Francesco M. Benedetti
Postdoctoral Associate
Francesco is from Italy, and was born and raised in Urbania, a small village in the center of the “boot”. He studied chemical engineering in the oldest university in the world: the University of Bologna. He engaged in a series of research projects, some of which brought him far from home. In 2104/2015 he was a Research Scholar at the University of Texas at Austin, where he contributed towards research on water desalination with membrane technologies in collaboration with General Electric. In 2015 he started his doctoral program and worked alongside with leaders in the field at Stanford University and MIT. His yearlong work experience in Prof. Zachary Smith’s lab at MIT paved the way for his current postdoctoral appointment. He is a proud recipient of the 2019/2020 ExxonMobil – MIT Energy Fellowship. His current research interests focus on the development of novel microporous glassy polymers and composite materials for gas separations. His current greatest passion is building communities. In the past three years at MIT he co-founded and served as the president of two associations: The MIT-awarded Visiting Student Association (VISTA), and FAIL! – inspiring resilience. Outside of the lab he also enjoys playing with his rock band, basketball, and cooking.