From 1592 to 1610, Galileo Galilei performed astronomical work at the University of Padua, Italy, that made him the father of modern science. Today, some of his successors concentrate on more earthbound subjects — in the university’s Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment (DAFNAE).
Dr. Massimo Cagnin directs DAFNAE’s laboratory. He oversees elemental analysis of plant, animal, soil, and microorganism samples for his colleagues, as well as for scientists from other institutions and from industry. The lab enables research in agronomy and soil science, animal science, ecology and environmental science, entomology, food science and technology, genetics and genomics, microbiology, and plant science.
“Everything arrives in my lab,” says Dr. Cagnin. “Because sooner or later, a researcher in any of those fields has to analyze some elements.” That extremely wide variety of samples presents challenges for Dr. Cagnin and his five colleagues in the department’s analytical group.
Learn more in this compelling case study.
