Caterina Vozzi

Caterina Vozzi is an Italian physicist, Director of the Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie at Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Her research considers the ultrafast dynamics of molecules and solids. She holds a European Research Council grant to develop spectroscopic probes for complex molecules. She was awarded the Millie Dresselhaus Professorship in 2020.

Early life and education Vozzi was an undergraduate student and graduate researcher at the University of Milan. She joined the National Research Council, where she spent four years as a postdoctoral researcher. She worked alongside Paul Corkum at the National Research Council Canada Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences.

Research and career She joined the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie in 2009, where she became a Senior Researcher in 2010 and Research Director in 2019. Between 2005 and 2017, Vozzi was a contract Professor of Physics at Politecnico di Milano.

Single-cycle coherent terahertz pulses can be generated using nonlinear crystals and infrared laser pulses. THz pulses are detected (amplitude, phase) using electro-optic systems and the Pockels effect. These measurements provide information about the dielectric response (real and imaginary), uncovering physical and chemical information. She has exploited high harmonic generation to create bright XUV sources. She showed that high harmonic generation tomography and laser-induced electron diffraction to perform time-resolved dynamic imaging of complex molecular materials. Single attosecond pulses in the few hundred eV spectral region) can be generated by manipulating the laser polarisation.

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