Paola Prete, PhD in Physics, is Professor at Department of Innovation Engineering of University of Salento, Lecce, Italy. Before she has been a senior researcher and responsible for the epitaxial growth laboratory of the Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) in Lecce, Italy, since 1998. Visiting staff scientist at Glyndwr University, Wrexham, UK (1996–1997) With more than 30-years of research experience in the field of materials science, her research focuses on MOVPE and MBE growth and spectroscopy of III-V nanostructures synthesized by bottom-up approaches such as core-(multi)shell nanowires for applications to nano- and opto-electronics, sensing, and photovoltaics, and on van der Waals heterostructures based on graphene and graphene-like materials. Author of more than 120 peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings, more than 200 contributions to international conferences, and several invited presentations. Awarded by the Italian Association of Crystallography the Young Scientist Prize (2000). Chair of International and National Congresses and Schools. Advisory Committee member of numerous international conferences.