Giulia Guidetti

Giulia serves as the Deputy Director of Silklab and is a Research Assistant Professor at Tufts University, where she teaches undergraduate optics courses. She earned her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and holds both a BSc and MSc in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology from Politecnico di Milano (Italy).

Her research focuses on light management in natural systems, encompassing biophotonic structures, multiscale imaging, spectroscopy, and optical modeling. Giulia received a prestigious W.M. Keck Foundation Science and Engineering Research Grant to investigate the structure-function relationships in plants that thrive in darkness, aiming to develop bioinspired strategies for solar energy harvesting.

As a scientific co-founder of the startup Barlume, she is dedicated to creating coral-reef-safe sunscreens and has filed several patent applications in the fields of biomaterials and radiation management. With over 28 peer-reviewed publications to her name, Giulia is also an active reviewer for multiple scientific journals. Her work has been featured on the covers of esteemed journals such as Science Advances, PNAS, and Advanced Optical Materials, and has garnered attention from international media outlets.

In addition to her research endeavors, Giulia co-developed K-12 educational programs focused on bioinspired materials and sustainability and regularly engages in outreach initiatives throughout the greater Boston area.

https://silklab.engineering.tufts.edu  https://www.linkedin.com/in/guidettigiulia/