GENEVA, JANUARY 11 – Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi is currently on a mission to Geneva for a visit to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
Upon being welcomed by the Director General of CERN, Fabiola Gianotti, Undersecretary Tripodi visited the control room and the site housing the ATLAS experiment, one of the two elementary particle physics experiments at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) accelerator that led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson.
The Undersecretary then went to “Idea Square”, the innovation space at CERN. The facility hosts interdisciplinary research and particle detector development projects and promotes exchange programmes for master’s degree students. “Idea Square” will be an integral part of the “Science Gateway CERN” campus offerings, scheduled to open in 2023.
During her conversation with Director General Gianotti, Undersecretary Tripodi congratulated her on “the extraordinary work carried out by the Director” during her tenure, and emphasised “the importance of scientific diplomacy as an essential tool for fostering international cooperation.”
She expressed great satisfaction with the strong Italian presence and impact at CERN, both in terms of scientific and academic contributions and industrial presence – which further confirms the leadership role that Italy plays in such an important area of international scientific research.
“Science is one of the foundations of Italy’s identity and history: just think of Leonardo and Galileo, Rubbia, Parisi and Fabiola Gianotti. Moreover, Italy is still one of the countries most committed to scientific research. We have great excellence to defend and enhance,” said the Undersecretary.
In referring to the more than 1,500 Italians working at CERN, the Undersecretary thanked the Italian scientific community “for participating with passion, intelligence and commitment in the research activity at CERN, paying great attention to innovation issues, as well as to the fundamental activities of education and knowledge transmission.” (@OnuItalia)
