Stefano Taccheo

Stefano Taccheo is an Associate Professor at the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET) at Politecnico di Torino. He is a member of the Interdepartmental Center Photonext and serves as the Scientific Contact of the European Association Photonics21. His professional activities span across multiple institutions including Swansea University where he was Associate Professor from 2008-2019 and co-founded the Centre for Cosmetic & Curative applications of Compound Semiconductor Tech (C4ST).

Dr. Taccheo's research focuses on biophotonics and tumor diagnosis, fiber lasers and solid-state lasers, quantum cascade lasers for medical applications, and wide-bandwidth active materials and devices. His work bridges the gap between fundamental laser physics and practical medical applications, with particular emphasis on cancer detection and environmental monitoring.

His recent publications demonstrate a clear trend toward advanced modeling of doped glass systems for laser applications, with increasing integration of machine learning techniques for optical system analysis. The research spans from fundamental laser physics to biomedical applications, showing a consistent trajectory of applying photonics to solve real-world medical and environmental challenges.

• Philip Morris Award for Scientific and Technological Research, Italy (1992)
• Steering Committee member - Photonics21, European (2019-)
• Steering Committee member - Photonics21, European (2011-2014)

Dr. Taccheo currently supervises PhD student Riccardo Ballarini in the Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering program. His research is supported by significant collaborations including the CIBioF agreement between Politecnico di Torino and the University of Turin for the study of pharmacological and oncological biomarkers with photonic techniques (2025-2029). He has held program chair positions for multiple Advanced Solid-State Lasers conferences and Fiber Lasers and Glass Photonics events.

As a key member of the Photonext Interdepartmental Center on Applied Photonics at PoliTO, Dr. Taccheo contributes to interdisciplinary research teams working at the intersection of photonics, medicine, and environmental science. His leadership in the European Photonics21 platform demonstrates his significant role in shaping photonics research directions at the European level.