Role at ANSTO
Dr Stefania Peracchi is an accelerator beamline scientist at the Centre for Accelerator Science.
She works with the Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) team exploiting the powerful sources from the accelerators SIRIUS and ANTARES to conduct research on advanced materials and radiation effects.
She collaborated to expand the capabilities of the Heavy Ion Microprobe mounted on the ANTARES accelerator beamline to allow experiments related to space radiation research.
This work is part of a project funded by the Australian Space Agency that sees many organisations, academia and industries working together to establish a network for advanced space research in Australia.
Her expertise is in the use of ion beams to study silicon detectors performances and materials for shielding radiation in space.
Prior to working at the ANSTO, Stefania completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong, on the topic topic “Silicon on Insulator microdosimetry for radiation protection of astronauts in space”.
Previously, Stefania studied in Italy at Politecnico of Milan, and after her Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering, she moved to Paris (France) where she worked at the Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) for almost two years. As a nuclear engineer and researcher, she was the team leader of a project involving the characterisation of solid-state nuclear track detectors for dosimetry in aviation.
Stefania is very passionate about her research and in 2020 the Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society recognised her as one of the three most outstanding researchers who represent exceptional promise in the field of radiation effects in space, awarding her with the prestigious Paul-Phelps Continuing Education Grant.
Also, her skills in communicating science were crucial during her participation in the 3 Minutes Thesis Asia-Pacific Competition 2020, where PhD students from all around Oceania and Asia, competed to present their research projects. Stefania made it through the final among the best eight Ph.D. projects and she won the People’s Choice Award for her thesis related to radiation monitoring of astronauts during planned Moon and Mars missions.
Expertise
- Ion beam analysis techniques
- space radiation effects,
- microdosimetry and dosimetry
- silicon detectors
- radiation shielding materials
- radiation protection
- science communication, and
- GEANT4 simulation
Qualifications and Achievements
- People’s Choice Award at the final 3 Minutes Thesis Asia-Pacific Competition (2020)
- Paul-Phelps Continuing Education Grant, Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects, USA (2020)
- Trainee grant at IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging, USA (2020)
- International Postgraduate Tuition Award to attend PhD degree, from the University of Wollongong, Australia (2017)
- Matching Scholarship, from the University of Wollongong, Australia (2017)
- Trainee grant at IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging, Australia (2018)
- PhD in Physics (Micordosimetry for radiation protection in space) from the University of Wollongong, Australia (2021)
- MSc in Nuclear Engineering from Politecnico of Milan, Italy (2016)
- BSc in Physics Engineering from Politecnico of Milan, Italy (2013)
Committees, affiliations and memberships
Member, IEEE IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (since 2018)