INFN-LNF Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati
The Italian Physical Society (SIF) has awarded Alessandra Fantoni the “Laura Bassi Prize 2026” for Women in Physics, in the Mid-to-Full Career category, reserved for women with a degree in Physics who, over the past five years, have distinguished themselves for the quality and impact of their research activity. The citation acknowledges her significant contributions to high‑energy nuclear and hadronic physics and her scientific coordination roles, particularly within the ALICE experiment at CERN’s LHC accelerator.
Alessandra Fantoni, senior researcher at the INFN Frascati National Laboratory, has long been an active figure in the international nuclear physics community. Within the ALICE collaboration—responsible at CERN for the LHC experiment dedicated to studying quark–gluon plasma in heavy‑ion collisions—she has held several scientific coordination roles, and since July 2025 she has served as Chair of the Collaboration Board. In 2022, she was also elected President of the Nuclear Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS).
The prize, named after Laura Bassi—the first woman in Europe to obtain a university chair in physics, in 1732—will be presented on 7 September during the opening ceremony of the 112th National Congress of the Italian Physical Society, held in Florence from 7 to 11 September.
The entire staff of the Frascati National Laboratory warmly congratulates Alessandra.
Link to the SIF 2026 Prizes: https://2026.congresso.sif.it/info/premiati-2026