ROMA (ITALPRESS) – At the age of 96, Antonino Zichichichi, Italian physicist and scientific scientist, specializing in the field of elementary particle physics. Born in Trapani, he was author of numerous research, contributions and achievements in various fields of nuclear and subnuclear physics.
After attending the classic Ximenes high school in Trapani and completing university studies in Palermo, graduating in mathematics and physics with a thesis in physics with Donato Palumbo, Zichichi worked at the Fermilab in Chicago and the CERN in Geneva, where in 1965 he directed the research group he first observed the antideutone, simultaneously with an American team of the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Ordinary of superior physics from 1965 to 2006 at the Faculty of Science of the University of Bologna, he led the group of Bolognese physicists during the first experiments on material-antimatter collisions at the National Laboratories of Frascati. He was president of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics from 1977 to 1982 and in 1978 he was also president of the European Society of Physics. In 1980 the construction of the National Laboratories of Gran Sasso began, of which Zichichi was one of the main proponents and creators. Since 1986 he has been the head of the “World Lab”, an association that supports scientific projects in third world countries, founded in 1973 by Isidor Isaac Rabi and Zichichi. In 1979 he was the center of a diplomatic incident at the time of the election of the CERN director. Italy’s pressure on Zichichi caused a clear split between Italy and all other supporters, who did not believe Zichichi that would lead the organization.
BERNINI “HA SAPUTO ACCENDERE LA SCIENZA NEL CUORE DI TUTTI”
“A gigantic mind, an endless curiosity, a voice that has been able to ignite science in the hearts of people. With deep emotion I greet Antonino Zichichi, one of the greatest Italian scientists of our time, absolute protagonist of world physics and master of generations. Strict scientist, pioneer of particle physics, experienced research as a continuous challenge to the unknown. I remember with great fascination the story of his method of study: observe, verify and always doubt. But his greatness did not stop at scientific results. Zichichi knew how to tell science, to make it understandable, necessary. The search was for him a messenger of peace, an eternal journey that unites all. A journey that will continue in the ideas he left, in the minds he formed, in every young man who today chooses to study, understand, seek also in the memory and traces of Antonino Zichichi”. Thus the Minister of the University and Research, Anna Maria Bernin.
SCHIFANI “HA RESO LA SICILIA CAPITALE INTERNAZIONALE DELLA SCIENZA”
“With the disappearance of Antonino Zichichi, Italy loses a world-class scientist and a great divulner. Zichichi was able to combine his name with Sicily and Erice’s Majorana Centre, making them an international reference point for physics and for the dialogue between science and culture. On behalf of the regional government, I express the most felt sympathy for family members and the scientific community.” The president of the Sicilian Region Renato Schifani declares it.
– Photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS)
