Tania Langella, researcher at InnoRenew CoE; main areas of research: design and characterization of composite materials, optimization of the composite production processes

• Where were you living in childhood and where do you live now?

I grew up in Marano di Napoli, a town north of Naples in the south of Italy. Now I’m living in Trieste.

• What have you studied and what were the motives for your decision?            

I studied mechanical engineering as I grew up repairing cars with my father, who passed on to me the passion for the study of mechanics.

• How would you describe your work to someone outside your field?

To someone unrelated to my subject, I would say that I take care of finding technical solutions for the appropriate application of materials and production processes.

• What does your typical working day look like?

Usually I go to the lab to test specimens, then I analyze the test data and write test reports. I often meet with colleagues to update them on the results obtained and evaluate together how to proceed.

• What makes you excited about your work?

The possibility of finding solutions that really help to create materials and objects that can improve the environmental quality of the spaces we live in without consequences for health.

• And what is the biggest challenge at your work?

Finding useful solutions that are mainly low-cost and, therefore, feasible on an industrial level.

• Which scientist or scientific achievement are you fascinated by and why?

The scientist I admire most of all is certainly Ettore Majorana, who together with Nikola Tesla, was certainly the most brilliant mind ever to live on planet Earth. I have always been fascinated by the choices he made dictated by an ethics that is now lacking in the scientific field; he was a simple man who really cared about the fate of human beings and was aware that not all scientific discoveries had to be achieved if they had harm to humanity as an end.

• Tell us about the work of art (books, music, movies, theatre, dance, visual arts) that has a special place in your life.

The work of art that has a special place in my life is “Water Lilies” by Claude Monet. Every time I look at this painting by the great French painter, I get lost in its colors that always remind us how beauty is in the simple things of this world.

• What have you read, listened to, or watched lately?

I read an Italian fantasy book called “Il regno delle nevi” by a young novice writer B. Abbondanza, and I watched a movie called “The Matrix”.

• Describe your very first impression of Slovenia.

The first impression of Slovenia was that of a country proud of its traditions and culture, with breathtaking landscapes.

• What do you like about Slovenia and what do you miss most from your homeland?

In Slovenia, I like the diversity of landscapes available from beaches to lakes and then to the mountains. Of my land, I certainly miss the flavors of food.

• Which place on the Slovene coast do you like the most?

The place of the Slovene coast that I prefer is Izola.

• What makes you enthusiastic?

Its wonderful beach and sea.

• Characterize your life’s guidance or an important realization (or epiphany) you have experienced.

The most important experience of my life was certainly that of having had the courage to leave the comfort zone, to change things that did not make me happy and being able to find other satisfying ones.

• What does the charm of wood mean to you?

Wood has always fascinated me. Every time I see and touch it, it always gives me sensations of welcoming, warm and relaxing atmospheres. It is a magical material that makes you feel in contact with nature even if you are at home and not in a forest.