Franco Casali was born in Cesena, Italy, on 21 January, 1937. He graduated in Physics with highest honours on 21 December, 1959. He qualified as a University teacher in “Nuclear Reactor Physics” in 1967.
In 1965 he became the Director of the Nuclear Reactor Centre, belonging to CNEN (Comitato Nazionale per l’Energia Nucleare) with two experimental reactors. Then he assumed the leadership of the Division of Physics and Computing Science of ENEA. Several times he was asked to work for the United Nations (IAEA) as an expert in nuclear power plants (UN Development Projects).
Then he passed to the University of Bologna. Since 12 November 1985 until 2005, he has been Associated Professor of “Nuclear Methods of Technological Analysis” and “Archaeometry”. From 1 November 1988 to 31 October 1991 he was Director of the Health Physics Postgraduate School of the University of Bologna.
He published more than 100 papers in international journals. His research activity was devoted for many years to the development of Digital Radiography and Computed Tomography systems for both low and high energy X-rays either in the field of cultural heritage either for medical applications.
Now, retired, he is associated at Enrico Fermi Research Centre (Rome) where he leads a project for 3D CT X-ray systems for cultural heritage diagnostics. Referee for IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, he was also one of the Italian representatives in the European Neutron Radiography Working Group.
Bologna, 15/12/2017