Linda armano
linda@secondaryextraction.org
Scientific director
Linda, PhD, is an anthropologist specialising in the anthropology of resource extraction, with a particular focus on the mining sector, value chains, business ethics, sustainability, and indigenous studies. Her research operates at the intersection of corporate organisation, consumption, and local and indigenous communities, particularly in the Canadian and Italian contexts.
nidhin madankara Kottayi
nidhin@secondaryextraction.org
Director of Technology
Nidhin spearheads the digital transformation of secondary extraction processes by merging cutting-edge technologies with industrial automation. Leveraging his 14+ years in software development, plus his strategic MBA perspective, he optimises operational efficiency and aligns technology investments with business growth. His expertise drives scalable, sustainable resource recovery while ensuring compliance and cost-effective innovation
Aakarsh Jain
aakarsh@secondaryextraction.org
Director of Strategy, Innovation & Operation
With over a decade of experience in research and teaching Mechanical Engineering, Aakarsh brings deep expertise in renewable energy and sustainable development to SEA. Complementing his technical background with an MBA focused on artificial intelligence and strategic innovation, he leads the lab’s strategic direction and operational design.
His work integrates cross-sector collaboration, forward-thinking technologies, and community engagement to build an inclusive ecosystem
SERENA SALIGARI
serena@secondaryextraction.org
Coordinator for Anthrolopology Research
anthropology@secondaryextraction.org
Serena, PhD, is a social anthropologist specialising in clean energy transition, climate change mitigation and global public health. She has worked extensively in East Africa and Kenya in particular, where she studied the environmental and health impacts of household energy practises that rely on polluting fuels. Her current research interests include pollution (particularly air pollution), extractivism, land degradation and fuel supply chains
FRANCESCO BARBALACE
francesco@secondaryextraction.org
Coordinator of Research on the Social Imaginary
sociology@secondaryextraction.org
Francesco is a PhD student in Sociology at the Dante Alighieri University of Reggio Calabria and a visiting student at the Paul Valéry University of Montpellier. As a researcher, he collaborates with the Chair of Sociology of the Imaginary at the University of Messina. He has published several scientific articles on the imaginary, ecological sensitivity and video games and is a member of the editorial board of the journal Im@go. A Journal of the Social Imaginary
BEATRICE CATANZARO
beatrice@secondaryextraction.org
Coordinator for Visual Arts Research
arts@secondaryextraction.org
Beatrice is an artist, researcher, and lecturer. She teaches at the NABA Art Academy (Milan, Italy) and the Accademia Unidee at Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto (Biella, Italy). She gained her PhD at Oxford Brookes University with the Social Sculpture Research Unit. Breatrice’s practice-based research questions the matrix of hegemonic social structures and imaginaries through dialogical processes grounded in long-term engagements and interdisciplinary collaborations. She co-founded the Women’s Centre and Social Enterprise Bait al Karama in the Old City of Nablus, Palestine
Secondary Extraction association 