Matteo Capone

Matteo Capone is a Research Fellow at CNR-NANO (National Research Council of Italy) in Modena, where he has worked since 2024 on the EnvELOP project directed by Dr. Laura Zanetti Polzi. He holds a PhD in Mathematics and Models from the University of L'Aquila (2020) and a degree in Chemical Sciences from Sapienza University of Rome (2015). Prior to joining CNR-NANO, he conducted post-PhD research at the University of L'Aquila's Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences under Prof. Isabella Daidone.

His research focuses on computational chemistry with three primary domains:

• Photosystem-II Catalysis: Investigating water oxidation mechanisms and charge-separation processes using QM/MM dynamics
• Electron-Donor-Acceptor Catalysis: Studying protein conformation effects on charge-transfer kinetics for organic synthesis
• Channelrhodopsin Spectroscopy: Analyzing mutation impacts on photocycle dynamics for optogenetics applications

Capone has received recognition as a 2020 FameLab science communication finalist and founded the outreach project 'Il Chimico sulla Tavola' to popularize chemistry. His publication record includes high-impact journals like Nature, Angewandte Chemie, and ACS Catalysis, focusing on photosynthetic mechanisms and enzyme dynamics.