Francesco Baldini graduated in physics from the University of Florence magna cum laude in 1986. Since 1986 he joined the Optical Fiber Group at the Institute of Electromagnetic Wave of CNR in Florence (now named Institute of Applied Physics). His research activity was devoted to the development of optical fibre sensors and to the application of optical methods to the restoration of paintings and frescoes. Now he is active in the field of optical fibre sensors/systems for chemical and biochemical parameters. He is author of more than one hundred publications on the subject in International Journals, in scientific books and in International Conference Proceedings and was invited speaker at more than twenty international Conferences. He was coordinator of the European project Continuous Monitoring of Gastric Carbon Dioxide with Optical Fibres and was responsible for the Institute of Applied Physics in many national and international projects. He is responsible of the Chemical and biochemical optical sensor group at the Institute of Applied Physics.
He is Chairman of the ASCOS (Advanced Study Course on Optical Chemical Sensors) Series. Since 2005 he is member of the International Advisory Board of Journal Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry and since 2008 he is associate editor of the Journal “Journal of Sensors”. He was guest editor of a special issue of Sensors & Actuators on the Europt(r)ode II Conference held in Florence in 1994 and of the special issues of the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry on “Optical Sensors” and on “Biosensors for Health Care”. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Europt(r)ode Conference on Optical Chemical Sensors and Biosensors and has been member of the Scientific Committee of many International Conferences. He is also an associate member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. In 2009 he was nominated fellow of SPIE for achievements in biological and chemical sensing in biomedicine.