Nicola Pilan was born in Vicenza on 12 November 1979. He received his B.S. degree, cum laude, in mechanical engineering, a M. S. degree in Plasma Physics and his Ph. D in Electrical Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy, in 2003, 2004 and 2009 respectively. He is a researcher at the Consorzio RFX in Padova, where he is involved in R&D activities for the ITER neutral beam injector. He contributed to the construction and commissioning of the high-voltage test facilities in Padova, currently used to test devices and carry out high-voltage experiments in vacuum, up to 800kVdc. He proposed a probabilistic method to predict the hold-off voltage of a multi-electrode system insulated by vacuum. In recent years he has conducted research on microdischarges and X-ray radiation characterizing the conditioning of high voltage direct current devices insulated by long vacuum gaps. He has published more than 90 papers in international journals and contributions to international conferences (h-index: 21).