Dr. Cattaneo earned her PhD in Experimental Physics from Politecnico di Milano (Italy, 2009–2011), where she specialized in the fabrication and characterization of nanomaterials, including thin films, nanowires, and nanoparticles.
She then joined Radboud University in the Netherlands as a postdoctoral researcher (2011–2014) in the Spectroscopy of Solids and Interfaces group. There, she explored the optical properties of liquid crystals within an International Training Network (ITN), collaborating with both academia and industry partners such as Philips and Merck.
In 2014, Dr. Cattaneo moved to ETH Zurich to work in the Ultrafast Laser Physics group, where she investigated atomic and molecular dynamics on attosecond timescales—the shortest time intervals ever measured.
Combining her diverse expertise, she has developed a strong interdisciplinary background spanning materials science, liquid crystal physics, and ultrafast processes in matter.
Since May 2020, Dr. Cattaneo leads her own independent research group, Ultrafast Liquid Crystal Dynamics (ULCD), at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK) in Heidelberg. As a Max Planck Research Group Leader, she focuses on the dynamics of liquid crystals across a vast range of time scales—from picoseconds down to attoseconds—and from bulk materials to single molecules.
Her team built a state-of-the-art laser lab from the ground up, featuring two major research lines (THz and HHG), alongside a dedicated sample preparation facility equipped with custom-designed tools. Their work has secured multiple competitive beamtimes at leading facilities including PETRA III, EuXFEL, SwissFEL, FELBE, and FELIX.
In recognition of her contributions, Dr. Cattaneo was awarded the prestigious Mildred Dresselhaus Guest Professorship by the Hamburg Cluster of Excellence CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter in November 2024.
She is also actively involved in outreach and gender equality initiatives. From 2020 to 2024, she served as Second Deputy Equal Opportunity Officer at MPIK, and is currently a Gender Balance Contact Person (CPC) within the NEXT CostAction (CA22148).