Alessia Nicosia in her Antarctic expedition parka, Concordia Station

AlessiaNicosia

Decoding the invisible language of aerosols and ice crystals to reveal the secrets of clouds.

Physicist specialising in atmospheric aerosols and ice crystals, from the laboratory to remote regions. Permanent Researcher at the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAC, Bologna).

A falling ice crystal collecting aerosol particles. Move your cursor or tap to release more.

Research

From the microscopic to the global: three challenges that connect a single particle to the sky.

The cloud factory

Ice-nucleating particles and cloud microphysics

A rare fraction of aerosol particles decides where and when ice forms in clouds, shaping precipitation and cloud cover. I study these ice-nucleating particles in the laboratory and in the field, from the Arctic and the Mediterranean to the Antarctic plateau, and took part in the FIN-02 international intercomparison.

The nanomaterial frontier

Filtration and nanomaterial safety

Aerosol physics also serves technology: I design and test electrospun filters and assess exposure to engineered nanomaterials, to make new materials safer for people and the environment, working with industry and within European safe-and-sustainable-by-design projects.

Between sky and ground Next step

Snow scavenging of aerosols

Snow is one of nature's most efficient air cleaners, yet its capture of particles is far less understood than rain's. My research group in Bologna has a long tradition in this field, which I have followed closely and helped summarise as co-author of a 2023 review on phoretic effects in ice-crystal and snow scavenging. I aim to keep this expertise alive and extend it with new experiments on the role of thermophoresis.

Thirteen months on the Antarctic plateau

Between 2021 and 2022 I spent thirteen months at Concordia Station, Dome C, with the Italian National Antarctic Research Programme, including a full polar winter in one of the most extreme and isolated places on Earth. With a crew of thirteen and no way in or out for about nine months, I ran aerosol and snow observations that keep long-term datasets alive for the international community.

Beyond the science, it was a test of resilience, autonomy and teamwork, and it built lasting collaborations with Météo-France and IGE Grenoble.

  • 1 winter-over18th winter campaign (DC18, 2022), in a 13-person crew. Crew list on Wikipedia (French)
  • 2 summer campaigns37th and 38th PNRA expeditions
  • ~6 months of polar nightat an effective altitude of about 4,000 m
Alessia Nicosia on the sea-ice runway after landing at Mario Zucchelli Station, with the aircraft behind her
Arrival at Mario Zucchelli Station.
Close-up photograph of ice crystals, including hollow columns, at Concordia Station
Ice crystals at Concordia, photographed by me.

Laboratories I lead

Aerosol Physics Laboratory

Where ideas become particles.

Instruments, both commercial and built in-house, to generate, sample, and characterise aerosol particles from nano- to micron-sized.

  • Generating and collecting aerosols to study their size, concentration and morphology
  • Comparing instruments and adapting them to new applications
  • Field campaigns on atmospheric aerosols and on worker exposure in emerging sectors such as nanotechnology
  • New technologies, from remediation systems to sustainable air filters
Instrumentation

Aerosol generation and collection

  • Collison atomiser and nebulisers
  • Silica gel dryers
  • Compressed air
  • Electrostatic precipitator
  • Flow meters and flow analysers
  • Peristaltic pumps
  • Aerosol filter holders
  • Teflon, quartz and Nuclepore membranes

Aerosol classification and characterisation

  • DustTrak DRX Aerosol Monitor 8533 (TSI)
  • Optical Particle Counter 1.108 (GRIMM)
  • Long DMA, Vienna type (GRIMM)
  • Advanced Aerosol X-ray Neutraliser 3087 (TSI)
  • Condensation Particle Counter 3775 (TSI)
  • NanoScan SMPS Nanoparticle Sizer 3910 (TSI)
  • Tabletop scanning electron microscope TM3030 (Hitachi)
Laboratory page at CNR-ISAC

Cold Laboratory

Where clouds are recreated on a filter.

Dedicated to ice-nucleating particles. Our Dynamic Filter Processing Chamber (DFPC) reproduces cloud conditions to watch ice nucleate on particles collected from the air.

Deposition freezing Condensation freezing Immersion freezingin development
  • Ice-nucleating particle concentrations on filter samples
  • An immersion freezing setup is under development
Laboratory page at CNR-ISAC

Selected publications

  1. 2025
    Ice-nucleating particles at Ny-Ålesund: a study of condensation freezing by the Dynamic Filter Processing ChamberRinaldi M., Nicosia A., Paglione M., Mansour K., Decesari S., Mazzola M., Santachiara G., Belosi F. · Aerosol Research 3, 535–556
  2. 2023
    A review of thermo- and diffusiophoresis in the atmospheric aerosol scavenging process. Part 2: ice crystal and snow scavengingSantachiara G., Prodi F., Belosi F., Nicosia A. · Atmospheric and Climate Sciences 13, 466–477
  3. 2021
    Surface ocean microbiota determine cloud precursorsSellegri K., Nicosia A., Freney E., et al. · Scientific Reports 11, 281
  4. 2018
    The Fifth International Workshop on Ice Nucleation phase 2 (FIN-02): laboratory intercomparison of ice nucleation measurementsDeMott P. J., Möhler O., Cziczo D. J., Hiranuma N., … Nicosia A., Zenker J. · Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 11, 6231–6257
  5. 2015
    Air filtration and antimicrobial capabilities of electrospun PLA/PHB containing ionic liquidNicosia A., Gieparda W., Foksowicz-Flaczyk J., Walentowska J., Wesołek D., Vazquez B., Prodi F., Belosi F. · Separation and Purification Technology 154, 154–160

30+ peer-reviewed articles. Full list on:

ORCID Google Scholar Web of Science Scopus

Projects

  1. 2024–28INTEGRANO OngoingHorizon Europe, GA 101138414. Leader of the CNR-ISAC unit and of Case Study 4 (safe-and-sustainable-by-design air filter).
  2. 2025ARISEco-sustainable air filters made of electrospun natural protein nanofibers, funded within ECOSISTER. CNR-ISAC leader; key contributor to the proposal.
  3. 2023–25ECOSISTER, spoke 3PNRR NextGenerationEU (project concluded February 2026). Measurement campaigns and technology transfer to industry.
  4. 2021–22Italian National Antarctic Research ProgrammeTwo summer campaigns and one winter-over at Concordia Station.
  5. 2020–24ASINAHorizon 2020, GA 862444. Safety of nano-enabled products.
  6. 2017PEACETIMEOceanographic cruise on the R/V Pourquoi pas? (Ifremer), May–June 2017, across the western and central Mediterranean: sea spray aerosols and marine ice-nucleating particles.Alessia Nicosia setting up aerosol instrumentation in the ship laboratory during the PEACETIME cruise
  7. 2017PARCS / MACAMesocosm experiment in Svalbard on how pollutants affect marine biology and aerosol emissions in the Arctic.Northern lights over the snow-covered mountains of Svalbard during the PARCS/MACA field campaign, March 2017, with Alessia Nicosia in the foreground
  8. 2013–15SMILEYEU-funded project on bio-inspired nanostructured materials, including air-filtering devices. Research fellowship.SEM image of electrospun PLA/PHB nanofibresSEM image of electrospun PLA/PHB nanofibres for air filtration (2014), with fibre diameters of about 0.4–1 µm.

Career and recognition

  1. 2026Plenary speaker, 39th French Aerosol Conference (CFA 2026), ParisInvited plenary lecture “Ice-nuclei particles in the atmosphere”, over 200 participants. Hosted by ASFERA, which covered my participation.Alessia Nicosia on stage for her plenary lecture at CFA 2026 in Paris
  2. 2026Visiting Scientist, Université Clermont AuvergneLaboratoire de Météorologie Physique (LaMP, UMR 6016 CNRS/UCA), France. Research stay and invited seminar.
  3. 2025CNR SEED grant (€39,500)Supporting ERC Early Development (CNR-DSSTTA): competitive funding for research and training towards an ERC Starting Grant
  4. 2025Session chair and speaker, 14th World Filtration Congress (WFC14)Session “Petroleum and Bio-based Media”, Bordeaux, FranceAlessia Nicosia at the podium of the 14th World Filtration Congress, presenting the talk Sustainable silk fibroin filtration solutions for healthier environments
  5. 2024Transnational Access granted, ATMO-ACCESSProject ILIAD (ice-nucleating particles detection) at the KIT laboratory, Germany. Principal Investigator.Alessia Nicosia at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology during the ILIAD experiment
  6. 2024Invited lecturer, International School on Satellite Meteorology (ISSM 2024)Lecture on cloud microphysics, Villa Doria d'Angri, Naples
  7. 2023Guest seminar, Istanbul Technical University“Fundamentals of cloud physics”, graduate course in Satellite Meteorology
  8. 2020Permanent Researcher, CNR-ISAC, BolognaNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
  9. 2019–20Postdoctoral Fellow, Kanazawa University, JapanInstitute of Nature and Environmental TechnologyAlessia Nicosia working in the laboratory at Kanazawa University, Japan
  10. 2018PhD in Physics, Doctor Europaeus labelJoint PhD, University of Ferrara and Université Clermont Auvergne
  11. 2018Roland Schlich Travel Support, EGUOral presentation, EGU General Assembly, ViennaAlessia Nicosia at the EGU General Assembly 2018 in Vienna, holding her young son, who covers his face with his conference badgeAt EGU 2018 in Vienna, with my son.
  12. 2016VINCI grant, Università Italo-FranceseMobility grant for the joint Italian–French PhD

Outreach

The TEDx Castelfranco Veneto stage in 2023, with Alessia Nicosia speaking under the Trame event title

TEDx Castelfranco Veneto, 2023

Talk “In viaggio oltre le nuvole” (Beyond the clouds), 30 September 2023.

Watch the talk on YouTube

Alessia Nicosia on the Antarctic plateau near Concordia Station, holding drawings sent by primary school children

34 video conferences with Italian schools, from primary to high school, held live from Concordia Station between February and June 2022.

About the project (PNRA)

Alessia Nicosia at Concordia Station next to the wooden signpost she carved, pointing to Rovigo, 15,419 km away

Interviewed by Il Post about the Antarctic winter-over, January 2023. Local press followed the signpost to Rovigo, 15,419 km away, that I carved during the polar winter.

Il Post (Italian) · La Voce di Rovigo (Italian)

Contact

contact [at] alessianicosia [dot] eu

CNR-ISAC, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Via Piero Gobetti 101
40129 Bologna, Italy

LinkedIn Institutional page of the National Research Council
Alessia Nicosia smiling on a snowmobile in Svalbard, with snowy mountains behind her