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Andrea Rovere: a student we will remember

September 30, 2021 | Julie Robert

Update : September 30, 2021

The tragic death of the postdoctoral fellow at INRS leaves a great void in the community.

It is with deep sadness that the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) community has learned of the tragic death of Andrea Rovere, a postdoctoral fellow at the Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre. Andrea passed away on Monday September 27, 2021, following a tragic bicycle accident in Montreal.

We wish to honour Andrea’s memory by remembering him as a passionate scientist dedicated to a brilliant career but also as a caring and generous person with his entourage and colleagues.


A brilliant young scientist 

Andrea Rovere

Andrea had left his native Italy for Quebec in 2015 to begin a Ph.D. in energy and materials science at the INRS-EMT Centre, under the supervision of Professor Luca Razzari.

Andrea was known for his hard work, as well as his collaborative and empathetic nature. His activities focused on the development of high-intensity terahertz (THz) radiation sources. His research project was unique as he studied a new type of nanostructures capable of generating electrons when excited with THz waves. Andrea was involved in the design of these nanostructures but also in the implementation and characterization of the radiation sources. He was in the process of completing the characterization experiments of these electrons as part of his post-doc. In addition, he worked with other members of the group on several other projects.

Andrea has authored several scientific publications and presented his work to his peers at prestigious international conferences such as SPIE-Photonics West and CLEO, in the fields of lasers and electro-optics.

“We are deeply shaken. His passing is a great loss to the INRS community and to my group as we had built strong bonds, both personally and professionally. A fruitful future awaited him.”

Professor Luca Razzari

“We would like to express our sincere condolences to Andrea Rovere’s close relatives. Our thoughts are with them. This is also an extremely difficult time for the entire INRS community, to whom we do our utmost to offer all the necessary support. Research creates very strong relationships day after day, and the loss of a committed and valued colleague like Mr. Rovere is an inestimable loss,” added INRS Chief Executive Officer, Luc-Alain Giraldeau.


A person involved in the community

Andrea had a great appreciation for the Montreal music scene and was himself a multi-instrumentalist with a passion for musical discovery. Workers’ rights were also a cause close to his heart. 

His colleagues and friends at INRS, Giacomo Balistreri (postdoctoral fellow) and Luca Zanotto (doctoral fellow) will remember Andrea as a very active person in the community, particularly involved with the student association and the training of new recruits at INRS.

“Andrea was a very open-minded and cheerful person, always willing to help others. His death will leave a great void.”

Giacomo Balistreri, postdoctoral fellow at the INRS

Andrea, we will remember you.

A fundraiser on the GoFundMe page (still active) is organized by Andrea’s entourage to allow the repatriation of the body to Italy to his family.