Alessia Cemmi graduated in Chemistry (Master’s Degree) at La Sapienza University of Rome in 1996. She attended to the International Master (post-lauream) in Nuclear and Ionizing Radiation Technologies (1999) and obtained her Ph. D. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2009. She worked as Fellow and Post Doc since 2000 and as permanent position Researcher since 2008 at ENEA (Rome, Italy). She is the Calliope gamma irradiation Facility Director and Head of the Innovative Nuclear Systems Laboratory (Fusion and Nuclear Safety Department). Her research activity focuses on gamma radiation effects evaluation on different materials (crystals, glasses, polymers, optical devices, bio-based systems, CH artifacts), on dosimetric measurements and on gamma irradiation tests in different conditions. She is involved in national and international Project and Programme and involved in several collaborations (Eurofusion, F4E, H2020, IAEA CRP, ESA, ASI, CERN). She is author of more than 80 publications on international journals and 50 communications at International Conferences.
Dear Alessia, thank you for the privilege of speaking with you, to discover a very interesting application of ionizing radiations. First of all we would like to ask you what is “Calliope” – we remember that in Greek mythology she is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry.

The Calliope is a gamma irradiation facility at ENEA Casaccia Research Centre, unique in Italy and in Europe, dedicated to the testing, qualification and characterization of materials, components and devices for several applications, such those in the field of conservation of ancient cultural heritage artifacts.

The Calliope facility is equipped with Cobalt-60 sources, producing gamma radiation, and with laboratories for the characterization of the radiation-induced effects on organic and inorganic matrices, for dosimetric measurements and for accelerated aging tests on several systems and materials.

Calliope rack and irradiation cellCalliope rack with Co-60 sources (pool view) & Irradiation cell with Co-60 sources rack and the platform for sample positioning.
Do you mean that you use radiations to preserve ancient artifacts and to prevent their degradation, and that through the use of radiation you ensure that they can be preserved and can continue to bear witness to history for future generations? Can you give me some examples?

Exactly! Gamma radiation allows to eliminate several biodeteriogens, such as insects, molds, fungi and lichens, able to attack and deteriorate cultural heritage artifacts made of natural origin materials (paper, wood, silk, wool, cotton, leather, parchment and so on). For example, we are defining the most correct irradiation parameters to be applied for the treatment of ancient book (from different libraries), documents of paper and parchment (from Monte Cassino Abbey library), wooden statues (from Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria), lichens and molds (from Museo del Vicino Oriente, Egitto e Mediterraneo). Moreover, the artifacts irradiated in our facility are very safe, because no radioactivity is induced in the materials.

Our team has been working in the cultural heritage field for many years with international collaborations, but only recently we won an Italian Project and eventually, for the first time in Italy, the radiation technologies will be applied for artifacts preservation purposes!

Sampling for microbiological analysisSampling for microbiological analysis of ancient books (late 1800s) of Croatian National Library.
What has the introduction of treatments with radiation meant for the world of cultural heritage?

The use of radiation in the cultural heritage field is widely applied for diagnostic purposes, but it represents a truly innovative method (especially in Italy) for preservation. Due to its advantages respect to the most traditional conservation processes, such as no need of toxic chemicals, possibility of treatment of huge mass and high volume objects in very short time, no harmful residues left inside the treated artifacts, simultaneous eradication of all types of biodeteriogens, ionizing radiation represent a truly challenging solution for the conservation of our heritage. At the same time, our task as scientists consists in the correct choice of irradiation parameters, to avoid any kind of damage to the artifacts induced by radiations.

Fragments of ancient documentsFragments of ancient documents from Monte Cassino Abbey (Italy) to be treated at the Calliope facility for preservation purposes (PERGAMO Project). Left: fragment of incunabulum (paper, 15th century); right: document dated “Sulmona, 31 July 1448” (parchment).
I feel a great deal of passion in your work. When you decided to study chemistry, this field probably wasn't very well known yet. When, why, how did you start working in this aspect of radiation processing?

You’re right… I started to work in this really fascinating field around ten years ago, since we had the opportunity to participate at an international call from the International Atomic Energy Agency, an UN agency devoted to support and spread the use of nuclear processes and radiations for peaceful applications. On that occasion, we met several colleagues and research groups. Very fruitful international collaborations have started to develop and are increasingly active.

Effect of the gamma radiationEffect of the gamma radiation treatment on microbial community: growth before (left) and after irradiation (right).
What competences and skills do you need every day to conduct your work?

In my opinion, one of the most important skills in the research work is the ability to work in a team, being able to interact with colleagues of different specialization areas.

What are you working on now?

Currently, we are even more involved in cultural heritage preservation activities, due to the continuous increase of the interest toward radiation treatments from the cultural heritage operators. Moreover, our facility is involved in several national and international projects related to different application fields, such as nuclear, space, high energy physics, medicine, agro-food, environment…