The Italian physicist and materials scientist Prof. Dr. Enrico Gnecco is now researching and teaching at the University of Jena.

Friction phenomena under the microscope

Prof. Dr. Enrico Gnecco teaches mechanics at the University Jena
The Italian physicist and materials scientist Prof. Dr. Enrico Gnecco is now researching and teaching at the University of Jena.
Image: Anne Günther (University of Jena)
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Prof. Dr. Enrico Gnecco teaches mechanics of functional materials at the University of Jena

Investigating the small things and not losing sight of the big things, this describes the work of Prof. Dr. Enrico Gnecco. Since this semester, the Italian has been teaching as the new professor for mechanics of functional materials at the Otto Schott Institute for Materials Research at the University of Jena.

Enrico Gnecco is particularly interested in the friction that inevitably occurs when bodies move. "We look what happens on the nanoscale when two bodies are moved against each other," says Gnecco. The 43-year-old physicist is particularly interested in what happens at one of the numerous contact points. In this way, the nature of friction is examined on a small scale in order to later be able to look at the phenomenon as a whole. Prof. Gnecco also researches friction in a vacuum and under water. "It's exciting to see how water affects the phenomenon of friction," says Gnecco. There are differences between clean and polluted water, for example. Speaking of liquids: The friction of the blood in the vessels is also an object of research. There are only a few experts in the world who deal with this. "Of course we are interested in how friction can be reduced," says Gnecco.

It is primarily basic research that Enrico Gnecco conducts. But of course this does not exclude concrete technical applications of research results. Jena is known for having many application-oriented scientists, says the Italian.

Physicist and musician

Enrico Gnecco comes from Genoa. He studied physics in his hometown and at the same time attended the conservatory, where he received his master's degree in piano. "Music and physics go very well together," says Gnecco. Music gave him a lot, but physics always came first. After studying in Genoa, Enrico Gnecco went to Basel. There he worked in the group of Prof. Dr. Ernst Meyer. He dealt i.a. with the speed dependence of friction in a high vacuum and with electromechanical processes to avoid the friction and self-organization of organic molecules on insulating surfaces. Most recently, Gnecco headed a research group at the IMDEA Institute for Nanosciences in Madrid. The group investigated friction phenomena at the atomic level and the controlled manipulation of nanoparticles. Prof. Gnecco is co-author of the book "Nanoscale Processes on Insulating Surfaces" (2009) and co-editor of "Basics of Friction and Wear on the Nanoscale" (2007). Enrico Gnecco is married and has a son.