L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 4 BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS T alent may be an innate gift, but the ability to nur- ture it, use it and challenge it co- mes from willpower. And in- telligence is not simply one's ability to acquire knowledge and adapt it strategically to new situations and complex problems. It is chiefly vision. W h e n S t o c k h o l m ' s Royal Swedish Academy of Science announced the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics, n o o n e w a s s u r p r i s e d , because Giorgio Parisi's victory was in the natural order of things. Just like his merits are in "the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to pla- netary scales." Parisi him- self admits it: "I am happy, I didn't expect it, but I knew t h e r e w a s a c h a n c e , s o I kept the phone close becau- se, as they say, awards are like cherries, one leads to another." Thanks to his work on complex systems, he had already gained, on the 22nd of September, a place in the C l a r i v a t e C i t a t i o n L a u r e a t e s 2 0 2 1 , t h e yearly list of the most cited e x p e r t s i n t h e f i e l d s o f s c i e n t i f i c a n d a c a d e m i c research analysis. An award that speaks volumes about the value and breadth of his studies. Antonella Polimeni, first woman president in t h e 7 1 7 y e a r s o f t h e U n i v e r s i t à L a S a p i e n z a , says it perfectly: "Giorgio P a r i s i i s a g i a n t : f u t u r e generations will sit on his s h o u l d e r s t o l o o k a t t h e h o r i z o n s o f s c i e n c e , a n d m o v e f u r t h e r i n t o t h e i r path towards knowledge." Full professor of theore- tical physics at La Sapienza i n R o m e , a n d a s s o c i a t e d researcher at the Istituto N a z i o n a l e d i F i s i c a Nucleare (INFN), Parisi is the 6th Italian to receive the coveted award in phy- s i c s , a f t e r G u g l i e l m o M a r c o n i ( 1 9 0 8 ) , E n r i c o Fermi (1938), Emilio Segrè (1959), Carlo Rubbia (1984) a n d R i c c a r d o G i a c c o n i (2002). Italy won a total of 21 Nobel prizes, 13 of which were in science (6 in medi- cine, 6 in physics, and one in chemistry). He is, along with Carlo R u b b i a a n d M i c h e l e Parrinello, one of the three Italian physicists members o f t h e U S N a t i o n a l Academy of Science and, in February, he received the Wolf Prize "for being one of t h e m o s t c r e a t i v e a n d influential theoretical phy- sicists in recent decades. His work has a large impact on diverse branches of phy- sical sciences, spanning the areas of particle physics, critical phenomena, disor- d e r e d s y s t e m s a s w e l l a s o p t i m i z a t i o n t h e o r y a n d mathematical physics." He was the first Italian to make it into the Clarivate Citation Laureates list for "ground- b r e a k i n g d i s c o v e r i e s i n quantum-chromodynamics and in the study of complex disordered systems." But there is more. " G i o r g i o P a r i s i ' s g r e a t merit - Antonio Zoccoli, president of INFN, where t h e N o b e l p r i z e ' s c a r e e r began, says - is that he has always been determinant to t h e f i e l d s h e w o r k e d i n , sometimes being way ahead o f h i s t i m e s . A n d t h e n , t h e r e a r e h i s e c l e c t i c i s m and his ability to see, anti- cipate and understand the r i g h t p a t h f o r r e s e a r c h , where it should be going, before anyone else. These are, undoubtedly, the main c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f h i s genius. But also his prag- matism: Parisi is a theoreti- cal physicist whose work has been often applied con- cretely, as it happened with h i s s t u d y o n c o m p l e x systems, which he applied t o m a n y a d y n a m i c i n society. Last, but not least, w e ' r e h a p p y t o m e n t i o n that Giorgio represents the excellence of Italian phy- s i c s , a n d o f t h e g r e a t Roman school of theoreti- c a l p h y s i c s , w h o s e f i r s t e x p o n e n t w a s E n r i c o Fermi, followed by other great minds like Altarelli, C a b i b b o , J o n a - L a s i n i o , Maiani. Besides its motiva- tions, I believe this Nobel Prize to Parisi should be interpreted as a tribute to his whole scientific carrier." President of the Italian R e p u b l i c S e r g i o Mattarella expressed his satisfaction with Parisi's award and warmly congra- tulated him "on this very h i g h r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t honors Italy and its scienti- f i c c o m m u n i t y . " P r i m e Minister M a r i o D r a g h i also spent words of appre- c i a t i o n f o r t h e s c i e n t i s t , defining him as "a pioneer in research." His contribu- tions - Draghi continues - " d u r i n g h i s i l l u s t r i o u s c a r e e r s p a n n i n g o v e r 5 0 years, played a crucial role i n o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f fundamental phenomena, s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n f l u e n c i n g many other fields of know- ledge, from cognitive scien- c e t o b i o l o g y a n d s o c i a l s c i e n c e s . P r e s i d e n t Emeritus of Accademia dei L i n c e i , I t a l y ' s n a t i o n a l science academy, Professor Parisi is a role model for generations of students and r e s e a r c h e r s , a n d f o r t h e entire nation." D u r i n g t h e c e r e m o n y , held at the Università La S a p i e n z a ' s a u l a m a g n a , where he received an incre- dibly long standing ovation, the Minister for University a n d R e s e a r c h , C r i s t i n a M e s s a , s a i d : "Congratulating our Nobel P r i z e w i n n e r i s a l m o s t reductive: with a life dedi- cated to science and resear- ch, and a never-wavering passion, he has been a tea- c h e r a n d a n e x a m p l e t o many young people throu- ghout the years and conti- nues to be today. Research is all about original ideas, freedom, rigor, and disci- pline; it means following one's goals regardless of the Continued to page 6 Giorgio Parisi in La Sapienza University's Aula Magna celebrates his Nobel Prize win with President Antonella Polimeni ( Photo: Sapienza Università di Roma/Stefania Sepulcri) More to celebrate this Italian Heritage Month: Giorgio Parisi's Nobel Prize

• Cover