The first edition of the Raman Spectroscopy Summer School: Principles and Applications (RAMSS 2026) has successfully concluded. The event was hosted in the Chapel Hall of the former Military Hospital in Trieste, home to the University of Trieste’s Luciano Fonda Honors College.

All 20 available places were filled by PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and professionals from across Italy, confirming the strong interest of the scientific community in this analytical technique.

Raman spectroscopy is an analytical method that allows scientists to determine the composition of a material and understand how its molecules are organized without damaging or altering the sample. The technique works by illuminating the selected sample with a laser beam. Most of the light is reflected unchanged, but a small fraction interacts with the material’s molecules and undergoes slight energy shifts. By analyzing these variations, researchers obtain a sort of molecular “fingerprint” that enables them to identify the chemical composition of the sample.

The Summer School combined lectures, hands-on sessions using real instrumentation, and a workshop dedicated to spectroscopic data analysis. The teaching staff brought together eight specialists. Representing the University of Trieste were Alois Bonifacio, Stefano Fornasaro, Vanni Lughi, and Valter Sergo. They were joined by Ivano Alessandri (University of Brescia), Stefano Legnaioli (CNR-ICCOM, Pisa), Barbara Rossi (Elettra – Sincrotrone Trieste), and Giorgia Sciutto (University of Bologna). Their expertise covered a wide range of fields, including biomedicine, materials science, catalysis, and cultural heritage conservation.

The school received the patronage of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI) through its Divisions of Analytical Chemistry and Chemistry for Technologies, which provided four scholarships covering the registration fees for four outstanding participants.

The event was organized by the local committee of the University of Trieste, composed of Alois Bonifacio, Gianpiero Adami (co-directors of the school), and Stefano Fornasaro.