Nicolo Tuccori

I am a Research Fellow in the Experimental Particle Physics (EPP) group, focusing on the LiquidO opaque scintillator technology [1,2]. In particular, I follow the development and characterisation of in-house experimental prototypes [3]. I am also a member of the AM-OTech innovation project [4], which will deploy a 10-ton LiquidO detector for nuclear reactor monitoring by detecting anti-neutrinos at Chooz (France).

I joined Sussex in 2019 to pursue my PhD. My thesis focused on optimizing scintillator-based X-ray detectors for fast imaging systems [5]. The PhD was funded by industry leaders such as Hilger Crystals and Rapiscan Systems, with whom I collaborated.

Before my doctoral studies, I was affiliated with the Università degli Studi di Padova (Padua, Italy).
There, I completed my Master's Degree in Physics, conducting research for the final project at Instituto Superior Técnico (Lisbon, Portugal), thanks to an Erasmus project scholarship. The focus of the project was on the exploitation of nuclear techniques to characterize the degradation of plastics rejected in the aquatic environment [6].
Additionally, after graduating, I held a 6-month pre-doctoral research position, where I contributed to the development of plastic scintillator detectors for cosmic ray neutron sensing applications [7].

[1] https://liquido.ijclab.in2p3.fr
[2] Neutrino physics with an opaque detector

[3] Muon detection with an opaque scintillator detector prototype

[4] https://antimatter-otech.ijclab.in2p3.fr

[5] Photon-Counting Computed Tomography and Scintillator-Based Detectors: A Simulation Analysis With Scintillating and Reflecting Materials Currently on the Market

[6] Modelling the uptake of suspended materials and salts in nearshore waters by plastics using nuclear microscopy and depth profiling analytical tools

[7] Performance comparison between signal digitizers and low-cost digital oscilloscopes: spectroscopic, pulse shape discrimination and timing capabilities for nuclear detectors