicine, nanomaterials, reactivity and catalysis. In the last three years, the SM and SIMN courses ensured an average of 28 offered openings per year. In that period, the University / MIUR funded on average about 50% of the scholarships, while the remaining have been financed by research institutes and industries. MIUR classified both of the DiSC PhD courses as innovative.The DiSC teaching and research activities are complemented by a strong commitment to disseminate the chemical culture, addressed to various components of the socio-economic environment of the territory (see: https://www.chimica.unipd.it/terzamissione/divulgazione.).