The Future of Education
Eleonora Polo
Institution: CNR- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF)
Country: Italy
Eleonora graduated in Chemistry at the University of Ferrara, got her PhD (1988) in Chemical Sciences at Parma University, and in the same year she became Researcher of the National Council of Research at the Institute for Organic Syntheses and Photoreactivity in Bologna.
Since then, she has been doing research in the organic and metallorganic synthesis, heterogenous catalysis and photocatalysis, polymers, and pharmaceutical chemistry. She has been involved in several National and International Research Projects. She has published more than 50 scientific articles in international journals.
Eleonora also teaches Metallorganic chemistry (since 2009) and Chemistry Didactics (since 2018) as adjunct professor for the Master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Ferrara. She has also tutored both university students (project How I met science of the University of Ferrara, AA years: 2017-18, 2021-22, 2024-25) and secondary school teachers in chemistry didactics.
From 1998 she has become more and more involved in scientific dissemination starting as a member of the Editorial Board and regular author of AIM Magazine, Edizioni Pacini, Pisa (the periodic journal of scientific dissemination of the Italian Association of Science and Technology of Macromolecules) and of its website. From 2006 to 2015 she was Editorial Manager of AIM Magazine.
Eleonora has also published about 70 articles of scientific dissemination with a particular - but not exclusive - interest on topics like environmental pollution, circular economy, sustainability, critical raw materials, polymers, and food chemistry. In particular she writes on AIM Magazine (Edizioni Pacini, Pisa); Naturalmente Scienza (Edizioni ETS, Pisa); Nuova Secondaria (Editrice La Scuola SpA, Brescia); Sapere (Edizioni Dedalo, Bari); Atti dell’accademia delle scienze di Ferrara; Quaderni di divulgazione scientifica (Rosenberg & Sellier, Torino); CnS. La Chimica nella Scuola (Aracne editrice); La chimica e l’industria (Consiglio Nazionale dei Chimici). From 2019 she has created about 40 didactic videos that can be seen in the YouTube channels of CNR, Science web festival, Liceo Roiti of Ferrara, ChangeGame CNR Project, and her personal website.
She has carried out a lot of workshops and given seminars in the context of events such as the European Researcher’s Night (Ferrara, Bologna), Il Linguaggio della Ricerca (Bologna), Didacta (Firenze), The Future of Education (Firenze), Progetto Lauree scientifiche (Ferrara), ASL and PCTO (Ferrara and Bologna Provinces), Unijunior Children’ University (Ferrara Edition) Festival della Scienza (Genova), Futuro Remoto (Museo della Scienza di Napoli), RomeVideoGameLab, Campus Colloquia (CNR Research Area-Bologna), Bookcity (Milano), Lifelong Learning University UTEF (Ferrara), Tasso in Scienza (Ferrara), and Venerdì dell’Universo (Ferrara).
Eleonora has written three books of scientific dissemination: the first, C’era una volta un polimero. Storie di grandi molecole che hanno plasmato il mondo. (2013, Apogeo Education, Maggioli Editore, Sant’Arcangelo di Romagna), came third in the 2014 edition of the Premio Nazionale di Divulgazione Scientifica. More recent publications include: L’isola che non c’è. La plastica negli oceani fra mito e realtà (2020, Collana La scienza facile, Edizioni Dedalo, Bari) and Un oceano di plastica” (2021, Collana Piccola Biblioteca di Scienza, Dedalo Editore, Bari).
Areas of expertise: Organic and organometallic synthesis, heterogenous catalysis and photocatalysis, polymers, scientific dissemination, university education, school education, adult education, e-learning, teacher training
Since then, she has been doing research in the organic and metallorganic synthesis, heterogenous catalysis and photocatalysis, polymers, and pharmaceutical chemistry. She has been involved in several National and International Research Projects. She has published more than 50 scientific articles in international journals.
Eleonora also teaches Metallorganic chemistry (since 2009) and Chemistry Didactics (since 2018) as adjunct professor for the Master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Ferrara. She has also tutored both university students (project How I met science of the University of Ferrara, AA years: 2017-18, 2021-22, 2024-25) and secondary school teachers in chemistry didactics.
From 1998 she has become more and more involved in scientific dissemination starting as a member of the Editorial Board and regular author of AIM Magazine, Edizioni Pacini, Pisa (the periodic journal of scientific dissemination of the Italian Association of Science and Technology of Macromolecules) and of its website. From 2006 to 2015 she was Editorial Manager of AIM Magazine.
Eleonora has also published about 70 articles of scientific dissemination with a particular - but not exclusive - interest on topics like environmental pollution, circular economy, sustainability, critical raw materials, polymers, and food chemistry. In particular she writes on AIM Magazine (Edizioni Pacini, Pisa); Naturalmente Scienza (Edizioni ETS, Pisa); Nuova Secondaria (Editrice La Scuola SpA, Brescia); Sapere (Edizioni Dedalo, Bari); Atti dell’accademia delle scienze di Ferrara; Quaderni di divulgazione scientifica (Rosenberg & Sellier, Torino); CnS. La Chimica nella Scuola (Aracne editrice); La chimica e l’industria (Consiglio Nazionale dei Chimici). From 2019 she has created about 40 didactic videos that can be seen in the YouTube channels of CNR, Science web festival, Liceo Roiti of Ferrara, ChangeGame CNR Project, and her personal website.
She has carried out a lot of workshops and given seminars in the context of events such as the European Researcher’s Night (Ferrara, Bologna), Il Linguaggio della Ricerca (Bologna), Didacta (Firenze), The Future of Education (Firenze), Progetto Lauree scientifiche (Ferrara), ASL and PCTO (Ferrara and Bologna Provinces), Unijunior Children’ University (Ferrara Edition) Festival della Scienza (Genova), Futuro Remoto (Museo della Scienza di Napoli), RomeVideoGameLab, Campus Colloquia (CNR Research Area-Bologna), Bookcity (Milano), Lifelong Learning University UTEF (Ferrara), Tasso in Scienza (Ferrara), and Venerdì dell’Universo (Ferrara).
Eleonora has written three books of scientific dissemination: the first, C’era una volta un polimero. Storie di grandi molecole che hanno plasmato il mondo. (2013, Apogeo Education, Maggioli Editore, Sant’Arcangelo di Romagna), came third in the 2014 edition of the Premio Nazionale di Divulgazione Scientifica. More recent publications include: L’isola che non c’è. La plastica negli oceani fra mito e realtà (2020, Collana La scienza facile, Edizioni Dedalo, Bari) and Un oceano di plastica” (2021, Collana Piccola Biblioteca di Scienza, Dedalo Editore, Bari).
Areas of expertise: Organic and organometallic synthesis, heterogenous catalysis and photocatalysis, polymers, scientific dissemination, university education, school education, adult education, e-learning, teacher training
