Transforming Volcanic Ash into Innovation: Sabrina Elettra Zafarana’s Research Stay at FunGlass

It was our pleasure to host Sabrina Elettra Zafarana, a PhD student from the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Catania, Italy, during her six-month stay (June–December 2024) at FunGlass. Sabrina is supervised at her home institution by Prof. Paolo Mazzoleni, with Prof. Germana Barone, Dr. Claudio Finocchiaro, and Prof. Cristina Belfiore serving as her co-supervisors.

During her time at FunGlass, Sabrina conducted research on the rheological characterization and 3D printing of Alkali-Activated Materials (AAMs) using volcanic ash from Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy) and unrecyclable green glass as raw waste materials. She utilized both Direct Ink Writing and Binder Jet techniques for 3D printing. Additionally, she performed extensive measurements on fiber-reinforced AAMs, using tools such as the He-pycnometer, climatic chamber, confocal microscope, ICP, and thermal analysis.

In November, Sabrina also participated in the FunGlass School, where she presented her research titled “Alkali-activated materials based on volcanic ash and waste glass: sustainable and alternative geomaterials from waste to resource”.

Sabrina´s impression:

During my six-month stay at the FunGlass Research Center, I had the opportunity to experience a remarkable academic and personal growth. This period of time gave me the opportunity to improve my research skills and immerse myself into a dynamic and collaborative environment. I had the chance to work in clean and tidy laboratories with very new equipment. I am grateful for the support and guidance I received from all the professors, researchers, technicians, PhD students, and the administrative staff. Special thanks to Dr. Jozef Kraxner, Dr. Akansha Mehta, Dr. Paolo Scanferla, Dr. Arish Dasan and Abel Woldu Ourgessa for their help and supervision, which were fundamental to complete my research. I feel really grateful for the warm welcome I received and for making me feel supported and part of the FunGlass family since the very beginning. Thank you for being part of my journey. I look forward to the possibility of working together again in the future!

We completely agree with Sabrina’s kind words and want to thank her for the great collaboration on such an interesting research topic. Helping young and talented researchers grow and succeed is an important part of what we do.

It was a privilege to host Sabrina, and we wish her continued success in her academic journey. We look forward to future opportunities to work together.