Postdoctoral Researcher · CFEL / DESY Hamburg

Oliviero
Cannelli

Developing ultrafast X-ray techniques to observe light-induced electronic and structural dynamics in molecular, biological, and condensed matter systems — at tabletop and large-scale facilities.

526
Citations
11
h-index
26
Publications
$1M+
Funding raised
Portrait of Oliviero Cannelli
Highlights
🏆Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow 2024
·
🏆SAIS Prize — Best STEM PhD Thesis in Switzerland 2022
·
💰$1,047,000 in research funding · 3 grants as PI
·
🎤18 invited talks at international conferences
·
📄Nature Photonics · JACS · Nat. Commun. · PNAS · Sci. Adv.

Background & Career

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Attosecond Science group of Prof. Francesca Calegari at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), DESY, Hamburg. My research focuses on developing new investigation techniques using cutting-edge ultrafast X-ray sources — both tabletop setups and large-scale facilities such as synchrotrons and free-electron lasers.

I harness the element- and site-selectivity of X-ray spectroscopic methods to address fundamental questions about light-induced responses of molecular, biological, and condensed matter systems, and to understand their functional properties at the atomic scale.

I received my PhD from EPFL (2021) under the supervision of Prof. Majed Chergui and Prof. Giulia Fulvia Mancini, for which I received the SAIS Prize for the best PhD thesis in the STEM field in Switzerland. Before joining DESY, I was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Lausanne Centre for Ultrafast Science (LACUS), EPFL.

Research Vision

My long-term goal is to establish an independent research program at the intersection of ultrafast X-ray science and condensed matter physics — developing next-generation spectroscopic tools that resolve coupled electronic, spin, and structural dynamics with simultaneous element-selectivity and femtosecond resolution. I aim to leverage both tabletop attosecond sources and large-scale free-electron laser facilities to address open questions in functional materials, energy conversion, and quantum matter.

2023 – present
Postdoctoral Researcher, CFEL Attosecond Science Group, DESY / Universität Hamburg, Germany.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow (2024) & SNSF Fellow.
2021 – 2023
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Lausanne Centre for Ultrafast Science (LACUS), EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
2017 – 2021
PhD in Physics (SAIS Prize — best STEM thesis, Switzerland), Laboratory of Ultrafast Spectroscopy (LSU), EPFL.
Thesis: Photo- and thermally-induced electronic and structural dynamics in perovskites and transition metal oxides.
2014 – 2016
MSc in Chemistry (summa cum laude), University of Pisa & Second Cycle Diploma, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
2011 – 2014
BSc in Chemistry (summa cum laude), University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy.

Research Themes

Ultrafast X-ray Spectroscopy
Development and application of femtosecond X-ray absorption (XAS) and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) techniques to capture electronic and structural changes on timescales ranging from femtoseconds to picoseconds.
🔬
Condensed Matter & Perovskites
Probing photoinduced structural dynamics in halide perovskite nanocrystals and transition metal oxides with atomic-level precision, combining experiment with first-principles simulations.
🧬
Biological & Molecular Systems
Element-selective investigation of spin dynamics and ligand dissociation in haem proteins, and photodynamics of organic molecules, using synchrotrons and free-electron laser sources.
🌊
Attosecond & HHG Sources
Working within the CFEL Attosecond Science group on the development of attosecond light sources based on high-order harmonic generation (HHG) for next-generation ultrafast experiments at tabletop scale.

Journal Articles

26 peer-reviewed articles · first or co-first author  ·  * corresponding author

2026
Ultrafast Formation of Jahn–Teller Polarons Revealed by State-Selective Excitation in Correlated Spinel Co₃O₄
S. Restelli, O. Cannelli, C. Grova, P. Usai, M. Puppin, F. Barantani, Y. Meng, J. Teyssier, M. Oppermann, C. Bacellar, J.R. Rouxel, L.D. Leroy, N. Ohannessian, D. Pergolesi, P. Galinetto, M. Chergui, E. Baldini, G.F. Mancini*
Journal of the American Chemical Society accepted 2026
2026
Engineering High-Order Harmonic Generation through Gas Confinement at Sub-Millimeter Lengths
A. Azzolin, G. Giovannetti, O. Cannelli, S. Rockenstein, G. Fan, M.S. Ahsan, L. Colaizzi, E.P. Månsson, D. Faccialà, F. Frassetto, A.G. Ciriolo, D.W. Lodi, A. Ashraf, C. Manzoni, R. Martínez Vázquez, M. Devetta, R. Osellame, L. Poletto, S. Stagira, C. Vozzi, T. Mullins, V. Wanie, A. Trabattoni, F. Calegari*
Journal of Physics: Photonics 8.1 (2026): 015057
2026
Real-Time Tracking of the Intramolecular Vibrational Dynamics of Liquid Water
G. Giovannetti, S. Ryabchuk, A. Bin Wahid, H.-Y. Chen, G. Batignani, E.P. Månsson, O. Cannelli, E. Mai, A. Trabattoni, O. Neufeld, A. Rubio, V. Wanie, H. Marroux*, T. Scopigno*, M. Chergui*, F. Calegari*
Communications Chemistry 9, 57 (2026)
2024
Separation of Kinetic Rate Orders in Extreme Ultraviolet Transient Grating Spectroscopy
H.J.B. Marroux*, S. Polishchuk, O. Cannelli, R.A. Ingle, G.F. Mancini, C. Bacellar, M. Puppin, R. Geneaux, G. Knopp, L. Foglia, E. Pedersoli, F. Capotondi, I.P. Nikolov, F. Bencivenga, R. Mincigrucci, C. Masciovecchio, M. Chergui*
Journal of Physics B 57.11 (2024): 115401
2024
* Early Bird or Night Owl? Controlling the Ultrafast Photodynamics of Triphenylamine Substituted 2,2′:6′,2′′-Terpyridine
A.M. Maroń*, O. Cannelli*, E.C. Socie, P. Lodowski, M. Oppermann, B. Machura, M. Chergui
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 26.7 (2024): 6265–6276
2023
Ultrafast Energy Transfer from Photoexcited Tryptophan to the Haem in Cytochrome c
C. Bacellar, J.R. Rouxel, R.A. Ingle, G.F. Mancini, D. Kinschel, O. Cannelli, Y. Zhao, C. Cirelli, G. Knopp, J. Szlachetko, F.A. Lima, S. Menzi, D. Ozerov, G. Pamfilidis, K. Kubicek, D. Khakhulin, W. Gawelda, C. Bressler, C.A. Arrell, P.J.M. Johnson, C.J. Milne, M. Chergui*
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 14.9 (2023): 2425–2432
2022
Hard X-ray Helical Dichroism of Disordered Molecular Media
J.R. Rouxel*, B. Rösner, D. Karpov, C. Bacellar, G.F. Mancini, F. Zinna, D. Kinschel, O. Cannelli, M. Oppermann, C. Svetina, A. Diaz, J. Lacour, C. David, M. Chergui*
Nature Photonics 16 (2022): 570–574
2022
Atomic-Level Description of Thermal Fluctuations in Inorganic Lead Halide Perovskites
O. Cannelli, J. Wiktor, N. Colonna, L. Leroy, M. Puppin, C. Bacellar, I. Sadykov, F. Krieg, G. Smolentsev, M.V. Kovalenko, A. Pasquarello, M. Chergui*, G.F. Mancini*
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 13.15 (2022): 3382–3391
2022
* Push–Pull Effect of Terpyridine Substituted by Triphenylamine Motive
A.M. Maroń*, O. Cannelli*, E.C. Socie, P. Lodowski, B. Machura
Molecules 27.20 (2022): 7071
2021
Quantifying Photoinduced Polaronic Distortions in Inorganic Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals
O. Cannelli, N. Colonna, M. Puppin, T. Rossi, D. Kinschel, L. Leroy, J. Loeffler, A.M. March, G. Doumy, A. Al Haddad, M.-F. Tu, Y. Kumagai, D. Walko, G. Smolentsev, F. Krieg, S.C. Boehme, M.V. Kovalenko, M. Chergui*, G.F. Mancini*
Journal of the American Chemical Society 143.24 (2021): 9048–9059
2021
Femtosecond X-ray Spectroscopy of Haem Proteins
C. Bacellar, D. Kinschel, O. Cannelli, B. Sorokin, T. Katayama, G.F. Mancini, J.R. Rouxel, Y. Obara, J. Nishitani, C. Cirelli, G. Knopp, K. Nass, P.J.M. Johnson, F.A. Lima, C.J. Milne, M. Yabashi, T. Suzuki, K. Misawa, M. Chergui*
Faraday Discussions 228 (2021): 312–328
2020
Femtosecond X-ray Emission Study of the Spin Cross-Over Dynamics in Haem Proteins
D. Kinschel, C. Bacellar, O. Cannelli, B. Sorokin, T. Katayama, G.F. Mancini, J.R. Rouxel, Y. Obara, J. Nishitani, T. Keane, F.A. Lima, W. Gawelda, P. Zalden, S. Schulz, J.M. Budarz, D. Khakhulin, A. Galler, C. Bressler, C.J. Milne, T. Penfold, M. Yabashi, T. Suzuki, K. Misawa, M. Chergui*
Nature Communications 11.1 (2020): 4145
2020
Spin Cascade and Doming in Ferric Hemes: Femtosecond X-ray Absorption and X-ray Emission Studies
C. Bacellar, D. Kinschel, G.F. Mancini, R.A. Ingle, J. Rouxel, O. Cannelli, C. Cirelli, G. Knopp, J. Szlachetko, F.A. Lima, S. Menzi, G. Pamfilidis, K. Kubicek, D. Khakhulin, W. Gawelda, C. Bressler, C.A. Arrell, P.J.M. Johnson, C. Milne, M. Chergui*
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117.36 (2020): 21914–21920
2020
X-ray Absorption Linear Dichroism at the Ti K-edge of Rutile TiO₂ Single Crystal
T.C. Rossi, D. Grolimund, O. Cannelli, G.F. Mancini, C. Bacellar, D. Kinschel, J.R. Rouxel, N. Ohannessian, D. Pergolesi, M. Chergui*
Journal of Synchrotron Radiation 27.2 (2020): 425–435
2019
X-ray Absorption Linear Dichroism at the Ti K Edge of Anatase TiO₂ Single Crystals
T.C. Rossi, D. Grolimund, M. Nachtegaal, O. Cannelli, G.F. Mancini, C. Bacellar, D. Kinschel, J.R. Rouxel, N. Ohannessian, D. Pergolesi, T. Lippert, M. Chergui*
Physical Review B 100.24 (2019): 245207
2019
Exciton Control in a Room Temperature Bulk Semiconductor with Coherent Strain Pulses
E. Baldini*, A. Dominguez, T. Palmieri, O. Cannelli, A. Rubio, P. Ruello, M. Chergui*
Science Advances 5.11 (2019): eaax2937
2019
Toward Time-Resolved Laser T-jump/X-ray Probe Spectroscopy in Aqueous Solutions
O. Cannelli, C. Bacellar, R.A. Ingle, R. Bohinc, D. Kinschel, B. Bauer, D.S. Ferreira, D. Grolimund, G.F. Mancini*, M. Chergui*
Structural Dynamics 6.6 (2019): 064303
2018
Evaluation of Hyperpolarizability from the Solvatochromic Method: Thiophene Containing Push–Pull Cationic Dyes
B. Carlotti*, A. Cesaretti, O. Cannelli, T. Giovannini, C. Cappelli, C. Bonaccorso, C.G. Fortuna, F. Elisei, A. Spalletti
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 122.4 (2018): 2285–2296
2017
Understanding the Interplay between the Solvent and Nuclear Rearrangements in the Negative Solvatochromism of a Push–Pull Flexible Quinolinium Cation
O. Cannelli, T. Giovannini, A. Baiardi, B. Carlotti, F. Elisei, C. Cappelli*
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 19.48 (2017): 32544–32555
2015
A Mechanistic Explanation of the Peculiar Amphiphobic Properties of Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Coatings by Combining XPS Characterization and DFT Modeling
A. Motta*, O. Cannelli, A. Boccia, R. Zanoni*, M. Raimondo, A. Caldarelli, F. Veronesi
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 7.36 (2015): 19941–19947

Full list on Google Scholar and ORCID. · 526 citations · h-index 11 · i10-index 13 (May 2026).

Research Grants

5 national and international grants totalling $1,047,000, including 3 as Principal Investigator.

Co-applicant2026
Cluster of Excellence — CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany
Early-Career Investigator quota · $580,000
Co-applicant2025
Calls for Transfer C4T PIER PLUS — Efficient Coherent EUV Light Generation for Lithographic Circuit Characterisation
City of Hamburg, Germany
$35,000
PI2024
PIER Seed Project — Ultrafast Electronic Coherences in Metal-Organic Complexes in Solution
DESY, Germany
$46,000
PI2023
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship — Element-Selective Impulsive Electronic and Vibrational Spectroscopy of Iron-Sulfur Clusters
European Commission
$252,000
PI2022
Postdoc Mobility Fellowship — Element-Selective Impulsive Electronic and Vibrational Spectroscopy in Iron-Sulfur Clusters
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
$134,000

Invited Talks & Conferences

33 contributions to international conferences and seminars, including 18 invited talks.

Invited2026
Double-Blind Holography of Ultrashort FEL Pulses with Attosecond Resolution
Atto-FEL 2026 · June 2026 · London, UK upcoming
Invited2026
Real-Time Tracking of the Intramolecular Vibrational Dynamics of Liquid Water
LINX Workshop · May 2026 · Heidelberg, Germany upcoming
Invited2026
Controlling Electron–Phonon Coupling in Quantum Materials via Ultrashort Core-Resonant X-ray Pulses
Theoretical Chemistry Seminar, Northwestern University · March 2026 · Chicago, IL, USA upcoming
Invited2026
Real-Time Tracking of the Intramolecular Vibrational Dynamics of Liquid Water
ELIXIR2026 Workshop · March 2026 · Saclay, France
Invited2025
Core-Resonant Enhancement of Impulsive Lattice Dynamics in Trigonal Tellurium
CUI:AIM Annual Meeting 2025 · November 2025 · Hohewacht, Germany
Invited2025
Controlling Electron–Phonon Coupling with Ultrashort Core-Resonant X-ray Pulses
NEST Seminar · October 2025 · Pisa, Italy
Invited2025
Controlling Electron–Phonon Coupling with Core-Resonant X-ray Pulses
Scientific Advisory Council of FERMI · October 2025 · Trieste, Italy
Invited2025
Double Blind Holography for Reconstructing SASE FEL Pulses
FELs of Europe Topical Workshop · September 2025 · Grado, Italy
Invited2025
Core Enhanced X-ray Impulsive Vibrational Spectroscopy in Trigonal Tellurium
10th International Discussion Meeting on Relaxations in Complex Systems · July 2025 · Barcelona, Spain
Invited2025
Double-Blind Holography for Single-Shot SASE FEL Reconstruction
14th Ringberg Workshop on Science with FELs · February 2025 · Ringberg, Germany
Invited2024
Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering Measurements in the Impulsive Limit
13th International Conference on Inelastic X-ray Scattering · September 2024 · Himeji, Japan
Invited2024
Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering in the Impulsive Limit
WavemiX-2024 · July 2024 · Madrid, Spain
Invited2024
High-Order Harmonic Generation in the Nonadiabatic Regime in a Sub-mm Glass Chip
LPHYS'24 · July 2024 · São Carlos, Brazil
Invited2024
Double-Blind Holography of Free-Electron Laser Pulses at FLASH2
Photon Science Meeting · January 2024 · Hamburg, Germany
Invited2023
Ultrafast Dynamics at Extreme Time Scales Using X-ray Spectroscopy
Scientific Frontier Seminar, Scuola Normale Superiore · December 2023 · Pisa, Italy
Invited2023
Advanced Attosecond Sources for Material Science
UltrafastX 2023 · November 2023 · Xi'an, China
Invited2022
Mapping the Excitation-Specific Electron, Spin and Lattice Dynamics in Spinel Co₃O₄ Thin Films
Seminar@ELETTRA · November 2022 · Trieste, Italy
Invited2019
Towards Time-Resolved Laser T-jump/X-ray Absorption Probe Spectroscopy
Seminar@ELETTRA · November 2019 · Trieste, Italy
Contributed2025
Core Resonant X-ray Impulsive Vibrational Spectroscopy in Trigonal Tellurium
Italian National Conference on the Physics of Matter · July 2025 · Venice, Italy
Contributed2025
Resonantly Enhanced X-ray Impulsive Vibrational Spectroscopy in Trigonal Tellurium
16th Femtochemistry Conference · June 2025 · Trieste, Italy
Contributed2024
Atomic-Selective Impulsive Vibrational Spectroscopy Upon Core-Level Resonant Excitation
28th International Conference on Raman Spectroscopy · August 2024 · Rome, Italy
Contributed2024
Single-Shot Double-Blind Holography of SASE FEL Pulses
23rd International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena · July 2024 · Barcelona, Spain
Contributed2024
On the Element-Selectivity of Core-Level Transient Grating Spectroscopies
Science@FELs · June 2024 · Paris, France
Contributed2023
Correlative Electronic-, Spin- and Structural-Dynamics in Spinel Co₃O₄ Thin Films
15th Femtochemistry Conference · August 2023 · Berlin, Germany
Contributed2023
On the Element-Selectivity of Core-Level Transient Grating Spectroscopy
SRX2023 — Soft X-ray Spectroscopy · September 2023 · Berlin, Germany
Contributed2022
Mapping Excitation-Specific Dynamics in Spinel Co₃O₄
4th Joint AIC-SILS Conference · September 2022 · Trieste, Italy
Contributed2022
Decoupled Structural Responses upon Light and Thermal Activation in CsPbBr₃ Perovskites
22nd International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena · July 2022 · Montreal, Canada
Contributed2022
Mapping Excitation-Specific Dynamics in Spinel Co₃O₄
Swiss Physical Society Annual Meeting · June 2022 · Fribourg, Switzerland
Contributed2021
Time-Resolved Laser T-jump/X-ray Absorption Probe Spectroscopy
International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies · December 2021 · Online
Contributed2019
Towards Time-Resolved Laser T-jump/X-ray Absorption Probe Spectroscopy
SXR2019 · September 2019 · Berlin, Germany
Contributed2019
Towards Time-Resolved Laser T-jump/X-ray Absorption Probe Spectroscopy
Swiss Chemical Society Fall Meeting · September 2019 · Zurich, Switzerland
Contributed2018
Element-Selective Probing of Photo-Induced Charge Carriers in Inorganic Lead Perovskites
XAFS 17th International Conference · July 2018 · Krakow, Poland

Get in Touch

I am happy to discuss research collaborations, invited talks, or general questions about my work.

Phone +49 40 8998-5827
Office Building 94, Room 03.024
Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
Scholar Google Scholar
ResearchGate Oliviero-Cannelli
CFEL / DESY Hamburg Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron
Notkestrasse 85 · 22607 Hamburg
Germany