The Cosmos 2024 Prize was awarded to Giuseppe Mussardo for his book Maksimovič. The story of Bruno Pontecorvo (Castelvecchi Editore). The award ceremony took place last week during the Cosmos Festival, an initiative held in Reggio Calabria with the aim of promoting dialogue between science, culture and society through scientific workshops, public lectures, exhibitions and seminars.
Giuseppe Mussardo, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati - SISSA in Trieste, received the award for his work exploring the life and discoveries of Bruno Pontecorvo, one of the most important physicists of the 20th century. The scientific jury, chaired by Gianfranco Bertone of the University of Amsterdam, praised the book for «the reconstruction, with complex detective work, of the adventurous and misunderstood story of one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century».
The Cosmos Prize, organised by the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in collaboration with the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs and the Italian Astronomical Society, is an award that aims to promote scientific culture in Italy.
«Bruno Pontecorvo's story,» Mussardo comments, «is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating stories of the 20th century, emblematic because it shows how scientists are immersed in the flow of history and can sometimes be swept away by it. We owe Pontecorvo ingenious insights into the physics of the neutrino that have opened up new and very important scientific paths. »
(Ph: Cosmos2024)