CERN
What organization did Fabiola Gianotti join in 2016?
Fabiola Gianotti Fabiola Gianotti ( ; born 29 October 1960 ) is an Italian experimental particle physicist , and the first woman to be Director-General at CERN ( European Organization for Nuclear Research ) in Switzerland . Her mandate began on 1 January 2016 and runs for a period of five years . At its 195th Session in 2019 , the CERN Council selected Gianotti for an unprecedented second term as Director-General . Her second five-year term began on 1 January 2021 and go on until 2025 . This is the first time in CERNs history that a Director-General has been appointed for a full second term . Early life and education . From an early age , Gianotti was interested in nature and the world around her . Her mother , from Sicily , encouraged Gianotti in the fine arts . Her father , an acclaimed geologist from Piedmont , encouraged her early love of learning and encouraged her scientific interests . Gianotti found her passion for scientific research after reading a biography on Marie Curie . Previously , she had studied the humanities , focusing on music and philosophy at the Liceo classico . Gianotti received a PhD in experimental particle physics from the Physics department of the University of Milan in 1989 . Life and career . Academic and professional career . Since 1996 , Gianotti has worked at CERN , starting with a fellowship and continuing to become a full-time research physicist . In 2009 she was promoted to project leader and Spokesperson of the ATLAS Collaboration . She also worked on the WA70 , UA2 and ALEPH experiments at CERN , where she was involved in detector development , software development and data analysis . In 2016 she was elected to be the first female Director-General of CERN . She has since been reappointed for a second term , which will end in 2025 . She has been a member of several international committees , such as the Scientific Council of the CNRS in France , the Physics Advisory Committee of Fermilab in the USA , the Council of the European Physical Society , the Scientific Council of the DESY Laboratory in Germany , and the Scientific Advisory Committee of NIKHEF in the Netherlands . She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the UN Secretary-General . She was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society ( ForMemRS ) in 2018 . Gianotti is also a member of the Italian Academy of Sciences ( Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei ) , a foreign associate member of the US National Academy of Sciences and foreign associate of the French Academy of Science . She was also elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019 . Gianotti also appeared in the 2013 documentary film Particle Fever about work at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN . Higgs boson discovery . During Gianottis time as Spokesperson of ATLAS , the experiment was one of two involved in the observation of the Higgs boson . On 4 July 2012 Gianotti announced the discovery of the particle . Until the observation , the Higgs boson was a purely theoretical part of the Standard Model of particle physics . Gianottis deep understanding of the ATLAS experiment , and her leadership , were recognised as major factors in the discovery . Publications . Gianotti is the author or co-author of more than 500 publications in peer reviewed scientific journals . She has given more than 30 invited plenary talks at the major international conferences in the field . Some of her most notable publications include Observation of a New Particle in the Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson with the ATLAS Detector at the LHC , where CERN presented the Higgs boson observation , Searches for supersymmetry at high-energy colliders : the past , the present and the present and the future in the IOP Science , New Journal of Physics , and Calorimetry for particle physics in the APS Physics Journal . Work environment . Gianotti had to push past barriers to be successful in a male dominated field . In the European scientific community , for every one woman , there are two men . Only 20% of the team that worked on the ATLAS project were women . Gianotti was the first female Director-General of CERN , and she led two of the largest CERN experiments in 2012 . She insists that she has never faced discrimination because of her gender , saying “I cannot say myself that I ever felt discriminated against .. . Perhaps I was but I didn’t realize it.” Gianotti is helping break down barriers the male-dominated field created for aspiring female scientists . She specifically wants to give women more support when having children . She feels that she was never given enough support , and for this reason , never had children , a decision she now regrets . Honours and awards . Gianotti was included among the “Top 100 most inspirational women” by The Guardian newspaper in 2011 , ranked 5th in Time magazines Personality of the Year in 2012 , was the runner-up for Time magazines Person of the Year in the same year , was included among the “Top 100 most influential women” by Forbes magazine in 2013 , and was considered among the “Leading Global Thinkers of 2013” by Foreign Policy magazine in 2013 . She has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Uppsala , École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne ( EPFL ) , McGill University , Oslo University , University of Edinburgh , University of Naples Federico II , University of Chicago , University of Savoy , and the Weizmann Institute of Science . Since 2013 , she is an honorary professor at the University of Edinburgh . - In December 2014 , she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian president , Giorgio Napolitano . - In September 2013 , she was awarded The Enrico Fermi Prize of the Italian Physical Society . - In November 2013 , she was awarded the Niels Bohr Institute Medal of Honour . - In December 2012 , she was awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for her leadership role in the Higgs boson discovery . - In December 2012 , she was awarded the Gold Medal ( known as Ambrogino doro , named after the patron saint of Milan , Saint Ambrose ) by the municipality of Milan . - In 2018 , she was listed as one of the BBCs 100 Women . - On February 2020 , she was awarded with Bruno Pontecorvo Prize ( 2019 ) - In September 2020 , she was named an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by Pope Francis . Comic Sans controversy . When CERN announced the discovery of the Higgs boson , some controversy sprang from Gianottis use of the Comic Sans typeface in the presentation of the results . Alby Reid , a physicist , started an online petition calling for Microsoft to change the name of the font to Comic Cerns . Vincent Connare , the fonts creator , tweeted support for the petition . Gianotti had used Comic Sans in previous presentations , but the controversy was generated due to the importance of the material presented . Personal life . Gianotti is a trained ballerina and plays the piano . She has never been married ; in a New York Times profile on Gianotti , the Dutch physicist Rende Steerenberg described her as someone who has dedicated her life to physics...sure , she has made sacrifices . In a 2010 interview , Gianotti said that she saw no contradiction between science and faith , and that they belong to two different spheres . In an interview by la Repubblica , she said that science and religion are separate disciplines , though not antithetical . You can be a physicist and have faith or not . As of September 2020 , she is a member of the Italian Aspen Institute .