Associate professor
of condensed-matter physics
Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza University of Rome
P.le
A. Moro 5, 00185 - Rome, Italy
Academic positions
- 2021 - present: Associate Professor, Physics Department, Sapienza
University of Rome
- 2018 - 2021: Tenure-track researcher (RTDB), Physics Department,
Sapienza University of Rome
- 2017 - 2018: Non-tenured researcher (RTDA), ISC-CNR
- 2016 - 2017: Post-doc research fellow, University of Oxford
- 2014 - 2016: Post-doc research fellow, University of Vienna
- 2012 - 2014: Post-doc research fellow, Sapienza University of
Rome
Education
- 2004 - 2007: Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, 110/110 e lode (magna cum
laude), Sapienza University of Rome
- 2007 - 2009: Master’s Degree in Physics, 110/110 e lode (magna cum
laude), Sapienza University of Rome
Teaching
- 2024 - present: Course lecturer of Computational Biophysics for
Physicists
- 2022 - present: Course lecturer of Introduction to programming
(Laboratorio di Calcolo) for Physicists
- 2018 - 2023: Course lecturer of Eletromagnetism (Fisica 2) for
Industrial Chemists and Chemists
- 2019 - 2021: Assistant lecturer for Introduction to programming
(Laboratorio di Calcolo) for Physicists
Student and post-doc
supervision
- 2025 - present: Supervisor of 2 post-doc researchers
- 2022 - present: Supervisor of 2 Ph.D. students
- 2018 - present: Supervisor of 9 master students at Sapienza
- 2018 - present: Supervisor of 7 bachelor students at Sapienza
- 2012 - 2016: co-supervisor of 2 master students at Sapienza and
University of Vienna
Funding
- 2025: PI of the NSF-MUR Lead Agency Opportunity of Artificial
Intelligence project “Harnessing AI for design and simulation of nucleic
acid nanodevices” (446,683 €)
- 2025: University grant on “Biomimetic and biocompatible associative
polymer networks with controllable phase behaviour” (9,000 €)
- 2023: Co-PI of the PRIN 2022 PNRR project “Amorphous Rheology”
(231,417 €)
- 2023: PI of the PRIN 2022 project “Efficient Light Harvesting with
Self-assembled Peptide Nanostructures” (244,437 €)
- 2022: Co-PI of the CECAM/CCP5 sandpit project “Calculation of
Surface Free Energy of Molecular and Coarse-Grained Systems” (24,000
£)
- 2022: University grant on “Simulating the growth mechanism of
amorphous ices from chemical vapour deposition” (13,000 €)
- 2020: University grant on “Modelling membraneless organelles on a
computer” (13,000 €)
- 2018: Rita Levi Montalcini Fellowship (211,173.66 €)
- 2016: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (183,454.80 €)
- 2014: Lise-Meitner Fellowship (144,420 €)
Prizes and awards
- 2019: “Alfredo di Braccio” Prize, awarded by Accademia dei Lincei
(Italy)
- 2018: Rita Levi Montalcini Fellowship, awarded by MIUR (Italy)
- 2016: ESG-Nano-Prize 2016, awarded by the Erwin Schrödinger Society
for Nanosciences (Austria)
- 2016: “Young Investigator Training Program” Prize, awarded during
the ECIS 2016 conference (Italy)
- 2016: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship, awarded by the European
Research Council
- 2014: Lise-Meitner Fellowship, awarded by FWF (Austria)
- 2012: HPC-Europa2 Fellowship, awarded by the European Research
Council
Summary of Scientific
Achievements
I have published 3 book chapters and more than 70 articles in
international peer-reviewed scientific journals. I am first, co-first
and/or corresponding author of approximately half of those publications,
and the majority does not feature my Ph.D. supervisor. Publications
include (IF:impact factor): 1 Science (IF: 44.7), 7 ACS Nano (IF:15.88),
1 Physical Review X (IF:15.76), 1 Nature Communications (IF:14.92), 1
Nature Chemical Biology (IF:12.154), 1 Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences USA (IF:11.2), 5 Physical Review Letters (IF:9.161).
As of April 2026, according to Google Scholar my H-index is 40 and my
work has been cited 4526 times, according to Scopus my H-index is 36 and
my work has been cited 3436 times.
Selected oral presentations
I have delivered more than 30 presentations, more than half of which
by invitation. Here is a list of selected invited presentations:
- 2026: XVII International Workshop on Complex Systems, Andalo
(Italy)
- 2025: Frontiers in Water Biophysics, Erice (Italy)
- 2024: “A Quantum of Matter” seminar series, Trento (Italy)
- 2024: Interdisciplinary challenges in non-equilibrium physics
(IntCha24), MPI-PKS, Dresden (Germany)
- 2023: XVI International Workshop on Complex Systems, Andalo
(Italy)
- 2022: Online talk for the Nanoseminar series organised by the
Utrecht University (The Netherlands)
- 2021: HPC School 2021, Trento (Italy)
- 2020: Workshop on Molecular Dynamics and its Applications to
Biological Systems, ICTP/SISSA (Italy)
- 2019: OxDNA users and developers workshop, Oxford (UK)
- 2018: Computational biophysics on your desktop: is that possible?,
Trento (Italy)
- 2017: “Fluids and Materials seminars” at the Department of Applied
Mathematics, Bristol (UK)
- 2017: Soft Matter, Biomaterials and Interfaces seminar series,
Oxford (UK)
- 2013: DNA-based self-assembly: theory, simulations and experiments,
CECAM, Vienna (Austria)
Organisation of scientific
meetings
- 2023 - present: Scientific Organising Committee member of the
Italian Soft Days (a 2-day, ~150 participants meeting held every two
years)
- 2021 - present: Programme Committee member of the International
Conferences on DNA Computing and Molecular Programming
- 2022: Head of the local organising committee, From Water to
Colloidal Water (Rome, Italy)
- 2016: Local Committee member, ECIS 2016 (Rome, Italy)
- 2013: Local Committee member, ISMC 2013 (Rome, Italy)
Institutional
responsabilities
- 2025 - present: Head of the Committee for the Planning of Teaching
of Physics (Commissione Per La Pianificazione Della Didattica Della
Fisica)
- 2024: Member of the departmental panel for the evaluation of the
“Seal of Excellence” projects to be financed by the Italian Ministry of
the Research and University, Physics Department, Sapienza University of
Rome.
- 2023 - present: Member of the steering committee of the funded
project “Dipartimento di Eccellenza”, Physics Department, Sapienza
University of Rome.
- 2021 - 2023: Head of Departmental Teaching Activities (delegato del
Direttore per la Didattica), Physics Department, Sapienza University of
Rome.
- 2021: Member of the Committee for the creation of a Bachelor Degree
in Artificial Intelligence, Physics Department, Sapienza University of
Rome.
- 2017 - 2018: Member of the “ISC Committee for Research Project
Management and Evaluation” (Commissione ISC per la Valutazione e la
Gestione dei Progetti di Ricerca), Institute of Complex Systems
(CNR-ISC).
Reviewing activities
- 2019 - present: External reviewer or committee member for the final
evaluation of the Ph.D. thesis of 6 candidates (4 in Italy, one in
Spain, one in the UK)
- 2022: Reviewer for the National Science Foundation (USA)
- 2022: Reviewer for the Dutch Research Council (The Netherlands)
- 2021 - 2025: Reviewer for the National Science Center (Poland)
- 2011 - present: Reviewer for Nanoscale, Nat. Commun., Phys.
Rev. Appl. Lett., Phys. Rev. B, Phys. Rev. E, Phys. Rev. Lett.,
Polymers, Soft Matter, Eur. Phys. J. E, J. Chem. Phys., J. Phys. Chem.,
Sci. Adv.
Selected publications
- M. Cappa, F. Sciortino, L. Rovigatti, “A phase-field model
for solutions of DNA-made particles”, J. Chem. Phys.
162 194901 (2025)
- N. Di Pasquale, J. Algaba, P. Montero de Hijes, I. Sanchez-Burgos,
A. R. Tejedor, S. R. Yeandel, F. J. Blas, R. L. Davidchack, J. R.
Espinosa, C. L. Freeman, J. H. Harding, B. B. Laird, E. Sanz, C. Vega,
L. Rovigatti, “Solid–liquid interfacial free energy from computer
simulations: challenges and recent advances”, Chem. Rev.
125 5003 (2025)
- H. Liu, M. Matthies, J. Russo, L. Rovigatti, R. P. Narayanan,
T. Diep, D. McKeen, O. Gang, N. Stephanopoulos, F. Sciortino, H. Yan, F.
Romano, P. Šulc, “Inverse design of a pyrochlore lattice of DNA origami
through model-driven experiments”, Science 384
776 (2024)
- V. Sorichetti, A. Ninarello, J. Ruiz-Franco, V. Hugouvieux, E.
Zaccarelli, C. Micheletti, W. Kob, L. Rovigatti, “Structure and
elasticity of model disordered, polydisperse, and defect-free polymer
networks”, J. Chem. Phys. 158 074905
(2023)
- L. Rovigatti and F. Sciortino, “Designing enhanced entropy
binding in single-chain nanoparticles”, Phys. Rev. Lett.
129 047802 (2022)
- J. Russo, F. Romano, L. Kroc, F. Sciortino L. Rovigatti, P.
Šulc, “SAT-assembly: A new approach for designing self-assembling
systems”, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 34 354002
(2021)
- G. Del Monte, D. Truzzolillo, F. Camerin, A. Ninarello, E. Chauveau,
L. Tavagnacco, N. Gnan, L. Rovigatti, S. Sennato, E. Zaccarelli,
“Two-step deswelling in the Volume Phase Transition of thermoresponsive
microgels”, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 118
e2109560118 (2021)
- V. Sorichetti, A. Ninarello, J. M. Ruiz-Franco, V. Hugovieux, W.
Kob, E. Zaccarelli and L. Rovigatti, “Effect of Chain
Polydispersity on the Elasticity of Disordered Polymer Networks”,
Macromolecules 54 3769 (2021)
- M. Heidenreich, J. Georgeson, E. Locatelli, L. Rovigatti, S.
K. Nandi, A. Steinberg, Y. Nadav, E. Shimoni, S. A. Safran, J. P. K.
Doye, E. D. Levy, “Designer protein assemblies with tunable phase
diagrams in living cells”, Nature Chem. Biol.
16 939 (2020)
- A. Suma, E., Poppleton, M., Matthies, P., Šulc, F., Romano, A. A.
Louis, J. P. K. Doye, C., Micheletti, L. Rovigatti, “TacoxDNA: A
user-friendly web server for simulations of complex DNA structures, from
single strands to origami”, J. Comput. Chem.
40 2586 (2019)
- L. Rovigatti, N. Gnan, A. Ninarello, E. Zaccarelli,
“Connecting Elasticity and Effective Interactions of Neutral Microgels:
The Validity of the Hertzian Model”, Macromolecules
52 4895 (2019)
- P. H. Handle, L. Rovigatti, F. Sciortino, “q-Independent Slow Dynamics in
Atomic and Molecular Systems” Phys. Rev. Lett.
122 175501 (2019)
- L. Rovigatti, N. Gnan, L. Tavagnacco, J. A. Moreno, E.
Zaccarelli, “Numerical modelling of non-ionic microgels: an overview”,
Soft Matter 15 1108 (2019)
- M. J. Bergman, N. Gnan, M. Obiols-Rabasa, J.-M. Meijer, L.
Rovigatti, E. Zaccarelli, P. Schurtenberger, “A new look at
effective interactions between microgel particles”, Nat.
Commun. 9 5039 (2018)
- L. Rovigatti, G. Nava, T. Bellini and F. Sciortino,
“Self-Dynamics and Collective Swap-Driven Dynamics in a Particle Model
for Vitrimers”, Macromolecules 51 1232
(2018)
- N. Gnan, L. Rovigatti, M. Bergman and E. Zaccarelli, “In
Silico Synthesis of Microgel Particles”, Macromolecules
50 8777 (2017)
- E. Bianchi, B. Capone, I. Coluzza, L. Rovigatti and P. D. J.
van Oostrum, “Limiting the valence: advancements and new perspectives on
patchy colloids, soft functionalized nanoparticles and biomolecules”,
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 19 19847 (2017)
- E. Locatelli, P. H. Handle, C. N. Likos, F. Sciortino and L.
Rovigatti, “Condensation and Demixing in Solutions of DNA Nanostars
and Their Mixtures”, ACS Nano 11 2094
(2017)
- N. Mahynski, L. Rovigatti, C. N. Likos and A. Z.
Panagiotopoulos, “Bottom-Up Colloidal Crystal Assembly with a Twist”,
ACS Nano 10 5459 (2016)
- L. Rovigatti, P. Šulc, I. Z. Reguly and F. Romano, “A
comparison between parallelization approaches in molecular dynamics
simulations on GPUs”, J. Comput. Chem. 36 1
(2015)
- L. Rovigatti, F. Smallenburg, F. Romano and F. Sciortino,
“Gels of DNA Nanostars Never Crystallize”, ACS Nano
8 3567 (2014)
- J. P. K. Doye, T. E. Ouldridge, A. A. Louis, F. Romano, P. Šulc, C.
Matek, B. E. K. Snodin, L. Rovigatti, J. S. Schreck, R. M.
Harrison and W. P. J. Smith, “Coarse-graining DNA for simulations of DNA
nanotechnology”, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 15
20395 (2013)
- L. Rovigatti, J. M. Tavares and F. Sciortino, “Self-assembly
in chains, rings and branches: a single component system with two
critical points”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 168302
(2013)
- S. Kantorovich, A. O. Ivanov, L. Rovigatti, J. M. Tavares, F.
Sciortino, “Nonmonotonic Magnetic Susceptibility of Dipolar Hard-Spheres
at Low Temperature and Density”, Phys. Rev. Lett.
110 148306 (2013)
- P. Šulc, F. Romano, T. E. Ouldridge, L. Rovigatti, A. A.
Louis, and J. P. K. Doye, “Sequence-dependent thermodynamics of a
coarse-grained DNA model”, J. Chem. Phys. 137
135101 (2012)
- L. Rovigatti, J. Russo, and F. Sciortino, “No Evidence of
Gas-Liquid Coexistence in Dipolar Hard Spheres”, Phys.
Rev. Lett. 107 237801 (2011)