CMatP Profile: Dr Antonella Sola

Dr Antonella Sola is originally from Italy, where she graduated in Materials Engineering in 2001. She went on to obtain a doctoral degree in Materials Engineering in 2006, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Her PhD thesis on the Fabrication, characterisation and computational simulation of innovative functionally graded materials was recognised by the AIMAT (the Italian Association of Materials Engineering) as the best Italian doctoral thesis in 2008.

Antonella worked for several years at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, first as a post-doctoral fellow, then as a researcher in Materials Science and Technology and, ultimately, as an assistant professor in Manufacturing Technology. In January 2020, Antonella moved to Melbourne to start her new career as the Science Leader in Active Materials at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO. She is currently leading research in additive manufacturing of composite materials, and launching the new Fused Filament Fabrication Facility, Australia’s first dedicated centre for the development of bespoke feedstock filaments for 3D printing by fused filament fabrication.

Where do you work? Describe your job.

After working for many years at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, I am now the Science Leader in Active Materials at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, in Clayton, Victoria. My role is to capture new knowledge and capability in areas that have been identified as strategically important for both CSIRO and Australia. My target is to merge the disruptive technological possibilities of additive manufacturing with the advanced functionality of composite materials, which means to merge freedom in geometry with freedom in properties. To this aim, with my colleagues at CSIRO, we are creating the new Fused Filament Fabrication Facility, a cutting-edge technology platform for the development of customised composite filaments for fused filament fabrication (FFF), also known as fused deposition modelling (FDM). In one word, I LOVE my job. First of all, we are not just targeting a single project that is expected to finish as its deadline expires: we are bringing to life a resource that will be an integral part of CSIRO capabilities for the future. With this new platform, we are extending our knowledge in 3D printing and in advanced materials, but this is not just science for the sake of science. Fused deposition modelling is very popular, but the range of commercial filaments that is currently available in the market is still very limited. I often talk to scientists, researchers and engineers in both academia and industry, who have brilliant projects – they have an FFF printer to produce their parts – but they do not have the right material to reach the desired performance. This is exactly where we want to make our impact: we want to help these developers to make their ideas come true.

We have a cross-disciplinary approach to science and technology. Our team is composed of dynamic young researchers and senior staff with different backgrounds and expertise. Every day, we engage with scholars and technologists working in different fields, from robotics to biomedical science to security. I think that learning from each other, and keeping an open mind is really important to deliver great translational science and technology through our new platform. At the same time, I think this multidisciplinary vision of science is important for our personal and professional growth, because we should never stop learning.

What inspired you to choose a career in materials science and engineering?

As a student, I loved Latin and mathematics, because they are both inspired by order and logic. I liked to be challenged by translating a text from Latin, or solving a trigonometric problem. However, my career in materials science and engineering was actually inspired by a fortunate stroke of serendipity. One day, I was maybe eight or ten years old at the time, I was walking down the street when I came across a beautiful aggregate of quartz crystals that someone had abandoned on the footpath. I was fascinated by the beauty of those crystals and started to wonder where their colour, transparency and reflections came from. I think that becoming a materials engineer was the natural way to combine that curiosity towards crystals and, generally speaking, towards materials and their properties, with my natural mindset.

What have been your greatest professional achievements?

Obtaining my current position as the Science Leader in Active Materials at CSIRO is my greatest professional achievement so far. CSIRO Science Leaders play a key role in assisting the organisation to generate economic, environmental and social benefits for Australia, and I am really honoured to be delivering on this through my role. No need to say that I am fully aware that being a Science Leader in CSIRO is a privilege, but also a daunting task. With great power comes great responsibility!

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Surprisingly, I cannot remember any outstanding single piece of advice from my former supervisors, colleagues and mentors. I think they have taught me a lot, but I must confess that the sentence I most often repeat to myself comes from a completely different (and less official) ‘source’. Actually, it was the writing on someone’s t-shirt that I saw last year when walking on the Southbank along the Yarra River, here in Melbourne. It read something like: “The best we can do to get ready for tomorrow is to do our best today”. I know this sounds a bit trivial, and I know we cannot live one day at a time, especially if we are in a leadership role. However, it is essential we have the big picture, and set clear goals in the short term as well as in the long term. The pandemic has shown that our lives can be very unpredictable and, since we cannot be sure of what will happen tomorrow, it is important we do our best every single day.

Who or what has influenced you most professionally?

Undoubtedly, the most influential person in my life is my mother. She is not a scientist nor an engineer, but she is very strong, intelligent and determined. She has faced many difficulties in her life, and this has made her wise and compassionate. She has taught me the value of working hard and the importance of being persistent in achieving my goals – inspiration I bring to every day. She lives in Italy and unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 disruptions, I have not been able to see her in-person since I moved to Australia in January 2020. In spite of the fact that I live about 16,500km away, when I have to make a tough decision, I am used to asking myself what my mother would do if she was in my shoes – and usually this strategy helps me follow the right path.

What are the top three things on your “bucket list”?

This is a very difficult question, because there are so many things going on right now!

However, my main target is to continue to develop and grow our Fused Filament Fabrication Facility. Then, as a part of the Science Leader role, my purpose is to support our young researchers and help them become the science leaders of the future.

Last, but not the least, I would like to learn to cook a first-class ‘crostata’. This is a typical Italian cake made with a crispy shell of shortcrust filled with jam or marmalade. Apparently very simple, it is very challenging to cook. My mother can bake a mouth-watering crostata and I hope I will be able to do the same, sooner or later!

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