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The space sector is one of the most multidisciplinary. Almost all the "terrestrial" disciplines have a spatial equivalent with the specific peculiarities of such a particular environment. The PhD course in Sciences, Technologies and Measurements for Space (STMS) aims to train researchers who can operate in this sector with a strongly multi-disciplinary preparation that combines typical skills of Engineering and Science. This aspect, which represents the strong and peculiar point of this course, is essential for space missions where often the most important scientific results are obtained with instruments and devices that are designed using the state of the art of Engineering. Such a multidisciplinary approach is offered through a diverse composition of the PhD board with professors from both fields. This peculiarity is not usually offered in other PhD courses, which, being administered either by Departments of Engineering or Astronomical Sciences, provide a more focused preparation in only one of the two fields. In particular, the teaching staff offers numerous transversal courses and seminars in order to train a research doctor with the required multidisciplinary skills.

Course objectives

The aim of the Doctoral Program in Sciences, Technologies and Measurements for Space (STMS) is to train researchers able to carry out research activities in disciplines connected with science, technologies and measurements for space. The Course, based in a University Center (CISAS), has a very heterogeneous teaching staff made up of Science and Engineering professors, which offers an extremely multidisciplinary environment. Students often work within national or international programmes, actively participating in theoretical, technological, computational or experimental activities in the field of space research. The educational program allows students to acquire skills that can be used to the fullest both in view of a university career and a position in research institutes or high-tech industrial sectors. The formation of the Course and the various contacts with industries in the sector can also stimulate future PhD students to compete in the broader national and international scenario, or to promote the growth of high-tech spin-offs and the innovation of local industry with important territorial effects . The multidisciplinary approach, at the basis of the training of PhDs in STMS, enables them to manage scientific and/or industrial research programs at leadership levels.

Educational activities

The Course has a three years duration. The PhD title is obtained having acquired 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits, including abroad periods of study and stages, and having completed an original research activity. 
Credits are divided in the following way: 
- 30 ECTS credits in three years for education: this includes lectures, courses and seminars, plus hours of study, participation to schools, courses and congresses, and generally all the activities foreseen in Art. 19 of the University Rule document< 
- 150 ECTS credits for research, culminating in the PhD thesis. 
The training program provided by the PhD Course is defined over the three years, but does not follow a rigid schedule. In fact, because of the remarkable cultural diversity of the STMS doctoral students, the training provided also depend on the cultural background of each; moreover, we will try, as far as possible, to adapt it to the objectives of the student's research. 
It is strongly suggested that doctoral students spend a period abroad, with a maximum limit of 1.5 years, over the three years. This period should be spent at qualified scientific institutions (universities, research centers, ...). The purposes of this period must be a further learning opportunities and an improvement in obtaining the research results.

Research areas

The PhD Course, which derives from merging two previous PhD courses ("Space Sciences and Technologies" and "Mechanical Measurements for Engineering" has two different Curricula: "Mechanical Measurements for Engineering and Space" (MMES) and "Sciences and Technologies for Aeronautics and Satellite Applications" (STASA). 
Examples of skills that can be acquired respectively in the two Curricula are the following:

MMES:
- Analysis and definition of measuring methodologies and data processing
- Functional analysis of instrumentation and representation through general theory
- Definition of methods to evaluate the uncertainty
- Innovative procedures for measuring by means of non conventional methods
- Measurements of time variable phenomena with on-line data processing and industrial process monitoring
- Methods to validate interpretative models in industrial and clinical diagnostics
- Industrial installation and equipment testing with the design of optimal measuring system
- Measuring techniques in clinical diagnostics
- Design and setup for laboratory experiments simulating harsh environmental conditions
- Mechanical system testing; development, acceptance and qualification tests
- Design and set up of measuring and testing devices for opto-mechanical and ultrasonic instrumentations

STASA:
- System Engineering and Mission Analysis
- Structural and thermal analysis of Space Systems
- Advanced Robotics; Mechanisms and Tethers in Space
- Dynamics of Space Flights and Attitude Control
- Space Navigation
- Aerospace propulsion
- Aerodynamics of Aerospace Systems; Thermo-fluid dynamics
- Photon Detectors from soft-X rays to near infrared
- Optics and Scientific Instruments for Space
- Physics of Planets, Moons, Comets, Asteroids
- Mission analysis for Universe and Earth Observations
- Interaction between Spacecraft and Space Environment
- Neurosciences and comparative psychology for space applications

Professional profile

The professional placement of PhDs in Sciences, Technologies and Measurements for Space is distinct between the two existing curricula. The indications given refer to the information available, generally relating to the first three years after graduation.
The usual types of professional placement for PhDs in the "Mechanical Measurements for Engineering and Space" (MMES) curriculum are mainly those relating to the design, construction and qualification of instruments for measuring and analyzing mechanical and thermal quantities, which are widely professional insertion both in the industrial field and in that of research structures. In particular, in the field of applied research, the skills of the PhDs in MMES are required in high-tech industries relating to mechanical, thermal and optomechanical instrumentation, and in IT service companies, with particular regard to the aerospace sector.
Research Doctors of the Curriculum "Sciences and Technologies for Aeronautics and Satellite Applications" (STASA) usually find professional placements in the academic field, in the aerospace industry, in Space Agencies (national or foreign) and associated Laboratories, in the INAF Astronomical Observatories, in research institutions, companies in the high technology field, university spin-offs, in foreign laboratories or in the start-up of (or participation in) small advanced technology companies.

  Curriculum

• MECHANICAL MEASUREMENTS FOR ENGINEERING AND SPACE
• SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR AERONAUTICS AND SATELLITE APPLICATIONS

  Other information

• Calls and Admissions
• Administrative information
• The International PhD guide