About me

Welcome!

First of all, welcome to my personal website!

My name is Alessandro Ascani Orsini. I am from Mandello del Lario, Italy, and I am also a Canadian citizen. I have many interests, including board games, LARPs (Live Action Role Play), and travel. However, what I love most is learning new things, particularly about time travel, chaos theory, quantum physics, nanotechnology, and the brain.

Who am I?

I’m currently an PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. In Spring 2023 I graduated as a Schreyer Honors Scholar at the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Engineering Sciences and Mechanics, a minor in Neuroscience and a minor in Nanotechnology.

My dream is to become a leader in Neural Engineering and Nanotechnology, merging these two fields to create nanorobots capable of curing, diagnosing, or predicting neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, my thesis in Dr. Nitish Thakor’s lab focuses on the application of a wearable in-ear device to monitor and modulate arousal, aiming to assess and improve recovery from acute brain injury.

On this website, I showcase some of the projects I’ve worked on over the years. Be sure to check back from time to time, as I’ll keep updating it as the list continues to grow!

If you want to get in touch I will be happy to chat with you. Below you find my email and my LinkedIn profile.

*Resume upon request.

My Experience so far...

Since 2019, I have been working in Dr. Bruce Gluckman’s laboratory at the Center for Neural Engineering at Penn State, developing solutions to advance brain studies and creating tools for brain interfacing. In 2021, I joined Dr. James Adair’s laboratory to fabricate silica nanoparticles for biomedical applications in the brain, which were also used in a collaborative project with Dr. Gluckman. During my time in college have taken courses in Neuroscience, Solid State Physics, Nanotechnology, Electromagnetism, and Biomedical Engineering.

After graduating from Penn State in 2023, I joined the Cybernetic Implantable Devices Lab at Johns Hopkins, focusing on wearable and compact novel devices for healthcare applications. In Spring 2024, I began working in the Neuroengineering and Biomedical Instrumentation Lab on wireless devices for prosthetic control and arousal monitoring.

In my spare time, I work on fun MATLAB codes and side projects related to my interests to deepen and expand my knowledge.