Prof. Cecilia Monticelli
Cecilia Monticelli, Associate Professor of “Corrosion and protection of metallic materials” at the Corrosion and Metallurgy Study Centre “A. Daccò” of University of Ferrara, died on February 22, at 64 age, after a painful illness. Despite the illness, she continued to follow the research and teaching activities until the last few days, without ever failing her precious support to her research group.
Cecilia Monticelli graduated with honors in Chemistry at the University of Ferrara in 1981, then she joined the Corrosion Study Centre “A. Daccò” as Researcher. She received several research grants (MTA, UMIST, Sulzer) to improve her professional experience. From 1st November 2001, she held the position of Associate Professor for the course of “Materials science and technology” at the Engineering Department of the University of Ferrara. She trained generations of students and researchers, dedicating herself with passion to teaching, initially for the degree course in Materials Engineering and then for the degree course in Mechanical Engineering, where, in the last years, she held also the course of “Corrosion and protection of metallic materials”.
"Cecilia Monticelli accompanied a solid cultural preparation with a high propensity for research, never superficial or repetitive, and approached with a sharp and critical eye which led to a high number of publications in international journals, book chapters, invited participations in important national and international conferences ."
Throughout her career Cecilia Monticelli has dealt with various research topics: from the study of the corrosion behavior of metal alloys in the conditions relevant to their application, to the development of protective coatings for metal alloys of artistic (like bronzes and glided bronzes) and industrial interest. From the study of the corrosion behavior of reinforcements in traditional and innovative concretes, passing through the inhibition of corrosion by organic substances, the tribocorrosion of innovative ceramic materials, and finally the corrosion behaviour of biomedical and industrial alloys produced by Selective Laser Melting.
The brilliant results of these researches allowed her to obtain important funding for national or european research projects (B-IMPACT - Bronze-IMproved non-dangerous PAtina CoaTings and PROCRAFT - PROtection and Conservation of Heritage AirCRAFT). In this context, her skills as coordinator of complex researches that included research units or laboratories from different countries were greatly appreciated.
Cecilia Monticelli really loved her work, which she always carried out with extraordinary competence, dedication and passion. The same passion with which she followed her many other interests; like reading, cooking, traveling, walking in the mountains and taking long bike rides with friends and family. Her collaborators will always remember her for her extraordinary professionalism, intelligence and for the teachings she was able to transfer.
