Paola Ceroni (born 1971) got her laurea (cum laude) in chemistry at the University of Bologna in 1995: thesis on photophysics of molecular knots, advisor Prof. Vincenzo Balzani. She got the PhD in Chemical Sciences at the University of Bologna in 1998, working under the supervision of Prof. Sergio Roffia in the field of electrochemistry and spectroelectrochemistry of molecular and supramolecular systems. She was a visiting scientist in the laboratory of Prof. Allen J. Bard at the University of Texas at Austin (USA), financially supported by a grant from NATO Supramolecular Special Programme. She got research fellowships to work at CNR (Institute of Photochemistry and High Energy Radiation, Bologna) and in the Photochemistry and Supramolecular Chemistry group directed by Prof. Vincenzo Balzani.

Since 2001 she has a permanent position at the University of Bologna, Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”: she is currently full professor in inorganic chemistry.

In 2015 she was visiting professor in the laboratory of Prof. Sergei Vinogradov (University of Pennsylvania, US, three months) for the development of phosphorescent probes by two-photon excitation.

Her current research interests are focused on luminescent silicon nanocrystlas, molecular and supramolecular systems for artificial photosynthesis and photocatalysis.

Her research on luminescent silicon nanocrystals was funded by an ERC Starting Grant PhotoSi (2012-2017) and an ERC Proof of Concept SiNBiosys (2017-2019).