Mounting and experimental testing of the gas flow control and vacuum system for the low pressure TEPC.

Venue: Budapest, Hungary

International School of trigger and data acquisition.

I attended the lectures of the course offered by the PhD program of Politecnico di Milano ''Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology''.

For the examination needs of the course I wrote a report based on a bibliographic research on the topic ''Hybrid photovoltaics - thermal systems.

The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 400 MeV/u with dE– E stage M1 prototype detector. These measurements allowed setting up the beam, the detector and instrumentation parameters in such a way as to minimize pulse pile up and optimize the electronic signal processing.

Conclusion of the outreach activity by reading the results and calculating the exposure of CR-39 to radon.

The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 400 MeV/u with dE- E stage pixelated detector. For the same points, measurements were performed also with a mini-TEPC, which is the reference detector for microdosimetry. This experimental campaign was very challenging because it was the first time that measurements were performed with the silicon microdosimeter inside a water phantom and also the first time that the measurements with the reference detector were performed in parallel and the direct comparison of the results was enabled.

The experimental campaign was in cooperation with the University of Wollongong. The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 290 MeV/u with dE- E stage M1 prototype detector. Data were acquired with the detectors in the beam, for both pristine and SOBP.

Venue:MedAustron, Austria

The workshop covered the following topics:

• Experimental micro- and nanodosimetry
• Track structure calculations
• Biophysical models and biological aspects
• Introducing micro- and nanodosimetry in clinical practice.

Venue:CERN, Switzerland

The training covered the following topics:

• Knowledge and Technology Tranfer
• Introduction to Project Management
• Entrepreneurship for Scientists.

An avalanche confinement TEPC and a silicon telescope were irradiated with neutrons produced by deuteron of 5.5MeV impinging on a lithium target. The measurements are considered preliminary since the TEPC is brand new and has never been irradiated before.

The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 400 MeV/u with dE- E stage pixelated detector. For the same points, measurements were performed also with a mini-TEPC, which is the reference detector for microdosimetry.

I worked as an assistant of the IBA Dosimetry VP of Finance. During this internship, I was introduced to basics concepts and principles of finance and gained some experience and practical knowledge on the field.

I attended the lectures of the course offered by the PhD School of Politecnico di Milano.

I summed up the activity that has been performed within the ARDENT project for the characterization of silicon microdosimeters.

Venue: Schwarzenbruck, Germany

Apart from some seminars, a two-days training course by IBA Dosimetry on Quality Assurance in Therapy and Diagnostics and on Semiconductor Detectors took place. In addition, all the ESRs were given the opportunity to present an overview of the past year's activity within the ARDENT project and present experimental results during a poster session.

The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 62 MeV/u with dE- E stage pixelated detector. Microdosimetric spectra were collected along the Bragg peak with a step of 50 μm, in order to repeat (for verification of reproducibility) and complete measurements that had been performed in the past at the same facility under the same conditions.

The experiment was conducted by the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics of the University of Wollongong in collaboration with the microdosimetry group of Politecnico di Milano. The measurements were performed by irradiating a new dE- E stage silicon microdosimeter with a carbon ion beam of 70 MeV. CMRP detectors were irradiated under the same conditions for intercomparison. The aim of the experiment was to study the radiobiological effectiveness of a therapeutic carbon ion beam at the distal part of the Bragg peak, without taking into account the fragment contribution.

The participation in the winter school was an interesting and very educative experience. Besides revising and enhancing my knowledge in the field of clinical medical physics, due to the relatively small number of the participants (40), I had the chance to meet many of them and learn a lot about other universities and hospitals research activities.

The lectures took place in Bad Zurzach in Switzerland and a visit in the PSI facilities in Villigen was included.

Teaching of fundamental principles of microdosimetry by Paolo Colautti and Davide Moro.

Training on the construction of a gas vacuum system for a TEPC used for microdosimetry.

I attended the lectures of the cross-sectoral course offered by the PhD school of Politecnico di Milano.

A presentation based on bibliographic research was prepared focusing on ''Surface Exposure Dating with Cosmogenic Nuclides and other nuclear based dating techniques''.

Venue: Aix en Provence, France

An overview of the current status of Neutron Dosimetry research.

Production of microdosimetric spectra with alpha source for comparison with GEMPIX prototype and verification of its ability for microdosimetric use.

I attended the lectures of the course offered by the PhD program in Bioengineering of Politecnico di Milano.

The topics I focused and was examined on were the computed tomography and the positron emission tomography.

The experimental campaign was in cooperation with the University of Wollongong. The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 290 MeV/u with dE– E stage detectors, both the M1 prototype and the pixelated one. Data were acquired with the detectors in the beam, but also out of beam, while the silicon microdosimeters of the University of Wollongong were in the beam, in order to acquire secondary radiation data.

Venue: Recife, Brazil

The participation in the summer school was a nice experience. I was offered the opportunity to learn more about other fields of solid state dosimetry, since the topics were mainly focused on Luminescence Dosimetry and my research field is in solid state dosimetry of semiconductors. Moreover, many young researchers from all around the world attended the school and I had the chance to meet them and exchange different ideas.

Venue: Recife, Brazil

I was given the opportunity to present some preliminary results of the simulations that I have been performing for the past year concerning the response of the silicon telescope microdosimeter to 400MeV per nucleon carbon ions during the poster session. This experience, apart from being inspiring because many people expressed their thought and ideas on my work, was also very important for the enlargement of my network .

Venue: Milan, Italy

The subject of the workshop was microdosimetry and apart from the lectures, a lab activity was performed as well. During this activity, data obtained with a TEPC were processed and microdosimetric spectra were produced. In addition, all the ESRs were given the opportunity to present an overview of the first year's activity within the ARDENT project.

Venue: Milan, Italy

Demonstration of the silicon microdosimeter, the electronics chain and the PMMA setup.

Venue: Seoul, Korea

For the workshop entitled ''Status of in vivo Dosimetry with Positron Emission Tomography- Update on Novel Instrumentation and Monte Carlo Simulations for Hadron Therapy'', an oral presentation was given, as an overview of the activity that has been performed so far with the silicon microdosimeter.

Presentation about the effects of radon on human health.

Measurements with silicon spectrometer and attending the GEMPIX measurement campaign.

I attended the measurements performed in the context of the MITRA project with a carbon ion beam of 195.2 MeV/u with dE– E stage M1 prototype detector. Microdosimetric spectra were acquired for several points along the Bragg peak.

This report sums up the results of different Si microdosimeter tests performed in the framework of the ARDENT project. It is of great importance since it includes the results of the first irradiation of a brand new version of the Si microdosimeter device, performed in Australia at the University of Canberra.

My secondment at MGH Harvard Medical School at the Radiation Oncology Department has been extremely busy, but really fruitful . This is a brief list that describes some of my experience in Boston.

• Methods for calculating Relative Stopping Power (RSP) and range effects in Proton Therapy.
• Training on the XiO treatment planning system.
• Attended the presentations of the Journal club of the MGH, where relatively recently published papers on various fields were discussed. Some examples are the publications entitles "What happens to the brain on the way to Mars", " Volume-staged versus dose-staged radiosurgery outcomes for large intercranial artevenous malformations", or publications on hypervelocity stars and mathematical models of glioblastoma growth and response to radiation therapy.
• Attended the Brown Bags presentations held at the MGH, where the MGH research employees present their work. Many ideas and interesting results were presented on diverse topics, such as modeling of biological responses of ionizing radiation and development and clinical applications of CBCT for Proton Therapy.
• Attended the presentation of the Nobelist Jack W. Szostak on "The Origins of the Cellular life".
• Attended the Science for the People seminar entitled "From the Cold War to the Climate Crisis" by Noam Chomsky at MIT. Apart from an inspiring presentation due to its context, it has also being a great example of how an outreach should be.

  Met a lot of people and made good friends and finally... did sailing for the first time and LOVE IT!

  

Venue: Prague, Czech Republic

During the final ARDENT workshop, all ESRs presented the conclusions of their research activities and attended the workshop on neutron dosimetry and radiobiology.

Venue: Aberdeen, Scotland

I had the honor to be invited to present an overview of the research activity of the past three years, focusing mainly on the measurement campaign in Japan.

Mounting and experimental testing of the gas flow control and vacuum system for the low pressure TEPC.

Venue: Budapest, Hungary

International School of trigger and data acquisition.

I attended the lectures of the course offered by the PhD program of Politecnico di Milano ''Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology''.

For the examination needs of the course I wrote a report based on a bibliographic research on the topic ''Hybrid photovoltaics - thermal systems.

The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 400 MeV/u with dE– E stage M1 prototype detector. These measurements allowed setting up the beam, the detector and instrumentation parameters in such a way as to minimize pulse pile up and optimize the electronic signal processing.

Conclusion of the outreach activity by reading the results and calculating the exposure of CR-39 to radon.

The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 400 MeV/u with dE- E stage pixelated detector. For the same points, measurements were performed also with a mini-TEPC, which is the reference detector for microdosimetry. This experimental campaign was very challenging because it was the first time that measurements were performed with the silicon microdosimeter inside a water phantom and also the first time that the measurements with the reference detector were performed in parallel and the direct comparison of the results was enabled.

The experimental campaign was in cooperation with the University of Wollongong. The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 290 MeV/u with dE- E stage M1 prototype detector. Data were acquired with the detectors in the beam, for both pristine and SOBP.

Venue:MedAustron, Austria

The workshop covered the following topics:

• Experimental micro- and nanodosimetry
• Track structure calculations
• Biophysical models and biological aspects
• Introducing micro- and nanodosimetry in clinical practice.

Venue:CERN, Switzerland

The training covered the following topics:

• Knowledge and Technology Tranfer
• Introduction to Project Management
• Entrepreneurship for Scientists.

An avalanche confinement TEPC and a silicon telescope were irradiated with neutrons produced by deuteron of 5.5MeV impinging on a lithium target. The measurements are considered preliminary since the TEPC is brand new and has never been irradiated before.

The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 400 MeV/u with dE- E stage pixelated detector. For the same points, measurements were performed also with a mini-TEPC, which is the reference detector for microdosimetry.

I worked as an assistant of the IBA Dosimetry VP of Finance. During this internship, I was introduced to basics concepts and principles of finance and gained some experience and practical knowledge on the field.

I attended the lectures of the course offered by the PhD School of Politecnico di Milano.

I summed up the activity that has been performed within the ARDENT project for the characterization of silicon microdosimeters.

Venue: Schwarzenbruck, Germany

Apart from some seminars, a two-days training course by IBA Dosimetry on Quality Assurance in Therapy and Diagnostics and on Semiconductor Detectors took place. In addition, all the ESRs were given the opportunity to present an overview of the past year's activity within the ARDENT project and present experimental results during a poster session.

The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 62 MeV/u with dE- E stage pixelated detector. Microdosimetric spectra were collected along the Bragg peak with a step of 50 μm, in order to repeat (for verification of reproducibility) and complete measurements that had been performed in the past at the same facility under the same conditions.

The experiment was conducted by the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics of the University of Wollongong in collaboration with the microdosimetry group of Politecnico di Milano. The measurements were performed by irradiating a new dE- E stage silicon microdosimeter with a carbon ion beam of 70 MeV. CMRP detectors were irradiated under the same conditions for intercomparison. The aim of the experiment was to study the radiobiological effectiveness of a therapeutic carbon ion beam at the distal part of the Bragg peak, without taking into account the fragment contribution.

The participation in the winter school was an interesting and very educative experience. Besides revising and enhancing my knowledge in the field of clinical medical physics, due to the relatively small number of the participants (40), I had the chance to meet many of them and learn a lot about other universities and hospitals research activities.

The lectures took place in Bad Zurzach in Switzerland and a visit in the PSI facilities in Villigen was included.

Teaching of fundamental principles of microdosimetry by Paolo Colautti and Davide Moro.

Training on the construction of a gas vacuum system for a TEPC used for microdosimetry.

I attended the lectures of the cross-sectoral course offered by the PhD school of Politecnico di Milano.

A presentation based on bibliographic research was prepared focusing on ''Surface Exposure Dating with Cosmogenic Nuclides and other nuclear based dating techniques''.

Venue: Aix en Provence, France

An overview of the current status of Neutron Dosimetry research.

Production of microdosimetric spectra with alpha source for comparison with GEMPIX prototype and verification of its ability for microdosimetric use.

I attended the lectures of the course offered by the PhD program in Bioengineering of Politecnico di Milano.

The topics I focused and was examined on were the computed tomography and the positron emission tomography.

The experimental campaign was in cooperation with the University of Wollongong. The measurements were performed with a carbon ion beam of 290 MeV/u with dE– E stage detectors, both the M1 prototype and the pixelated one. Data were acquired with the detectors in the beam, but also out of beam, while the silicon microdosimeters of the University of Wollongong were in the beam, in order to acquire secondary radiation data.

Venue: Recife, Brazil

The participation in the summer school was a nice experience. I was offered the opportunity to learn more about other fields of solid state dosimetry, since the topics were mainly focused on Luminescence Dosimetry and my research field is in solid state dosimetry of semiconductors. Moreover, many young researchers from all around the world attended the school and I had the chance to meet them and exchange different ideas.

Venue: Recife, Brazil

I was given the opportunity to present some preliminary results of the simulations that I have been performing for the past year concerning the response of the silicon telescope microdosimeter to 400MeV per nucleon carbon ions during the poster session. This experience, apart from being inspiring because many people expressed their thought and ideas on my work, was also very important for the enlargement of my network .

Venue: Milan, Italy

The subject of the workshop was microdosimetry and apart from the lectures, a lab activity was performed as well. During this activity, data obtained with a TEPC were processed and microdosimetric spectra were produced. In addition, all the ESRs were given the opportunity to present an overview of the first year's activity within the ARDENT project.

Venue: Milan, Italy

Demonstration of the silicon microdosimeter, the electronics chain and the PMMA setup.

Venue: Seoul, Korea

For the workshop entitled ''Status of in vivo Dosimetry with Positron Emission Tomography- Update on Novel Instrumentation and Monte Carlo Simulations for Hadron Therapy'', an oral presentation was given, as an overview of the activity that has been performed so far with the silicon microdosimeter.

Presentation about the effects of radon on human health.

Measurements with silicon spectrometer and attending the GEMPIX measurement campaign.