L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano The D.I.V.E. of L.A. honored talented Italian women of yesterday and today, from Margherita Hack to Elena Pierpaoli The International Women's D ay is their day, and the D.I.V.E. of Los Angeles cele- brated it with an exquisite dinner at the S kylight G ardens in Westwood, hosted by Miranda Barone. On this special occasion, the members' monthly meeting was dedicated to the memory of a brilliant Italian w oman: Margherita Hack (1922-2013). Known as the "lady of the stars" - with reference to her research on cepheids, a type of variable stars -, the Italian astro- physicist and prolific author became very popular at home and abroad thanks to her ability to communicate science to the general public. She entered the academia when it was still domi- nated by men, and was the first female director of the Trieste Astronomical Observatory from 1964 to 1987. Her commitment to promoting Italy within the international scientific communi- ty an d to rais ing funds for research contributed, in particu- lar, to the development of the small city of Trieste into a well- known center for astrophysical studies. In her honor, a newly discovered asteroid was named after her in 1995. The evening was opened by D.I.V.E. president Lucia Peretti, sharing the Women's Day wish- es extended by Pope Francis and the Italian P res ident of the Republic S erg io M attarella. Then she gave the floor to guest of honor Elena Pierpaoli, USC Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Prof. Pierpaoli's passion for as trophys ics and cos mology came about gradually, but the influence of her mother – a pro- fessor of physics – was definitely a key factor: "S he w as very demanding and never managed to teach me anything. N evertheles s , s omehow s he passed on to me her interest in s cience. I w as very good in school, and decided to study P hys ics at the U nivers ity of Milan. Despite the prestige of the local D epartment of Experimental Particle Physics, I THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 www.italoamericano.com 4 SILVIA SIMONETTI couldn't really see myself work- ing at CERN or in similar labo- ratories." Elena Pierpaoli wanted to look at the stars. After gradu- ating with honors in 1994 with a final dissertation in theoretical phys ics , s he follow ed her instinct by obtaining a PhD in A s trophys ics from the International S chool for Advanced Studies in Trieste (1998). Yet the doctoral experi- ence wasn't as good as she had expected and, for the first time in her life, she felt ready to pur- sue a carrier abroad. "In the beginning, I wasn't particularly attracted by the United States, so I worked at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, for a couple of years. Then my husband was offered a job in New York, and we moved there. When I applied for a research position at Princeton University in 2001, I was preg- nant and very brave – or com- pletely crazy - and I got the job." P rof. P ierpaoli received grants and fellowships to sup- port her work at Princeton for 5 years and then at Caltech in Pasadena, where she became Visiting Faculty in 2006. In the same year, she also joined USC as an Assistant Professor at first and now as an A s s ociate of Cos mology and Theoretical Astrophysics. Is she still attached to Italy? "I've never wanted to leave it, and for a long time I thought I would have returned, sooner or later. The truth is that at a certain point, Italy didn't offer me any- thing better or even equal to w hat I had achieved in the United States. All the same, I do feel deeply grateful and proud of my Italian public education, whose level was high enough to prepare me for a career in some of the best institutes of North America. This is why, when I have had the opportunity, I glad- ly hired Italian postdoc fellows in my international research group. Also, I enjoyed spending my firs t s abbatical year in Tries te, collaborating w ith esteemed Italian colleagues." Elena Pierpaoli has eventual- ly adapted to the American work environment, and her advice to young Italian science lovers, who wish to follow in her foot- steps, is to train not only their mental and technical skills but also their ability to promote themselves and face strong com- petition. At present, she works on two different projects. One of them was launched when she was still a P hD s tudent in Italy and involves the measurement by the European Planck satellite of the "cosmic microwave background" – a leftover radiation from the Big Bang, w hich fills the Universe and can help under- stand its history. Her second field of study is relating to large galaxy clusters. Invited by the D.I.V.E. to lec- ture on Margherita Hack's per- sonality and outstanding accom- plis hments , P rof. P ierpaoli underlined some fascinating and perhaps less known aspects that shed light on both the scientist and the woman. "Margherita was vegetarian, had lots of cats, and suffered from insomnia even in retirement. We didn't share the same field of research, but we lived on the s ame s treet in Trieste," she recalls. Actually, it looks like they have much more than that in common: talent, determination, and love for their job, but most of all the capacity to convey these feelings and inspire other fellow women. D.I.V.E. President Lucia Peretti, Prof. Elena Pierpaoli, Paola De Mari Paola Jacobbi, Prof. Elena Pierpaoli, Sissi Legzziel, D.I.V.E. President Lucia Peretti, Francesca Harrison, Mara New

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