2021 Nobel Prize winner to head Rome’s new Scientific Committee

The establishment of the institution was one of the first acts of newly-confirmed mayor Roberto Gualtieri

The new mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, met Professor Giorgio Parisi, Professor of Theoretical Physics at La Sapienza University of Rome and Nobel Prize laureate in Physics for 2021 on 28 October in the Capitoline Hill (where Rome’s City Hall is located). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the establishment of a Scientific Committee as part of the Italian capital’s administration.

Professor Parisi is known for his stance against climate change

Professor Parisi will contribute to the establishment of the Scientific Committee of Rome and will assume the honorary presidency of the new body. The Scientific Committee will deal with science, innovation and urban policies, such as the study of data and complex phenomena, the modelling of mobility and the energy transition, but also with topics such as the teaching of science education from the preschool level.

“I thank Professor Parisi for this meeting and for having accepted the proposal to be part of the Scientific Committee of Rome, assuming the position of Honorary President. The participation of a world-renowned scientist and Nobel laureate like Professor Parisi in the Committee is a privilege for our city and an extraordinary opportunity to put science and innovation at the centre of the future of Rome and its role as a great capital - both European and international,” declared Mayor Roberto Gualtieri

He continued: “The challenges of the ecological and digital transition and of social and environmental sustainability require the involvement of the best intellectual energies and Professor Parisi's commitment to the Scientific Committee will be invaluable in making Rome an advanced laboratory setting”.

Rome’s municipal website reported that the Scientific Committee will be established by December. Professor Giorgio Parisi, who is a native of Rome, received the Nobel Prize this year for his groundbreaking research in “the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales”.

Physics World reported that he is also currently studying the dynamics of how COVID-19 spreads in order to find patterns. He has also been known for urging society to take action against climate change.