Franco graduated in Physics at the “Federico II” University of Naples in 1996 before completing his PhD with a thesis on superconducting electronic devices in 2000 at the same university. After his studies he worked in industry in the fields of microelectronics and photonics for ST Microelectronics and International Rectifiers. In 2003 he started to collaborate with NEST on a research project about semiconducting/superconducting hybrid microelectronic devices. In 2005 he started to work at NEST in the Scuola Normale as a lab technician. In this position he is currently one of the managers of the cleanroom, a laboratory that has about 60 units. He has knowledge about the micro and nano manufacturing electronic devices and their electrical characterisation. He has published over 30 papers in international magazines.