Franco Gaspari
PhD

Background

Dr. Gaspari holds an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Bologna, (Italy), and a M.Sc. and Ph. D. in Physics from the University of Toronto (Canada). Following 10 years as senior Research Associate at the Semiconductor and Photovoltaics lab at the University of Toronto, he is now an associate professor of Physics at Ontario Tech. Dr. Gaspari main research interests include emerging materials for application in the fields of renewable sustainable energy; third generation solar cells; thin film amorphous silicon, diamond-like carbon, silicon carbides, graphene and carbon nanotubes. In particular, the main objective of the experimental work is to grow and characterize novel materials that can be used in a variety of energy related applications, including: metal oxides as photo-catalytic electrodes, tritiated amorphous silicon and silicon-carbide for nuclear micro-batteries, hydrogenated silicon carbide for photovoltaic applications, etc. Recently, Dr. Gaspari has initiated a collaborative program with Chemistry and Engineering colleagues aimed at developing remote pollution monitoring sensors based on "smart" materials. Dr. Gaspari has published over 80 research articles and is the author or co-author of four patents and four book chapters.

Dr. Gaspari has received significant funding for his research from NSERC, CFI, OCE and several industrial partners and has received several invitations to present his work on energy materials and devices at prestigious international conferences. In teaching, Dr. Gaspari has served as Undergraduate Program Director for Physics from 2011 to 2013 and as Graduate Program Director for Materials Science (2009-2011, 2014-present). He has developed and taught four different undergraduate physics-based courses, including Forensic Physics Applications, Physics for the Health Sciences, Solar cells and Photovoltaics, and Materials Science. Dr. Gaspari was responsible for the establishment of the Graduate Program in Materials Science, where he contributed to the development of two core graduate courses.