Meet Dr. Alessandra Sivo, postdoctoral researcher from Italy

Like an artist in a studio, surrounded by an array of colorful equipment, Dr. Alessandra Sivo, a postdoctoral researcher from Italy, passionately shares her work at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in the lab of Prof. Ronny Neumann in the Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science.

What are you studying and researching in your postdoctoral program?

“In my postdoctoral research in Ronny Neumann’s group I work in the field of sustainable organic synthesis, with a particular focus on electrocatalysis. My research focuses on polyoxometalates, a versatile class of catalysts that use electricity to drive chemical reactions, aiming to enable cleaner and more efficient synthetic strategies with potential impact on sustainable industrial processes.”

Give an example of the multi-disciplinary nature of your work at the Weizmann Institute.

“By combining concepts from synthetic organic chemistry with electrochemical methods and inorganic catalyst design, my research integrates multiple scientific disciplines to address sustainability challenges in chemical synthesis.”

What is something that you will take with you when you complete your postdoctoral program?

“I will take with me a strong interdisciplinary mindset and the ability to approach chemical problems through innovative and sustainable perspectives. The collaborative and supportive culture at the Weizmann Institute has strengthened my scientific independence and my appreciation for teamwork across different research fields, allowing me to pursue unconventional approaches that might be difficult in more traditional research environments.”

Anything else to share?

“By funding fundamental and innovative research at Weizmann, donors help advance cleaner and more sustainable chemical technologies, while also empowering early-career scientists to develop solutions that can have long-term scientific, industrial, and societal impact.”