Dr. Chiara Masellis

Took a structured career break to develop a social-impact business concept while deepening expertise in innovation, venture ecosystems, and AI-enabled project management. Key activities: • Conducted market research, customer discovery, and business model validation for a new venture concept. • Designed early-stage prototypes and explored go-to-market feasibility using lean startup methods. • Upskilled in venture capital, startup ecosystems, AI/data tools, and coaching methodologies.

• Played a key role in corporate governance, leading Head-of and Team Lead teams to define company objectives. • Coordinated cross-functional management teams to secure external fundings. • Continued to fulfill Team Lead reponsibilities.

• Established and managed the project management team • Defined and monitored the project management department budget • Oversaw project budgets across 4 departments • Set department goals aligned with company strategy • Contributed expert knowledge in strategic company discussions • Spearheaded the strategic shift from B2C to B2B at the technology level • Led the transition from Vanadium to Iron technology alongside the management team • Defined the company's project and technology roadmaps

• Led a cross-functional team from concept development to series production of Vanadium Redox-Flow batteries. • Established the company's first project management structure. • Acted as the primary technical contact for external partners and selected customers. • Initiated and led the company's first Iron-Flow battery project. • Reported directly to the C-level executives and partecipated as technical expert in product strategy discussions.

Lead and coordinate the development of laser products across multiple departments (engineering, software, application service, quality, documentation, PLM, and sales) and Coherent sites.

• Responsible for the technical feasibility, design, development, and testing of marking/cutting/welding products (i.e. definition and testing of beam delivery optics, safety mechanisms, laser operation). • Construction, qualification, and testing of prototypes and pilot laser systems. • Maintenance, failure analysis, and improvement of prototypes. • Transfer of projects and know-how to the production department.

• Company management (i.e. finance management, bookkeeping, advertisement, customer management). • Maintain long-term relations with customers, i.e. Winston J. Greene Academic Editing since March 2018. • Improve the overall readability of scientific papers. • Peer-review the content of the manuscripts. • Provide the customers with a flawless text ready to be submitted to their target journal.

• Worked on the commercialization of a patented method to identify glycans. This technique couples mass spectrometry and ion mobility to cold ion spectroscopy. • Supervised and coached young members of the research group to ensure know-how transfer.

•Inventor of a novel technique to identify and characterize glycans, patent application n. PCT/IB2017/055157. •Devised and led experiments involving home-built instruments and spectroscopic techniques with the aim of: -identifying and characterizing glycan isomers; - structurally characterizing peptides.

• Awarded with the EPFL Teaching Assistant Prize for the Quantum Chemistry course. • Tutored in English and French the Quantum Chemistry, Spectroscopy, Physique Générale I course, and the Experimental Physical Chemistry Laboratory of the Bachelor Program in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. • Supervised and graded exams and reports. • Worked on new methods to promote student learning and motivation by actively attending workshops organized by the EPFL Teaching Support Center.

•Thesis title: Cryogenic Ion Spectroscopy of Peptides and Glycans. More details in the Project section. • Doctoral program in collaboration with the Max Planck Society. • Frequent exchange periods at Fritz-Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin.

• Final Mark: 110/110 Cum Laude and Academic Distinction. • Thesis title: Hard X-ray spectroscopic study of the electronic structure and ligand environment of Zn in bovine Carbonic Anhydrase.

• Final Mark: 110/110. • Thesis title: Automatic search of lung cancer nodules in computer tomographies by using artificial intelligence algorithms based on virtual ants colonies.