About
The Italian Society for Optics and Photonics (SIOF, Società Italiana di Ottica e Fotonica) is a non-profit Cultural Association.
Our mission is the promotion of the research activities in the field of optics and photonics and to coordinate them all over the Italian national territory, by favoring the spread of knowledge and the organization of scientific events, schools, conferences, and workshops, with a special emphasis on the formation of young scientists.
SIOF is a branch of the European Optical Society (EOS), giving our individual members access to the EOS benefits.
History
Founded in Florence in 1991 by Prof. Tito Arecchi, Prof. Anna Consortini, Dr. Giancarlo Righini, Prof. Vera Russo, and Prof. Alberto Sona, SIOF was established to encourage and coordinate research in optics and photonics at the national level, while promoting knowledge exchange and creating opportunities for scientific networking through events and educational initiatives, especially aimed at young researchers.
Activities and membership
SIOF is a non-profit cultural society, whose aim is the spread and the coordination in Italy of optics, photonics, and all the related scientific-technological disciplines.
Membership to the Society can be individual or collective (in the case of companies, organizations, or institutions). Anyone who conducts research or teaching activities in the field of optics and photonics can become a member.
Organization
The structure of the society is based on the following bodies:
- The General Assembly is composed by all members and meets at least once a year to approve the SIOF annual budget.
- The President is the legal representative of the Association.
- The Presidential Board, which governs the Association, is composed by the President, the Vice-President, the Past President, and 10 elected members, among which at least two representatives from the industry.
Consiglio di Presidenza 2025–2026

President
Ambra Giannetti – Director of Research
CNR – Istituto di Fisica Applicata “N. Carrara”, Sesto Fiorentino (FI)

Presidente Elect
Alessando Belardini, Associate Professor
Dipartimento di Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria, Sapienza, Università di Roma

Past President
Luca De Stefano – Director of Research
CNR – Istituto di Scienze Applicate e Sistemi Intelligenti “Eduardo Caianiello”, Napoli

Secretary
Francesca Rossi – Senior Scientist
CNR – Istituto di Fisica Applicata “N. Carrara”, Sesto Fiorentino (FI)

Treasurer
Ilaria Rea – Senior Scientist
CNR – Istituto di Scienze Applicate e Sistemi Intelligenti “Eduardo Caianiello”, Napoli
IC
Isabella Carrer – Owner
Hyper Photonics, Vimercate MB

Michele Celebrano – Associate Professor
Politecnico di Milano, Milano

Tiziana Cesca – Associate Professor
Università di Padova, Padova

Andrea Cusano – Full Professor
Università degli Studi del Sannio, Benevento

Francesco Dell’Olio – Associate Professor
Politecnico di Bari, Bari

Pietro Giuseppe Gucciardi – Director of Research
CNR – Istituto dei Processi Chimico Fisici, Messina
MM
Maria Grazia Manera – Senior Scientist
CNR – Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Lecce
TO
Tommaso Ongarello – R&D Manager
EssilorLuxottica, Padova
RR
Roberto Rella – Director of Research
CNR – Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Lecce

