Stefano Albanese, from the Politecnico to the GeePs laboratory at Paris-Saclay
Twenty-four years old, from Palermo, master's degree in Electrical Engineering: he wins the Master's Thesis Award “Enel Foundation – Polimi Partnership For Polimi Ambassador In Green Technologies And In Smart Infrastructures Year 2026" with a thesis on topology optimization.
A thesis between Milan and Paris-Saclay
The title is "Raw Material Minimization in Electrical Machines Manufacturing: a Topology Optimization Approach". Stefano worked on it during a six-month internship, from February to July 2025, at the GeePs laboratory (Génie Électrique et Électronique Paris-Saclay), on the Paris-Saclay campus, which is affiliated with Sorbonne Université, CentraleSupélec, CNRS and Université Paris-Saclay. The research was supervised by Prof. Théodore Cherriere of GeePs and Prof. Sergio Toscani, his advisor at Politecnico di Milano.
Today, electrical machine components — motors, generators, transformers — have regular geometric shapes, such as circles or rectangles, dictated by classic metalworking techniques. These shapes make for simpler designs, but not necessarily more efficient ones. The materials used — rare earths, permanent magnets, iron, copper — are at the center of the sustainability debate, despite being key to the energy transition. From a circular economy perspective, reducing their use upstream becomes a priority. The rise of metal 3D printing (additive manufacturing) is also making it increasingly possible to create complex geometries, freeing design from the physical constraints of traditional manufacturing.
The algorithm Stefano developed, through an optimization problem, is able to minimize the amount of material needed to build the ferromagnetic core of a transformer.
The "Ambassador for Green Technologies" scholarship
Stefano had already completed the Ambassador for Green Technologies program, which the scholarship was aimed at, and the topic of his thesis reflected subjects covered in some of the program's courses, such as circular economy and electrical machine design. "It seemed very much in line, so I decided to apply," he says.
On the future impact of these technologies, he keeps a cautious stance: "I couldn't say. Venturing into this research topic was extremely interesting, but I worked on a small-scale example, and in component design there are many other variables to consider. Perhaps in the future a technology like topology optimization will become widespread at an industrial level; today it remains a subject of research and rather niche in industry."
Why the Politecnico
I chose the Politecnico because I felt that a university set within an industrial and cultural context like Milan's can offer its students more opportunities. I feel extremely privileged in this, and I will always be grateful to my parents for supporting me on this journey." Politecnico, he says, gave him many of the opportunities he has received
What he'll do "when he grows up"
"I'd like to work in research and development, whether in a company or at a university. I want to be an engineer, at least for a while, because I've always appreciated electrical engineering topics and I'd like to put them into practice."
On the idea of having an impact on the country, he answers this way:
I'm convinced that change must come from the virtuous collaboration of the individual elements of a society, rather than from the actions of a single individual, since with our own actions we have limited control over the changes we can bring about. My goal is to add my own small brick, working with rigor and commitment.